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Royal holloway or Kent or Reading for a maths course??

hi guys, im struggling to decide which uni is best to go out of the 3 unis (royal holloway, reading, kent) i have offers from all 3.
in terms of ranking they are similar i thnk.
so what else should i consider? campus? graduate prospects?
please help! :confused:

thanks for your time guys!
Reply 1
I go to school in Canterbury and Kent Uni has quite a nice campus with very good facilities, not that I know a great deal about the maths course specifically. Canterbury is also quite a good city area but it's worth bearing in mind that transport wise, it isn't brilliant and with at least 5 schools around the city centre there are always school children EVERYWHERE and it's not very nice! Royal Holloway is my top choice and it's clearly the opposite town wise but I would assume that out of the three, Royal Holloway would be the best. On my Physics visit day I met a girl who was applying for Phys&Maths and she said the maths dept was amazing.
The Maths department at Royal Holloway IS amazing.
If you're planning on taking a year out at Kent to work in industry then that will benefit you immensely. If not, then RH has just as good a maths department. Some might even say it has a better one.
Reply 4
Original post by wanderlust.xx
If you're planning on taking a year out at Kent to work in industry then that will benefit you immensely. If not, then RH has just as good a maths department. Some might even say it has a better one.


Im not planning to have a year out but, which unis would have better reputation? which one will attract employers more? at the end of the day is employment matters the most.
Reply 5
Original post by jhtachyons
I go to school in Canterbury and Kent Uni has quite a nice campus with very good facilities, not that I know a great deal about the maths course specifically. Canterbury is also quite a good city area but it's worth bearing in mind that transport wise, it isn't brilliant and with at least 5 schools around the city centre there are always school children EVERYWHERE and it's not very nice! Royal Holloway is my top choice and it's clearly the opposite town wise but I would assume that out of the three, Royal Holloway would be the best. On my Physics visit day I met a girl who was applying for Phys&Maths and she said the maths dept was amazing.


tbh i dont quite like school kids :P i find them horrible and annoying :s-smilie:
but it doesnt bother me too much.
would you say kent has a better facilities than royal holloway as u have been to both?

and also i try to refer to uni rankings for a bit more guidance, but dont kno which one are more liable eg guardian? complete uni guide?
Original post by nine2eight
Im not planning to have a year out but, which unis would have better reputation? which one will attract employers more? at the end of the day is employment matters the most.


Wrt employment there really isn't much of a difference. I'd say base your decision on what type of a person you are. If you prefer small, close knit places then go for royal holloway; the maths department is great and you can really get to know your professors personally. I know I have.
Reply 7
Original post by wanderlust.xx
Wrt employment there really isn't much of a difference. I'd say base your decision on what type of a person you are. If you prefer small, close knit places then go for royal holloway; the maths department is great and you can really get to know your professors personally. I know I have.


thank you! i quite like the campus of rhul, havent been to kent yet so cant compare the two.
what about reading and brunel? are they any good?
Original post by nine2eight
thank you! i quite like the campus of rhul, havent been to kent yet so cant compare the two.
what about reading and brunel? are they any good?


What's your offer from Royal Holloway if you don't mind me asking? :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by rainbow_kisses
What's your offer from Royal Holloway if you don't mind me asking? :smile:


unconditonal. you applied to rhul too?? what are ur choices?
I would say Royal Holloway and Kent are decent. Definitely not Reading.
I know someone who got a 2:1 from Reading. That person lack any independent learning ability whatsoever and complained about unseen maths questions in coursework! According to him, they were spoon-fed everything at Reading. He goes to lecture everyday, expecting the lecturers to cover the whole course. I hope he is the exceptional case. He spends 90% of his time complaining about how unfair it is that we haven't been taught every questions. :eek:

A degree in mathematics should teach you problem-solving. :redface:
Original post by nine2eight
thank you! i quite like the campus of rhul, havent been to kent yet so cant compare the two.
what about reading and brunel? are they any good?


