Go Higher: Use open days to get a feel for the place

CARLA RANICKI, 19, has just started the second year of a three- year degree in English at UCL. She scored A grades in each of her three A-levels - English, History and Art - from the Edinburgh Academy.

"From the time I started my A-levels when I was 15, I knew which university course I wanted to do - English and history of art - and that I would take a gap year before starting. I had no idea where to study, but wanted to live in a major city like Liverpool or Leeds.

"We got the UCAS forms supplied to us by the school. They did not really help us that much with filling them in, as the forms themselves are pretty straightforward.

"There are two hurdles to overcome. The first problem was deciding where to go. I went to open days at various universities: Cambridge, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, York.

"Open days didn't really help me in deciding between universities, but visiting them gave me a chance to check out the feel of each city and decide whether I really wanted to study there.

"The personal statement is the second hurdle. The other parts of the form are very mechanical, whereas this requires you to sell yourself. I found it hard to get a balance between telling the truth, promoting yourself, and not sounding too cliched."