The higher education system in the United Kingdom is one of the oldest, most developed and prestigious. Currently, there are dozens of well-known universities in the country and hundreds of less well-known ones. One way or another, they all provide a high level of education, with which only a few universities in the world can be compared. And in this article we will look at what higher education institutions are in England, what are the main features of the higher education system in the UK, and what our average person needs to do in order to become a student at a university or institute in Foggy Albion.
The main features of universities in the UK
Universities in England have a thousand-year history of origin. The first universities in the country were Oxford, founded in the 12th century, and Cambridge, which was founded a little later. Since then, the UK higher education system has been improving, and over the centuries, its own methodology of education has been developed, universities have received hundreds of regalia, and education in England has become a symbol of prestige.
How to enter an English university and what is needed for this?
The entire system of higher education in the UK is represented by several categories of educational institutions - these are universities, colleges and institutes. Upon admission to them, no concessions and discounts are given to either local applicants or foreign ones - equal conditions are created for everyone, and distribution advantages are given only to those future students who have the highest scores in their certificates.
To apply and enroll in universities in the UK, you need to have a GCSE certificate, which is an analogue of domestic high school and secondary education certificates. An important condition is the presence in the certificate of indicators in at least five subjects, two of which must be passed without fail with excellent marks. In a word, if you want to enter the universities of England, you will have to try on your own grades at school. For foreign applicants who have not been trained in English schools, it is necessary to take a two-year course of pre-university education in special international schools in the UK, the result of which will be passing exams and obtaining an A-levels diploma. 
Another no less important condition is the perfect knowledge of the English language, which is fixed by the IELTS certificate. The certificate is obtained by the results of passing a special difficult test, which can only be passed if the study of English took place for more than one year (ideally, in the schools of Britain itself).
The collected documents (and this is the A-levels or GCSE certificate, the IELTS certificate, as well as the applicant's personal documents) are collected in advance. Each university in the UK sets its own requirements regarding the content of the full package of documents. Direct application is carried out at UCAS - a special University Admissions Service from September 1 to October 15. Applicants can submit a package of documents to six different educational institutions at once. For those applicants who want to enter the best universities in England (for example, Oxford or Cambridge), you need to independently come to these universities, submit documents, undergo an interview and pass difficult entrance exams. Hard? Rather, it is natural, since studying at the most famous and prestigious universities in the world provides incredible opportunities.
What are the difficulties of studying in English universities?
The applicant passed all the necessary tests, exams, submitted documents, even passed interviews and can finally be considered a student of an English university. Is this the end of the difficulty? No, because all the difficulties are just ahead.
The first 3-4 years the student studies for a bachelor's degree. This is the first academic degree, and after training, the student can become a bachelor of law, medicine, technical, humanities and other sciences. In addition to the compulsory training program, the student must choose an additional one that best suits his needs and knowledge. For example, a required course of study in law schools may include an additional course in international law, tax law, or M&A. As in domestic universities, UK universities have lectures and seminars. 
University education is very difficult. The author of this article had to communicate directly with a teacher from England and draw a similar conclusion based on the following information: no more than 4-5 basic disciplines are studied in one semester, while every 3 months a difficult control test is done for each of them and one comprehensive test for all disciplines. No usual cheat sheets - if they are found, then there will be no retakes, only expulsion from the university. English universities have earned their international prestige for centuries, so teachers carefully monitor the quality of their students' education. Of course, there can be no talk of any bribes.
After 4 years of study, the student is eligible to receive a Master of Science degree. And here, in addition to training, research and scientific work is connected. The difficulty in obtaining a master's degree is colossal, but after training a graduate becomes a highly qualified specialist, in demand in the labor market of almost any country.
The cost of studying at universities in England
The cost of studying at universities in England is different in all cases. If you calculate the average, then the student will have to pay at least 10-12 thousand pounds per year for education (this is about 20 thousand dollars). In the most prestigious universities in the UK and in medical specialties, the cost of education is already from 20 thousand pounds a year or more. The calculation does not take into account the cost of accommodation, food and other expenses. 
Benefits of studying at universities in England
A diploma of a graduate of an English university is a real carte blanche that allows you to enter any organizations, institutions and companies in the world almost without any problems. Only some European universities and US universities can compete, and so the graduate is out of competition. And this is ensured not only by the diploma itself, but also by the highest level of knowledge. And if a student was able to graduate from a British university (and now we are not even talking about Oxford or Cambridge), then his level of knowledge will be so high that employers will have no doubts when choosing an applicant for a place. This is the most important advantage, in comparison with which the rest are simply leveled. However, we will also note the opportunity to get acquainted with the culture of one of the oldest countries in the world, and the possibility of perfect command of the English language, etc.
What are the universities in the UK?
To date, there are dozens of different universities in which hundreds of thousands of students are educated. We will consider only the most famous and significant both in terms of training qualified specialists, and in terms of prestige and opportunities for further employment.
