Ask James

Of course! Your parents will probably be subsidising you, and they'll want to see what they're paying for.

Ideally, obviously, yes, although lectures are not normally compulsory;

NO! You'll be treated as an adult.

This will depend on your subject. If you're studying a humanities or social sciences degree you might have fewer than ten lectures and classes a week.

There are no detentions at university, and your tutor won't treat you like a naughty schoolchild

No, all applications must go through UCAS.

In general gap years are welcomed by universities who value gap students' extra maturity and life experiences.

You can either apply in year 13, alongside everyone else, but indicate on the UCAS form that you are deferring entry for a year; or you can wait until after your A levels and apply then for the following year.

The words "modular" or "unit" imply choice: you can make up your degree from optional modules to reflect your specific interests.

No: you'll have a BA, BSc or whatever in both subjects.

It stands for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, which exists to process university applications from people like you.

Run by and for the students, the SU is the focus of many student activities including sports, clubs, entertainment and social events.

Seminars are a class session in which a small group of students and a tutor discuss, informally, aspects of a lecture topic in depth.

This is the university equivalent of a school term.

Some universities offer students the chance to gain work experience or take the opportunity to study/work abroad.

Every student is allocated a personal tutor.

A lecture is a talk on a particular subject given by a staff member - a lecturer.

A campus university is one big, self contained student community. Lecture theatres, halls of residence, seminar rooms, shops, banks, bars etc are all within walking distance.

If you don't receive any offers from your chosen universities or your results aren't what you expected, UCAS will enter you into the clearing process.

First thing to do is to check with your chosen university as they may still accept you.

This depends on the course and the institution you are applying to.

An undergraduate degree is your first degree. It's a course of study that gives a thorough grounding in a field or subject and usually takes three years of full time studying to complete.