For parents and guardians

Start with the money and the odds

Most sites in this space are paid a commission by the college your child enrols at, so there are things they will never tell you. These are those things. Read them first. The course shortlist makes a lot more sense afterwards.

What it will actually costPublic universities admit through two channels, and only one is subsidised. The same degree at the same university can cost several times more depending on which one takes your child.What graduates in that field really doEmployment, further study and skills upgrading by field and by qualification level, from the Ministry of Higher Education's own tracer study of 304,466 graduates.Why you should believe any of thisHow a recommendation is scored, where every figure comes from, what we can't tell you, and how we're funded.

Already have your child's plan?

If they've made a plan, they can share a link to it. Paste it here to open their report: the merit bands, the risks and what we'd change about their choices.

Or start one on their behalf

You can build a plan yourself if you have their results to hand. Worth agreeing with them first. It's their application; anything recorded here should be something they can see and change.

Build a plan

Parent survey

What it's really like to guide a child through this decision: the costs, deadlines and advice you couldn't verify.

Take the survey About 19 minutes