From my experience

http://http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/wheretostart/maturestudents
If you are looking to return to education and further your career prospects I would seriously advise you to look at what UCAS offers on their website, they were invaluable to me when I was conducting initial research into making that transistion back into student life. As a mature student you look for certain criteria when applying to further your education; namely which course, at which institution will give me the best chance of getting onto the higher earning platform. For me it was which institution will give me the best degree in the field that I want to work in and is recognised by the industry as such.

As mature students we are more focussed on the quality of the degree that we will walk away with, we understand the finiancial implication of returning to education but we are certainly more able to apply ourselves to the course knowing exactly what we want to achieve and where we want to be in three years time.

The advantage of being a mature student is that you already have your A-level results so I was given my offers very quickly. Only one institution withheld their offer until I had attended an interview, that University was The University of Westminster. This gave them more credability in my mind as not only did they want to interview me and speak to me about the course it gave me a chance to check them out. Never forget that this is a two way street and should be treated as a business transaction you are paying your money (and will be paying it back over many years to come in exchange for the best degree that you can get) It is really, really important to meet your prospective tutors and to talk face to face about what the course will offer you, the content and the calibre of the teaching staff at the University. You need to find the best university for you and your needs and this will be different for everyone but you need to find a place where you will be happy for the next 3 years of your life. If no interview is offered I would highly recomend visiting the university on an open day or making your own appointment to visit. I was offered a place at The London College of Communciation as well and went down on one of their open days to meet the course leader and have a tour of the campus and I was really dissappointed. The tutor was new to the course and had little knowledge of how the education system worked, having never taught before but was fuelled by his claim of having been the person behind creating the radio one DJ/personality Chris Moyles. I then sat through a presentation in their auditorium where I felt completley patronised sitting their as a mature student and being talked down to about how this was no longer schoool and you wouldn't be mollie coddled but need to be independant and self motivated to be able to achieve results (REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????WELL I NEVER!!!!) Do not be put off but remember that any University talk you go to will be geared for 18 year olds leaving college or sixth form, as they are the majority intake. Looking deeper than that at the course content and if you can imagine yourself in the enviroment for the next couple of years.

I hope this helps anyone who is looking at the moment for places to study but have to say it is the best choice I ever made and the course has met my expectations so it really does pay to take the time to do that little bit extra research and if you have any questions about my expirience I would be happy to answer them.

Happy University hunting - Bex xx

P.S I moved City to go to my chosen place of study and yes it was tough and it took awhile to settle in, particularly as I had a whole network of friends and work colleagues etc.... in my home town and I questioned my choice for ages. Even to the point where I was going to settle on a course I didn't really want to do so as to avoid all of the upheval, it can be really daunting but don't be lazy really push yourself out of your comfort zone because trust me only good can come from it - THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER...... xx