How do you best prepare for university?

So you’ve got your eye on a university place -maybe it’s your dream course, maybe it’s a specific city, maybe it’s just “the” university that everyone in your family talks about. Whatever it is, you already know that getting there takes more than good grades. Universities are looking for something else too: evidence that you’re ready,- ready to think independently, communicate confidently, and thrive in a new environment.

A summer spent studying English abroad can give you more of that evidence than you might expect. Here’s how – and what else you can do alongside it.

Even if you’re not applying to a university in the UK, English is the language of international education. It’s the language most academic papers are written in. It’s what professors use at conferences. It is how students from different countries communicate with each other in shared labs and lecture halls.

Many universities – including highly ranked ones across Europe, North America, and beyond – now require a formal English qualification as part of your application. Common ones include:

IELTS – accepted almost everywhere, including UK universities
Cambridge B2 First or C1 Advanced -highly respected across Europe
TOEFL -widely used for US and Canadian applications
Duolingo English Test -increasingly accepted as a modern alternative

A summer English course won’t replace these qualifications, but it will prepare you for them in the most effective way possible: by pushing you to actually *use* English – in class, out on excursions, over dinner with your host family, and in conversations with students from completely different countries. That real-world practice is what moves your score from a B1 to a B2, or a B2 to a C1. It’s also what gives you the confidence to perform well on test day, rather than freezing up.

Your personal statement: don’t waste it

If you’re applying to a UK university through UCAS, your personal statement is one of the most important things you’ll write before you’re 18. Five hundred words (roughly) to explain why you deserve a place on your chosen course.

Most students write about what they’ve studied. The stronger ones write about what they’ve “experienced” and what they learned from it.

“I spent three weeks studying in Exeter, living with a British family and sharing classes with students from twelve different countries. I realised that being able to communicate across cultural differences wasn’t just a nice skill – it was essential to the kind of work I want to do.”

That’s a sentence with weight. It’s specific, it’s personal, and it shows maturity. Admissions tutors read thousands of personal statements. They notice the ones that feel real.

Six other things you can do to strengthen your university application

A summer English course is one piece of the puzzle. Here’s what else makes a difference:

1. Read widely in English – and in your subject
If you want to study medicine, read articles about medical ethics. Interested in architecture? Follow architects on social media and read about their projects in English. Universities want to see that your interest goes beyond the classroom. Even twenty minutes a day makes a real difference over six months.

2. Get some work experience or volunteering
It doesn’t have to be glamorous. A few weeks helping at a local organisation, shadowing someone in a relevant field, or volunteering with younger students all demonstrate initiative and real-world awareness. For competitive courses – law, medicine, veterinary science -this is often essential, not optional.

3. Practise being interviewed*
Many universities interview applicants, especially for competitive courses. If you’ve spent a summer holding conversations in a second language with people you’ve just met, you’re already better prepared than most. But go further: ask a teacher, a parent, or a friend to give you a practice interview. The more you’ve done it before the real thing, the calmer you’ll feel.

4. Build something you can point to
A project, a blog, a piece of research, something you’ve organised. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to show that you do things, not just attend things. If you love languages, start a short YouTube channel in English. If you’re into science, enter a competition. Anything that gives you a story to tell.

5. Learn how to write a strong argument
University essays aren’t like school essays. They expect you to take a position and defend it with evidence. Start practising now – in English if you can. Write short pieces on topics that interest you, then read them back and ask yourself: “would someone who disagrees with me find this persuasive?” That habit of thinking is exactly what universities are trying to develop in their students.

6. Show that you know yourself
This sounds vague, but it matters. The students who get interviews and offers are often the ones who can explain clearly “why” they want to study this subject, “why” at this university, and “what” they plan to do with it. You don’t need to have your whole life planned. But you do need to have thought about it -and be able to talk about it without sounding like you’ve memorised a script.

The summer that changes things

I’ve been running Isca for a long time now, and I’ve watched hundreds of students arrive nervous on a Sunday evening and leave three or four weeks later noticeably different. More confident. More articulate. More comfortable in their own skin.

Some of them have come back to tell me they got their university place. A few have mentioned it in their personal statements. More than a few have said that the summer they spent in Exeter – learning English, making friends from across the world, living independently for the first time – was the summer everything started to feel possible.

That’s not marketing. That’s just what happens when you push yourself somewhere new.

If you’re coming to Isca this summer, come with that in mind. Use every conversation. Ask questions. Make friends with people who don’t speak your language. Get a little lost and find your way back. The English you improve here matters – but so does the version of yourself you take home.

*Isca School of English has been welcoming teenagers to Exeter since 1966. We offer English language courses for students aged 14–17, with small classes, carefully selected homestay families, and a full programme of activities and excursions.