Durham PPE or HKU Econ&Fin

Hi I know that this forum is mainly for universities in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand but I'm wondering if you have any advice. Basically I got an offer through clearing to do PPE at Durham and I have an offer from the University of Hong Kong to do econ&fin which place is better?

Thanks

Reply 1

iwilson03

No idea but well done getting in to do PPE at Durham via clearing!!!

Reply 2

roughy_ruff

My 2 cents:

If I were you, I would choose HKU's Econ&Fin over Durham PPE, I am assuming that you are intending to embark a career in the Business/ Financial Sector in Asia. Yes, it may take a longer time to complete a degree as compared to the typical UK degree. At least, you are enrolled into one of HK's top, finest and oldest institutions for tertiary education. I am not implying Durham isn't a good school, but it's just not the best in the country.

After HKU then move on to a more reputable UK universities (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL )for Postgraduate in MSc Finance/Economics related courses.

PS: If you have no interest in politics at all and you're more of mathsy person, I wouldn't suggest you doing the PPE at all. Bear in mind that you're not merely required to work your core text books, but you'll be going to get a large set of related articles to read on.

Reply 3

River85

iwilson03

No idea but well done getting in to do PPE at Durham via clearing!!!

The OP is from Hong Kong so it's not clearing for domestic students and is a different ball game. I don't think any Durham courses were in clearing this year and there are usually very few (and those that are tend to be Queens Campus courses). There's never any chance of PPE being in there.

roughy_ruff

I am not implying Durham isn't a good school, but it's just not the best in the country.

Is that a vaild reason not to go somewhere? So are UCL, Warwick or the other top mutli-faculty universities not worth going to?

Durham's not "the best in the country" but after Oxford and Cambridge the difference between UCL, Durham, Warwick and a good few others is negligible. I ignore LSE because it's a specialist institution and even harder to compare (although Durham and a number of other unis can still rival it across most departments).

In terms of business schools or finance programs specifically then, although Durham's good, it not as strong as LSE and Warwick. But doing a degree and the postgrad in a foreign country (with international fees) is very expensive indeed and not always a viable option.

I'm afriad I don't know enough about the University of Hong Kong to really give any feedback.

Durham's PPE course is probably the strongest in the country after Oxford and York. Warwick will rival it but what I do fear is that Durham's PPE course isn't as cohesive as York's and Warwick's. The politics department isn't famed for its organisation although on the whole I've still thoroughly enjoyed the content even if the teaching hasn't been as consistantly high as most of Durham's degrees.

Why do are you thinking of studying abroad? What appeals to you about Durham and the PPE program in particular (as Econ and Finance is quite different to PPE).

Reply 4

iwilson03

River85

Fair enough, still the OP has done well to get onto two good courses. And I agree with the other stuff you said about Durham and Warwick etc. they may not be the best in the country but the UK is renowned for its good universities so I'm sure they can rival or better many of the top unis in other countries.
OP --- From what I have heard Durham is a great university and is probably very different to a big city university such as Hong Kong so that may be worth consideration.
Anyway I'm biased because I am applying there next year but just do some research of your own particularly into living arrangements etc.

Reply 5

username153949

I assume you are wanting to travel back to HK and work there? If so i would strongly recommend you to accept HKU's offer and stay in HK.

For one, durham is a good university, but it is not that good. Most people in HK would have only heard of universities like Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial... Durham,not so much... Whereas HKU, everybody would have heard of it in HK, as it is the top university there

Some people would mention rankings, (so i might as well mention it now) according to the times Durham is ranked 122 in the world, compared to HKU which is ranked 26; now a lot of people will tell you ranking tables means nothing, but in fact they do mean that a university is generally better precieved by employers and students alike, as times is based heavily on peer and employer's review.

Secondly if you want to work in HK, study in HK, as you'll be able to build up your contacts during your university years, and will be able to find your way to the top easier later on

Reply 6

ILIGAN

Wait, UCL does not have the cachet that LSE has in Hong Kong. UCL is respected only on certain areas. But it does not have the prestige that LSE has, let alone Oxbridge. I would even say that Warwick has a better branding in the business and finance sectors due to Warwick's strong and renowned business school. It has a good representation in the banking and finance sectors in many parts of Asia and Europe. I know this because I keep coming back and forth to HK --it's where our company headquarter is. In fact, I was just there a couple of days ago. So, I think I know what I speak of.

OP, Durham is an excellent university and is considered one of the top elite institutions of higher learning in the UK and Europe. But if you're going to major in business or finance, Durham isn't the best place for those courses.

If you would eventually go back to HK and continue your career there as a banker or finance analyst, etc... a degree from UofHK would probably serve you that better. Therefore, I suggest that you stick with U of HK and just try to do well academically. Anyway, the vast, vast majority of U of HK graduates leave HK to do postgrad studies abroad. Heck, I've met people in Stanford when I was doing my undergrad there who were from UofHK and they're doing quite well academically, though many of them stayed in the US after graduation.

Analyze what you envisioned for yourself after you'll graduate, such as where you would want to work and what kind of work would you really want to do, etc... and decide based on that. But take note that the experiences that you will gain from studying overseas would be worthwhile and irreplaceable. The academic life that you will have in Durham as an undergrad student would most likely going to be fun and worthwhile. That might something you want to look into when deciding on this problem, because as an incoming undergrad student, studying overseas would be truly worthwhile and the memories you would have would last forever.