1st from Queen Mary University vs. 2:1 from Kings college

i'd say a first.
i'm actually dropping out of kcl and hoping to go to qm next year, it's not all that.

Reply 3

Original post by nlf

i'd say a first.
i'm actually dropping out of kcl and hoping to go to qm next year, it's not all that.

Really? I've applied to both, but KCL would probably be my first choice if I got in. But I visited QM today and I rather liked it, whereas when I visited King's in September I wasn't that impressed. Can you tell me why you're transfering?

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Reply 4

ElChapo

18

I can't believe you're asking this

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Reply 5

username1278869

7

Kings... well it depends on what degree/what you want to go into after

Reply 6

Interstellar

9

Depends on the degree. For Law I'd say yes, for a subject King's is traditionally superior at, no.

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Reply 7

Original post by ArsenalObsessed

Really? I've applied to both, but KCL would probably be my first choice if I got in. But I visited QM today and I rather liked it, whereas when I visited King's in September I wasn't that impressed. Can you tell me why you're transfering?

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if you like QM and you're not fussed on king's i'd say to go with your gut instinct. KCL might be higher up in league tables etc. but there's so much more to university than that. i decided to come here because of its reputation but i now regret my choice and for me it'll be QM or goldsmiths next year - it's so easy to get caught up in wanting to go somewhere good (the pride of getting in meant an awful lot to me) but you have to think of realistically being somewhere and consider everything: course, location, accommodation, general feel/culture of the uni...

academically king's is great, and if that's more important to you then i'd definitely recommend it. a lot of people here enjoy it obviously, but it really hasn't suited me. my main reason for leaving is the course but there's a plethora of other things i want to change (accommodation is far away, generally found the whole first semester hugely boring and underwhelming. it's hard to feel like a student here but i'm not sure if that's just london).

work out what means the most to you and go by that. good luck, i'm sure you'll get an offer!

Reply 8

Original post by nlf

if you like QM and you're not fussed on king's i'd say to go with your gut instinct. KCL might be higher up in league tables etc. but there's so much more to university than that. i decided to come here because of its reputation but i now regret my choice and for me it'll be QM or goldsmiths next year - it's so easy to get caught up in wanting to go somewhere good (the pride of getting in meant an awful lot to me) but you have to think of realistically being somewhere and consider everything: course, location, accommodation, general feel/culture of the uni...

academically king's is great, and if that's more important to you then i'd definitely recommend it. a lot of people here enjoy it obviously, but it really hasn't suited me. my main reason for leaving is the course but there's a plethora of other things i want to change (accommodation is far away, generally found the whole first semester hugely boring and underwhelming. it's hard to feel like a student here but i'm not sure if that's just london).

work out what means the most to you and go by that. good luck, i'm sure you'll get an offer!

Thank you for this! I've visited King's, QM and Goldsmiths and King's was probably the least inviting of the three. I really loved Goldsmiths, it was small but felt really friendly and the people there were lovely but I ended up not applying there because of rankings etc, which looking back was pretty silly of me. I might try and visit King's again, to see if I can have a better experience of it - the last time I went I couldn't find the right campus and had to rush across Waterloo Bridge to get there on time, and I ended up getting there late, tired and very annoyed. so not the best experience, haha.

Thanks! what course are you doing btw? I'm applying for English, when do they start giving out offers for English do you think? they're taking an age and it's sooooo frustrating

Reply 9

Original post by ArsenalObsessed

Thank you for this! I've visited King's, QM and Goldsmiths and King's was probably the least inviting of the three. I really loved Goldsmiths, it was small but felt really friendly and the people there were lovely but I ended up not applying there because of rankings etc, which looking back was pretty silly of me. I might try and visit King's again, to see if I can have a better experience of it - the last time I went I couldn't find the right campus and had to rush across Waterloo Bridge to get there on time, and I ended up getting there late, tired and very annoyed. so not the best experience, haha.

Thanks! what course are you doing btw? I'm applying for English, when do they start giving out offers for English do you think? they're taking an age and it's sooooo frustrating

It's such a shame that you didn't apply for goldsmiths!!! I dropped out of King's yesterday and sent off my UCAS application in the evening and I've got a really good feeling about GS. But that's coming from someone who's experienced uni and withdrawn in the first semester... Reputation is obviously important to a lot of people, I know I didn't dip below the top 20/30 first time round. When I first considered dropping out I was terrified of going somewhere else when I'd got AAA.

I had a similar experience on my open day haha! It's a confusing uni - it's not what I imagined university to be like in my head, and I think the city layout really contributes to the antisocial feel of kcl. If or when you get the offer they'll invite you to a post-offer open day which will be specific to your course so you should see it more.

