Prepare for Success

Highlights

Prepare for Success was created by eLanguages in 2008 and developed until 2019. The website had over two million visitors from over 200 different countries.

Please note: The Prepare for Success website is no longer being maintained, but the interactive learning resources are all still available

Prepare for Success is a free resource for international students, primarily those who have an IELTS level between 5.5 and 7.5 and are planning to study at any university or college in the UK, with the aim of helping them to prepare for study in the UK before they arrive. By engaging with the interactive learning resources, students discover what British academic culture is like in colleges and universities and what kind of academic skills they will need for effective study. As well as preparing international students for what to expect when they begin their studies, the resource also provides scope for language improvement.

The Prepare for Success resource set can also be used by receiving institutions in the UK, or institutions overseas, to enhance a receiving institution's pre-arrival support package for its international students or as part of a post-arrival induction course. International students can be directed to the resource via a link on an institutional website. The website is suitable for self-access use by students, or activities can be incorporated into a tutored, VLE-based course and delivered to students. Sending institutions can also use the resource to teach students.

What are the main features of the Prepare for Success website?

A web-based resource of 23 interactive units of learning about academic life in the UK
18+ hours of activity-based interactive learning for international students
A choice of study pathways through the resources by skill or topic
Interactive FAQs webpage providing simple answers to frequently asked questions about study in the UK
Versatile in how it can be delivered to students by institutions
Includes information page for teachers and institutions
An interactive FAQs page for international students preparing for study at a UK Further Education College
A blog providing more information and resources, and which responds to students' queries (currently unavailable)

Visit Prepare for Success now!

Background information

The development of Prepare for Success, which took place over nine phases between 2008 and 2019, was funded by the Prime Minister's Initiative through the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). The Prepare for Success website achieved half a million visits in July 2012 and this was reported by the PIE News. On 4th November 2014 the website received its millionth visit, and on Friday 15th September 2017 the two millionth visitor accessed the site.

The final report for the PMI projects in which Prepare for Success is featured, PMI Student Experience Achievements 2006-2011, can be found here: UKCISA Publications and Reports. You can now see the history of the development of Prepare for Success on our project timeline. We also presented a Prepare for Success poster at the British Council GoingGlobal4 Conference on Internationalising Higher Education on 25th March 2010.