Universities
Oxford, Cambridge and Europe's leading universities
We help your child win a place at the best university for them, in Britain or across Europe. Most families choose degrees taught in English, and for students who speak French or another European language, we advise on those options too.
Oxford and Cambridge
Course and college choice, admissions tests, written work and interviews, planned well ahead of the October deadline.
London's leading universities
Imperial College London, LSE, UCL and King's College London: world-class teaching in one of the world's great cities.
Britain's most selective universities
St Andrews, Edinburgh, Durham and Warwick, along with Bristol, Manchester and other leading Russell Group universities.
English-speaking and in the EU
Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, plus RCSI for medicine: a close, popular alternative to the UK.
Europe's widest choice in English
The University of Amsterdam, Leiden, Erasmus Rotterdam, TU Delft and Maastricht, with hundreds of English-taught bachelor's degrees.
Paris's grandes écoles
France's most selective institutions: Sciences Po, École Polytechnique, ESSEC, ESCP and HEC Paris, with programmes in English or in French for students who speak it.
Business, economics and management
Bocconi in Milan, and IE University and ESADE in Madrid and Barcelona, all with fully English-taught degrees.
Elite master's and hospitality
ETH Zurich, EPFL, St. Gallen and the Geneva Graduate Institute, in English, French or German depending on the course, and EHL, Glion and Les Roches for hospitality management.
Medicine
Medicine in the UK and Ireland, and established English-taught medical degrees in Central Europe for strong science students.
Timeline
When to start
The strongest applications are built over two years, not two months.
- Age 15
Foundations
Subject and qualification choices that keep the best options open. Wider reading begins.
- Age 16
Direction
Course and university shortlist, super-curricular projects, summer programmes.
- Age 17, summer
Preparation
Personal statement, admissions-test preparation and final shortlist.
- October
Early deadline
Applications for Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary science.
- Winter to spring
Interviews and offers
Interview practice, then offers, decisions and planning the move.
Europe
Why look beyond the UK?
Many of Europe's best universities now teach full degrees in English, and for students who speak French, German or another European language, even more doors open. For the right student, they can be an outstanding choice alongside, or instead of, the UK.
- World-class, English-taught degrees in fields from economics and politics to engineering, business, hospitality and medicine
- Often lower tuition fees than in the UK or the United States
- An international life: languages, networks and options to live and work across Europe
How we prepare students for the most competitive places
- Early planning from age 15: subject and qualification choices that keep the best options open
- Course and college strategy: the right course and, for Oxford and Cambridge, the right college
- A strong academic profile: the reading, research, competitions and summer programmes that show real intellectual interest
- Tests and interviews: a preparation plan for any admissions test, and realistic mock interviews
Soar Higher is an independent advisory. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any of the universities named on this website, and admission decisions rest with each university.
Start with a confidential conversation
A complimentary introductory call with both advisors, about your child and your family's goals.