I actually studied English too and I'm changing to politics next year (if you have any more questions about King's, London, the English course etc. feel free to ask away). In last year's cycle I sent my application off on December 14th and got my offer on march 8th. Unfortunately I think kings is pretty slow because it's so competitive. Where else did you apply?

Reply 10

Original post by nlf

It's such a shame that you didn't apply for goldsmiths!!! I dropped out of King's yesterday and sent off my UCAS application in the evening and I've got a really good feeling about GS. But that's coming from someone who's experienced uni and withdrawn in the first semester... Reputation is obviously important to a lot of people, I know I didn't dip below the top 20/30 first time round. When I first considered dropping out I was terrified of going somewhere else when I'd got AAA.

I had a similar experience on my open day haha! It's a confusing uni - it's not what I imagined university to be like in my head, and I think the city layout really contributes to the antisocial feel of kcl. If or when you get the offer they'll invite you to a post-offer open day which will be specific to your course so you should see it more.

I actually studied English too and I'm changing to politics next year (if you have any more questions about King's, London, the English course etc. feel free to ask away). In last year's cycle I sent my application off on December 14th and got my offer on march 8th. Unfortunately I think kings is pretty slow because it's so competitive. Where else did you apply?

I know

For me the only reason I'm desperate to get an offer from King's is because of their reputation, but I'm still meh about the university itself :/ good luck with your new application btw :smile:

where did you apply in the end?

And yeah, when I went to visit QM it seemed really friendly and had a real university feel to it, which I think is because of the whole campus thing they have going on, King's is so spread it I feel like I would feel kinda lonely if I went there :/ idk

Oh ._. See that's funny, because when I went to visit Goldsmiths last year I went for a politics taster lecture and it honestly blew me away - I loved it sooo much. For months afterwards I had my heart set on applying for politics, I honestly loved it. But then I got my AS results in August and not only were they rubbish, I realised that I was pretty clueless about politics and was convinced I would be rejected. So I opted for English which was the safer option as its something I've always been good at. This past month I've been thinking about English and whether or not I'll actually enjoy it at university level and I feel unconvinced ._.

Whaaaaaaaaaat, March?! I don't know if I'll be able to survive that long :'( I also applied to Queen Mary (had my interview, just waiting to hear back) Royal Holloway (offer) and UCL (rejected). Just waiting on King's now. To be honest I'm seriously considering taking a gap year so if I feel like it I mat just decline all my offers and reapply next year for a different courses with results. Who knows.

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Reply 11

ElChapo

18

I've often heard Qmul has a terrible social life

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Reply 12

Original post by ArsenalObsessed

I know

For me the only reason I'm desperate to get an offer from King's is because of their reputation, but I'm still meh about the university itself :/ good luck with your new application btw :smile:

where did you apply in the end?

And yeah, when I went to visit QM it seemed really friendly and had a real university feel to it, which I think is because of the whole campus thing they have going on, King's is so spread it I feel like I would feel kinda lonely if I went there :/ idk

Oh ._. See that's funny, because when I went to visit Goldsmiths last year I went for a politics taster lecture and it honestly blew me away - I loved it sooo much. For months afterwards I had my heart set on applying for politics, I honestly loved it. But then I got my AS results in August and not only were they rubbish, I realised that I was pretty clueless about politics and was convinced I would be rejected. So I opted for English which was the safer option as its something I've always been good at. This past month I've been thinking about English and whether or not I'll actually enjoy it at university level and I feel unconvinced ._.

Whaaaaaaaaaat, March?! I don't know if I'll be able to survive that long :'( I also applied to Queen Mary (had my interview, just waiting to hear back) Royal Holloway (offer) and UCL (rejected). Just waiting on King's now. To be honest I'm seriously considering taking a gap year so if I feel like it I mat just decline all my offers and reapply next year for a different courses with results. Who knows.

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oh my god it's terrifying how much you remind me of myself. i literally only went for english because it was safe and i was good at it, and king's because of the reputation. i had no definite idea of what i wanted to do so it seemed like the best thing - i was desperate to move out and had no other plans. i'm now packing up my room to move back home tomorrow and have an impromptu gap year... obviously it's only my opinion but i would urge you to have a serious think about the reality of what you're doing and whether you're going to wholeheartedly love it and succeed. politics has always been a passion of mine but i constantly felt out of my depth in my a-level politics lessons and doubted doing a degree in it. in the end i was only a few marks off an a* and now i've never been more sure about what i should study. what did you get at AS? if you're getting english offers i'm sure you'd get politics offers - they're both humanities subjects.

