I understand that the quality of the mathematics department and course at Warwick is higher than that of UCL, but despite that I have talked myself into making UCL my firm for the reasons outlined below. I would appreciate if you could point out flaws in my thinking or just show me the other point of view which I am not seeing, thanks.
- I have noticed that UCL has raised its offer to A*AA and after talking to the admissions tutor there on the Introductory day, I have learnt that the maths department has undergone recent expansion and that they are being much more selective with offers this year due to too many students enrolling last year. The A* offer suggests to me that the quality of students on the course will be high because less confident/able students will be deterred from applying or fail to meet the offer. That, combined with the expansion gives me the impression that the department is on the rise, so I am not too worried about the reputation of the course in the future.
- Looking at Warwick, its maths department is world class, huge compared to UCL's three floors and receives more funding and higher ratings from employers. However, the small size of the maths department at UCL doesn't bother me and the tutors there are really friendly and from what I've read, the quality of teaching and access to help when needed is good.
- The course at Warwick is more flexible but very difficult. The quality of the course is not a major factor in my decision. I think I've got a much higher chance of getting a 1st from UCL then I have from Warwick. At Warwick you are constantly assessed whereas at UCL you only have exams at the end of the year, and since I don't want to be a 'proper' mathematician, I'm not up for the constant pressure at Warwick. I would definitely have more free time at UCL, which is important to me.
- In terms of lifestyle, its subjective, but for me UCL is by far better in this aspect of my decision. Its during the olympics and build up to the olympics (where I could get a job), in a great part of London (Subway and Pizza Hut nearby), and it has a really good atmosphere and plenty of things for students to do. It would be hard to sacrifice all this to get the
best possible career/graduate prospects when prospects at UCL are really good anyway.
But I do have some questions:
- How difficult is it to get accomodation in London, which I need to get from the 2nd year onwards? Also, what are (roughly) the range of prices people pay for it and is it often very far from campus? Finally, Is lots of help provided for accomodation?
Thanks if you bothered to read, all help is appreciated.