The more prestigious the institution, the more independent you need to be. Your lecturers will have better things to do than play nursemaid, writes Paul Bray at the Telegraph.

“You can expect less support from the ‘better’ universities, who expect more from their students,” says Philip Davies, assistant director of higher education at Bournemouth and Poole College.

“Paradoxically, you often get more support and lecturer time as you go down the league table, and the best support is probably found in further education colleges that run degrees, because they specialise in helping less academically minded students.”

“You’re very much expected to organise your own life and manage your own work,” says Rosie Weatherley, president of Keele University Students’ Union, who herself graduated in 2010. “No one will come after you if you don’t hand work in, and the only person who’ll lose out is you.”

The quality of teaching can vary within the same institution, adds Weatherley. Some lecturers are really committed to teaching and their students; others seem to save their enthusiasm for private research.

There’s also a lot of self-study outside lectures and seminars, which takes commitment, dedication, focus and good time management, says Jayson Short, student advice, employability and careers service manager at London South Bank University.

Don’t expect uni to be a part-time occupation, either. Your timetable may appear to have relaxingly large gaps, but fill these with the required amount of private study – which usually exceeds the time spent in lectures and classes – and you’ll probably be working around 30 hours a week. That’s almost equivalent to a full-time job.

“You’re a group of adults who treat each other with mutual respect,” says Weatherley. “There’s also a tacit understanding that it’s not just down to the lecturer to tell you stuff, and that everyone has to contribute.”