[LoveDC]

So I am struggling to chose between three schools the University of St. Andrews, Kings College London, and George Washington University
They are all about the same price yearly so its hard to go off of the financial side of things.
My major drawback with George Washington is that its not "foreign" to me it lacks that exciting factor. Also, it feels like there is a lot of hand holding compared to the other universities. I feel like I would be going there more for the city than the school and could just intern in DC in the summertime.

My major drawback with St. Andrews is that their have been many negative reviews about how it has so many yahs. I really feel like I wouldn't fit in with that crowd.

Kings seems like it could get so impersonal. I feel like there is less of and adjustment period both socially and academically compared to the other schools.

Ultimately they are all good schools and each have many many benefits which makes it hard to decide. I don't really prefer city or country which makes it even harder to decide.

Any comments or arguments for Kings would be greatly appreciated!
Also I would be studying IR and St. A's and GW and War studies at kings

[Copperknickers]

What do you mean by your complaints against Kings? Can you expand?

As for St Andrews: it's full of private school people, but it really depends on what your interests are whether you fit in with them. King's is full of private school people too though, I don't know about America.

[LoveDC]

I think living in London and not in a more concentrated campus would feel impersonal.
As for adjustment goes in the US freshmen classes are generally easier and less specific, at St. Andrews grades don't formally count until third year (while they still need to be high enough to get into honors)
At kings straight from the start the classes count and are very specific

[Copperknickers]

Well, if you don't like lots of people then St Andrews is much smaller. Actually, it's almost too small. There are no decent nightclubs, and nothing much to do apart from uni societies and sports, and the university, including staff, makes up about 1/2 of the population of the town. If you don't get on with the people in your halls or classes it's almost claustrophobic, since you bump into everyone constantly and it doesn't have the best transport links.

London need not feel impersonal: if your living in halls, going to the campus for classes, joining societies, etc, then its really no different from anywhere else, just with a constant flow of people, instead of a constant flow of rain (St Andrews can get pretty cold btw, it's probably the coldest place in the UK, not that London is exactly tropical).

As for grades: are you worried about grades? Good grades are just a mark that you're doing the amount of work you should be doing at the end of the day, doesn't matter how they're assessed you still have to do the same amount of work.

[LoveDC]

thank you those are very good points!

[erklam]

(Original post by LoveDC)
thank you those are very good points!

My personal experience on my course (Business Management) is that while the first year does count 10% towards our degree, King's has given us almost the whole year to adjust, make friends and get settled. Throughout the first semester, all assessment I had overall was a single essay and a single test. There were not that many readings to do either. The second semester got a bit more demanding but still not too bad. In this respect, King's is great - or at least my programme.

Also, King's is big but you'll make tons of friends. To be realistic, if you make friends at uni x, you will probably make just as good friends at uni y. Try and make your selection based on other factors. These unis are extremely different. Also, the US education system is extremely different from the one in the UK, and I think many would argue that the US system is better. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to what you want!

I know it sounds stupid but listen to your heart, otherwise you'll regret not giving yourself the chance to do what you originally wanted. All these three schools are amazing but, as I said, they could not be more different.