i would really, really recommend a gap year if you're not sure. being made to apply at the start of year 13 is awful when you're uncertain about your degree or where you want to go. alternatively i'm sure you can send off your application again, contact your universities and look at changing the course you applied to, decline all and use extra or clearing, add a fifth choice if you haven't already (all if you were to think about it and change your mind). at uni you'll be able to change within the first few weeks too as long as the course you want to do isn't full. the ucas application system is a lot more flexible than it seems so i wouldn't think of your completed application as an indication of what you're definitely going to do - ring them up for more info if you do change your mind, ucas itself was a lot more helpful than my school.

i built up the idea of king's so much in my head that getting in meant the world and more to me. my gcses and AS grades weren't great so i felt like i had to prove myself at the last chance. if you get an offer, don't leap at it and firm it without thinking like i did - give it a lot of consideration and thought. seriously ask away if you want to know anything! i'd hate to know you were on the same course i was on at kcl not enjoying it in 2014. re: the loneliness as well, i really hated the first month here. i was awfully homesick and really resented how hard king's was to settle into. i'd say i still wasn't anywhere near settled at the end which was a huge thing for me. education is very important, but being comfortable and happy is paramount.

thanks for your well wishes - i applied to LSE, queen mary and goldsmiths and i'm still pretty sure i'll go for goldsmiths!

Reply 13

Babylid

Original post by ElChapo

I've often heard Qmul has a terrible social life

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Depends what you make of it really, it really is a mixed bunch. 80% of the chinese lot don't socialise outside their race and you do see cliques form but if you make mates in the first few months it's great tbh. Ive enjoyed loved it so far and wouldn't tell anyone to not go because of the social life. There are a shed load of Asians though, also it depends on the course you do. If you do Engineering or a science then good luck because it will be an absolute geek meat fest, I study econ and theres a pretty good mix.

Original post by nlf

x

Please don't waste your life going Goldsmith, it's such a massive drop compared to QM let alone Kings.

Reply 14

Zenomorph

Ambiance is all important. If it don't feel right then chances it won't be right for you when you get there.

Always remember good things almost always start of with a good gut feeling.

Reply 15

Zenomorph

Oh, and re: the 1st. Depends on what subject.

Reply 16

cuckoo99

13

LOL really? I mean i understand university reputation matters but seriously? Do you really need to ask this question? a First will always be better than a 2:1.

Reply 17

Original post by nlf

X

oh wow this is kind of weird. I feel like I should listen to you and what you're saying but if I got offers from king's as well as QM I don't know if I could bring myself to firm QM. It's silly too as the idea of having an AAA offer to meet makes me feel sick, I genuinely don't know how I'm going to meet it if I do get it. I've been doubting King's for ages now, ever since I found out that student satisfaction is rated 69% compared to the other universities I was applying to. QM's was 93%, Royal Holloway's was 91% And UCL's was 100% ._. I then became obsessed with the idea of getting into UCL as obviously it was ridiculously prestigious but also quite a nice university. but obviously I knew I was going to get rejected so I wasn't surprised in the slightest. can you tell me what your AS grades were? mine were so awful - ABDe in english lit, history, maths and chemistry respectively. You can see why I did so badly - maths/sciences are not really my strong point :/ also I didn't pick politics, a decision which I rue to this very day lol. I wish I had picked it. But I didn't, and so that was why I was convinced that I knew nothing and would be rejected. sigh

do you mean that I'd be able to switch courses once I start? That would be good. I still need to think about whether king's is the right place for me though. For me, because my AS grades are awful getting an offer from king's would sort of be a way of proving to myself that I haven't messed everything up, as silly as that sounds. when I was sending off my ucas application, my head of sixth made it very clear that he thought I wouldn't get any offers at all despite being predicted A*AB, and I'm desperate to prove him wrong lmao. And luckily for me, I live in London so will be living at home instead of at uni, so hopefully homesickness won't be too much of a problem as I'll get to go home to a lovely home cooked meal every night :tongue:

I think I may just take a gap year though. reassess my options. see if I want to spend a whole 3 more years doing English or not. we'll see. anyhow I hope everything goes well for you and that you have a better experience of uni this time around :smile:

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 18

Original post by Babylid

Depends what you make of it really, it really is a mixed bunch. 80% of the chinese lot don't socialise outside their race and you do see cliques form but if you make mates in the first few months it's great tbh. Ive enjoyed loved it so far and wouldn't tell anyone to not go because of the social life. There are a shed load of Asians though, also it depends on the course you do. If you do Engineering or a science then good luck because it will be an absolute geek meat fest, I study econ and theres a pretty good mix.

Please don't waste your life going Goldsmith, it's such a massive drop compared to QM let alone Kings.

how come?

Reply 19