How to build a shortlist of five courses

A good shortlist has five courses, not fifteen (sample advice from our advisers).

Pick two courses you would love, two where your grades sit comfortably inside the entry requirements and one safe choice. For each, write down the tuition for every year, a year of rent and the start month.

If one course is clearly beyond the budget once rent is added, take it off now. It saves an application fee and a hard conversation later.