Taking a gap year can give you the real-world experience you need before settling down into work or study. A gap year well spent will give you the freedom to develop your subject area, travel and earn a bit of cash along the way too.

The National Student Survey (NSS) is aimed mostly at final year students and seeks to gather opinions about their course, institution and overall experience. It's meant to monitor the quality of universities across the country and identify those areas which require improvement.