Listening for ielts 7 Unit 1

Unit 6
: Listening Activity No. 11 
Every year thousands of young people want to study in Great Britain. They come from a range of 
backgrounds and have varying expectations of what their study in the country will be like and how to 
apply to the university. Today I'd like to talk on universities and colleges in Britain. There are 45 
universities, 30 polytechnics and about 1,000 major technical, commercial, education and art colleges in 
the UK. In l1)73-1 974 there were over 251,200 full-time students in universities, of whom almost 10% 
were from overseas, a total of nearly 276,350 students attending full-time courses in establishments of 
further education, and about 130, 270 in colleges of education. 
University first degree courses in arts and sciences are normally of three or four years duration and, 
with very few exceptions, students are not admitted for any shorter period of study. The academic year 
normally extends from October to June and is divided into three terms. Information about courses and 
entrance requirements should be obtained by writing direct to the university at least twelve months 
before the proposed date of admission. All applications for admission are dealt with by the Universities 
Central Council on Admissions (the UCCA) to which all candidates seeking admission to a full-time 
internal first degree course or a first diploma course of more than one year's duration must apply. Full 
details of the admission procedure are to be found in the UCCA handbook 
How to Apply for Admission to 
a University
. A copy of this handbook and the standard application form should be obtained from the 
UCCA at PO Box 28, Cheltenham, and Gloucestershire GL501HY. The application form must be returned 
to the UCCA by a stated closing date, usually in December (October for Oxford and Cambridge). The 
UCCA will continue to send application forms to universities for consideration at their discretion for a 
limited period after 15 December, but candidates are strongly advised to ensure that their application 

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