10 reasons to study in London and the South-east

In the South you get an amazing choice - new and ancient universities and some of the top art colleges in the country, says Hilary Wilce

Top names: Oxford and Cambridge remain famous round the world for academic excellence, although too large a proportion of students still come from private schools. Dreaming spires and drifting punts also mean hoards of tourists. The towns are long on history, but short on night life, but London is nearby.

Top London colleges: Imperial for science, engineering, mining and the largest medical school in the country; King's for medicine, law, geography, history and engineering; University College for a wide range of subjects, from history to pharmacology; London School of Economics for finance and accounting, economics and international relations; the School of Oriental and African Studies for all things Oriental and African.

Top London arts institutions: three great music colleges – the Royal Academy , the Royal College and Trinity College – offer every conceivable music specialism; the London Institute brings together five top art and design colleges; drama schools like the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Central School of Speech and Drama.

Top for access: London universities such as Westminster, Middlesex, Greenwich, City, and Kingston University, do a lot to encourage mature students, overseas students, and those from ethnic minorities. Practical courses in areas like media, communications, computing and business often mean good job prospects afterwards.

Top student destination: London. Students who study in the capital usually say they wouldn't be anywhere else. The cost of living is high, but the lifestyle terrific. Clubs, gigs, theatre and film abound. The shopping is great, and there is plenty of free entertainment in the streets, parks, and museums. Students often live a long way from the centre, but even distant parts of London have their own atmosphere.

Top campus: with funky Brighton just down the road and the unspoilt South Downs behind it, Sussex University's Sixties campus is still said to be one of the best in the country. The university's inter-disciplinary courses are exciting, it keeps strong links with the USA, and student life is lively.

Top international venue: the University of Kent at Canterbury looks to Europe, with a strong language component in its courses, and plenty of overseas students. The campus is on a hill above the edge of the ancient town dominated by the cathedral. In the town, Christ Church is one of the country's leading education colleges.

Top "new" university: Oxford Brookes, just outside Oxford, is a former polytechnic which has pioneered modular degrees and allows students to combine vocational and academic studies.

Top for writers: the University of East Anglia is famous for its creative writing school, which is now headed by the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion. It's also known for American and environmental studies. Its campus is just outside Norwich, which is far enough from London to have a reasonable nightlife.

Top for the great outdoors: London's Royal Veterinary College, in Camden and Hertfordshire, is the country's largest vet school. Imperial College's Department of Agricultural Science, at Wye, in Kent, offers a range of agricultural and environmental specialisms, including courses on horses, and others on the food industry.