University Course Finder - Free Tool for UK & IB Students
Not sure what to study? Answer a few questions and get ~10 matched UK degree courses - safe, match and ambitious - from 30,000+ courses. Free, login required.
A university course finder that starts from your grades and your interests rather than from a course name you already know. Describe what you enjoy, add your predicted grades, and it comes back with around ten real UK degree courses - each with why it fits and what you'd actually study. Free with an account: no card, no tokens.
How the Course Recommender works
- Describe what you're into - plain English is enough. "Something economics-related, maybe with some maths" is a usable answer. You can add a career goal, preferred UK regions, a placement year or a year abroad if you have a view, and skip them all if you don't.
- Add your predicted grades - IB predicted total out of 45 and your HL/SL subjects, or A-levels, BTEC, or SAT/AP. Predicted grades are enough; there is no need to wait for results day.
- Get around ten matched courses - drawn from more than 30,000 UK undergraduate courses at 343 universities and colleges, ordered by how well each one fits and how big a stretch it is.
What you get for each course
- Why it fits, written against what you actually said you enjoy - not a subject-name match.
- What you'd study, so you can tell two similarly named degrees apart before you shortlist either.
- The typical offer, and how big a stretch the course is for your grades. Over 9 in 10 courses carry UCAS Tariff points, which is what makes that comparison like-for-like.
- Subject league position for the courses that publish one, plus placement-year and year-abroad flags.
- A link into the full course page, and one-click add to the shortlist you'll take into the Shortlist Optimiser.
Safe, match and ambitious
Enter predicted grades and your matches are grouped into safe, comfortably-within-reach options, courses in line with your grades, and genuine stretches - so ten results are a usable spread rather than ten equally unlikely reaches. Run it on interests alone and you still get matches; they simply aren't graded for reach until there are grades to compare them against.
Built for IB as well as A-levels
IB grades go in as IB - your predicted total out of 45 and your HL and SL subject grades, not an A-level equivalent somebody has converted for you. BTEC and SAT/AP work the same way. You enter your grades once and all three UCAS tools reuse them.
What it will not do
It doesn't apply on your behalf, and it isn't the UCAS search box - it's a recommender, so it earns its keep when you don't already know what to type. It's capped at three runs an hour to keep it free for everyone, and it's a starting point for your own research rather than a ranking to submit unchecked.
Plan the rest of your application
- IB Points Calculator - free, no account needed: work out your score out of 45 and your UCAS Tariff points before you match courses.
- Shortlist Optimiser - free with an account: turn your matches into five risk-balanced UCAS choices.
- Personal Statement Review - question-by-question feedback tied to the courses you're applying to.
- UK Course Directory - search and filter more than 30,000 UK undergraduate courses yourself.
- UK Universities - 343 universities and colleges, with rankings, regions and the degrees they offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Course Recommender free?
Yes. The Course Recommender and the Shortlist Optimiser are free - you just create a free account to see your results. No card. The Statement Review comes with free reviews on a new account - each run uses one - and you can buy more if you need them.
I have no idea what to study. Can it still help?
That's exactly who it's for. Describe your interests in plain English - even vaguely - and it finds real UK degree courses that fit, from safe options to ambitious stretches.
Does it work for IB students?
Yes. It's IB-native: enter your predicted total and HL/SL grades directly, not just A-level equivalents. It works for A-levels too.
How many courses does it search?
More than 30,000 UK undergraduate courses across 343 universities and colleges, so it can surface options you'd never think to search for by name.
Do I need my final grades, or are predicted grades enough?
Predicted grades are enough - just enter them alongside your interests. There's no need to wait for results day to start building your list.
How does it decide which courses are safe and which are ambitious?
Where a course lists its requirements, your grades are converted to UCAS tariff points to compare like for like, and over 90% of courses carry those points. That lets it group real matches from safe options to ambitious stretches.