The People

There are hundreds of universities in the UK, which is pretty handy as around a quarter of a million new students go to them each year. As this figure is on the increase, it stands to reason that not everyone will fit into Oxbridge or one of the ancient universities your parents might be happier you went to. But snobbery aside, there are many good reasons not to overlook the universities you might not have heard so much about.

The snob's pyramid has Oxbridge and the other older universities at the top, then the redbricks, the post-1992 "new universities" (the former polytechnics) and the degree-awarding college and higher education (HE) institutions. Your family would probably have you climb as high as you can, and in many cases, quite rightly - many of those "higher-up" institutions are ancient bastions of academic excellence. Going there doesn't make you a snob, necessarily.

But the rarefied atmosphere at the top of university league tables may not he for you - there are all sorts of other factors to take into account. You may feel that the more relaxed culture of a particular institution suits you better than - say - a university that requires you to wear a gown when dining. If you're in a wheelchair, the facilities at new places are likely to be more welcoming than the crumbling stone steps of a 19th-century library.

But if a university is the best for your course, or offers the range of modules that most suits you, then fling away all the preconceptions about its reputation in other areas. If you like the town, the course is perfect and the accommodation seems to suit, don't let myths and rumours persuade you that you should apply for Melchester College, Oxbridge, instead.

And don't forget the TIE institutions and colleges, which fulfil essential roles in preparing people to work in a number of specific industries: teaching, the NHS, agriculture, sports science, theology, drama and across the range of the arts.

There are more than 50 of these IIE colleges and specialist institutions in the UK. A growing number of them offer their own degrees; others offer degrees accredited by universities. They educate about 10% of higher education students in the country. And in a number of specialities, the proportions are much bigger.

HE colleges produce nearly 3.5% of graduates in art, design, music and the performing arts, thus making a huge contribution to the UK's creative industries. About one in three new teachers is educated and trained in an HE college, as are a quarter of all graduates in the land-based industries and about 10% of nurses and many other health professionals.

These colleges pride themselves on widening participation among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds by using well-developed and sophisticated strategics for attracting them; targeting low-participation areas, arranging for student mentors to visit schools or lowering A-level entry hurdles for pupils from low-achieving schools. For many of you, they may be just the ticket.