Aston Vs. King's College London...

AmyR123

I have received conditional offers from
Aston- English Language
King's college london- English Language and Communication

After a discussion with a family relative earlier on in the week, he said to me King's would be better going to because it's a very good/reputable university
Initially, I was going to choose Aston for its placement year which hardly any other unis offer for English.

overall...would employers value placement year or a better uni in london more?

I'm so confused...I don't know what to choose anymore :frown:

Help appreciated :smile:

Thanks

~~Kings~~, but if you read sometimes on the news they have mentioned how employers are looking for graduates with experience... which then i think Aston would be better check the job prospects for both if I were you,.

Reply 21

AmyR123

OP

6

analk

~~Kings~~, but if you read sometimes on the news they have mentioned how employers are looking for graduates with experience... which then i think Aston would be better check the job prospects for both if I were you,.

According to the timesonline
Kings - is number 9 out of a list of 20 for high graduate employment
with 84.4%

Aston- number 14- 81.4 %

Reply 22

analk

10

AmyR123

According to the timesonline
Kings - is number 9 out of a list of 20 for high graduate employment
with 84.4%

Aston- number 14- 81.4 %

IF I were still in your situation then from those stats I probably would go with KINGS at least you will have a renowned degree from a university in London.

Reply 23

Sambo2

10

AmyR123

I have received conditional offers from
Aston- English Language
King's college london- English Language and Communication

After a discussion with a family relative earlier on in the week, he said to me King's would be better going to because it's a very good/reputable university
Initially, I was going to choose Aston for its placement year which hardly any other unis offer for English.

overall...would employers value placement year or a better uni in london more?

I'm so confused...I don't know what to choose anymore :frown:

Help appreciated :smile:

Thanks

gotta be KCL - better reputation by far

Reply 24

Sambo2

10

AmyR123

According to the timesonline
Kings - is number 9 out of a list of 20 for high graduate employment
with 84.4%

Aston- number 14- 81.4 %

gotta be carefull with those stats though..

Reply 25

littleshambles

14

what is the nature of this "placement"?

Reply 26

AmyR123

OP

6

littleshambles

what is the nature of this "placement"?

http://www1.aston.ac.uk/eas/placement-year/

Reply 27

crazyappleie

kings!!! well done on the offer :smile:

Reply 28

littleshambles

14

AmyR123

http://www1.aston.ac.uk/eas/placement-year/

That's for the Engineering department, not the English department?

You mean http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lss/undergraduate/year-abroad-placements/non-language/ I presume

Well it's very vague but I'd ask what kind of placements you can get before deciding. If you can get a placement, say, at a publisher's or a newspaper or something it could be very valuable and I would seriously consider it. Equally if you wanted to go abroad and would be given language tuition to do so I would consider that too.

Edit: However it seems you have to apply for a placement and it is not always certain you will get one or the one you want, so I'd take that risk into account as well, which would lean me personally more towards King's.

Reply 29

AmyR123

OP

6

crazyappleie

kings!!! well done on the offer :smile:

thank you

good luck for your offer :smile:

Reply 30

AmyR123

OP

6

littleshambles

That's for the Engineering department, not the English department?

You mean http://www1.aston.ac.uk/lss/undergraduate/year-abroad-placements/non-language/ I presume

Well it's very vague but I'd ask what kind of placements you can get before deciding. If you can get a placement, say, at a publisher's or a newspaper or something it could be very valuable and I would seriously consider it. Equally if you wanted to go abroad and would be given language tuition to do so I would consider that too.

Edit: However it seems you have to apply for a placement and it is not always certain you will get one or the one you want, so I'd take that risk into account as well, which would lean me personally more towards King's.

Oops ...that's the one I meant lol.
Thanks, I understand where you're coming from I shall look into it more :smile:

Reply 31

crazyappleie

AmyR123

thank you

good luck for your offer :smile:

thanks, the wait is so crappy! i wish they'd hurry up, hmm must stay cool :cool:

Reply 32

addtoexisting

Kings College London!!!!!

Reply 33

gillipies

12

Aston :-p slightly biased though!

I think I've replied to one of your thread before but definitely go where you feel most comfortable... don't just go somewhere because other's want you to go there or for prestige etc.

Make sure you go to both of the open days, including subject specific ones if you get offered them, ask lots of questions and decide which one you feel suits you more and ticks the boxes of what you want to get from the degree/experience.

As for the placement year, I'm on mine at the moment for English and to be honest there's no boundaries whatsoever to what kind of placement you can do for English at Aston. I'm doing market research (and also applied for PR and marketing placements), some other people I know are teaching in South Korea for the year, working for charities, working for newspapers/publishers and others in more business focussed roles.

Personally I think a placement year is very valuable experience but if it's not for you then it's not for you.

Reply 34

AmyR123

OP

6

The main question is...which would be more valuable to an employer?
Showing you have experience
or
Showing you've come from a really good university

Hmmmmm

Reply 35

AmyR123

OP

6

gillipies

Aston :-p slightly biased though!

I think I've replied to one of your thread before but definitely go where you feel most comfortable... don't just go somewhere because other's want you to go there or for prestige etc.

Make sure you go to both of the open days, including subject specific ones if you get offered them, ask lots of questions and decide which one you feel suits you more and ticks the boxes of what you want to get from the degree/experience.

As for the placement year, I'm on mine at the moment for English and to be honest there's no boundaries whatsoever to what kind of placement you can do for English at Aston. I'm doing market research (and also applied for PR and marketing placements), some other people I know are teaching in South Korea for the year, working for charities, working for newspapers/publishers and others in more business focussed roles.

Personally I think a placement year is very valuable experience but if it's not for you then it's not for you.

Thank you ....that was very helpful.
Tbh my main concern is which is more beneficial to me/which would employers find more valuable

Previous experience or a top university?

:smile:

Reply 36

redsockspugie

I got my offer for that course on Wednesday too. BBB. :smile:

I'm currently having a bit of a uni dilemma too haha.

Look at the course content document that comes with your offer email. Compare it to Aston's and see what you prefer. See if there are any topics that you like/dislike that one of them has or doesn't have.
I think, putting the prestige of it being King's College aside, you ought to consider the strength and reputation of the department itself. If you are planning on getting a job in linguistic research for example, having got your degree from King's College would probably be more credible that Aston, even though you had a placement from Aston, as the institution you would want to work for would be knowledgable about the strength of each universities linguistics department. I don't know if I've explained it clearly, but just something to think about.

all the best :smile:

Reply 37

chloecouture

8

I applied to kings too, for english language and communication but haven't heard back yet. Just wondered if anyone whose got an offer could tell me when they sent their application and what their AS grades were? thankyou!

Reply 38

hamzab

12

AmyR123

Thank you ....that was very helpful.
Tbh my main concern is which is more beneficial to me/which would employers find more valuable

Previous experience or a top university?

:smile:

Depends on the job hun. Some firms such as the big 4 employ everyone from Oxford to Kingston, some like Goldman Sachs are highly selective, targeting only those at the top 6 Unis, a few make it from the next 10 Unis but after that it's a struggle with only a few Unis being on the radar for Goldman Sachs!