Brunel is crap. It is worse than Reading. Know a couple of people from Brunel. He said the lecturer gave them questions that resemble the exam paper. Official figure for graduate in education / employment after 6 months is 53% only. Among that 52%, only half of them got jobs (according to friends from Brunel).

For reputation and teaching quality:
Royal Holloway = Kent > Reading > Brunel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2011/may/17/university-guide-mathematics
Original post by fastswift
Brunel is crap. It is worse than Reading. Know a couple of people from Brunel. He said the lecturer gave them questions that resemble the exam paper. Official figure for graduate in education / employment after 6 months is 53% only. Among that 52%, only half of them got jobs (according to friends from Brunel).

For reputation and teaching quality:
Royal Holloway = Kent > Reading > Brunel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2011/may/17/university-guide-mathematics


The Kent employability space is blank.

I guess none of their graduates go on to get jobs. Not surprising, it's a bit crap.

The fact that you think Kent is on par with Royal Holloway or 'considerably better' than Reading and Brunel is quite laughable, really.
Original post by YourekindofSlow
The Kent employability space is blank.

I guess none of their graduates go on to get jobs. Not surprising, it's a bit crap.

The fact that you think Kent is on par with Royal Holloway or 'considerably better' than Reading and Brunel is quite laughable, really.


What are you talking about? Their actuarial links are incredible, and a heck of a lot of mathematicians go on to great jobs in industry. Their programme and their lecturers are reputable enough.

Brunel and Reading I'd have second thoughts about, since graduate employability seems hit and miss, mostly.
Reply 14
Original post by fastswift
I would say Royal Holloway and Kent are decent. Definitely not Reading.
I know someone who got a 2:1 from Reading. That person lack any independent learning ability whatsoever and complained about unseen maths questions in coursework! According to him, they were spoon-fed everything at Reading. He goes to lecture everyday, expecting the lecturers to cover the whole course. I hope he is the exceptional case. He spends 90% of his time complaining about how unfair it is that we haven't been taught every questions. :eek:

A degree in mathematics should teach you problem-solving. :redface:


I've heard pure mathematics at Reading has gone downhill. Sad as it used to involve Richard Rado.
Original post by Raiden10
I've heard pure mathematics at Reading has gone downhill. Sad as it used to involve Richard Rado.


Original post by wanderlust.xx
What are you talking about? Their actuarial links are incredible, and a heck of a lot of mathematicians go on to great jobs in industry. Their programme and their lecturers are reputable enough.

Brunel and Reading I'd have second thoughts about, since graduate employability seems hit and miss, mostly.


Reading has gone downhill for Maths and Physics. It is sad because it used to be one of the top universities.

As a Kent graduate, I can say that mathematicians and actuarial students get great jobs. Many of my classmates are earning >25k in the City.
The Reading graduate I know who got a 2:1 was earning 15k as a data analyst in a small company.
I heard that at Reading, if you submit a coursework late, you can still get marks for it (a 50% 'discount' probably) and you can negotiate with the lecturers on it. They are given solutions for exam paper. But at Kent, they are very strict. They would only help you to look at your solution for most modules. No marks is given if you submit it late.
It is easy to give out solutions for lecturers. But students cannot learn any problem-solving skills. They can easily learn the answer and do well in exam without knowing the theory behind.
Original post by fastswift
Reading has gone downhill for Maths and Physics. It is sad because it used to be one of the top universities.

As a Kent graduate, I can say that mathematicians and actuarial students get great jobs. Many of my classmates are earning >25k in the City.
The Reading graduate I know who got a 2:1 was earning 15k as a data analyst in a small company.
I heard that at Reading, if you submit a coursework late, you can still get marks for it (a 50% 'discount' probably) and you can negotiate with the lecturers on it. They are given solutions for exam paper. But at Kent, they are very strict. They would only help you to look at your solution for most modules. No marks is given if you submit it late.
It is easy to give out solutions for lecturers. But students cannot learn any problem-solving skills. They can easily learn the answer and do well in exam without knowing the theory behind.


I didn't realise that Reading has gone so bad for Maths, I heard it was quite good. Do you have any insight on the Economics department of the university?
I'd pick Rhul

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