Bath really so good?

Hey everyone :smile:

I have just received an offer for Politics with International Relations, and I'm unsure whether to accept although I really like the degree.

The thing is that I could study completely for free at an okayish university in my home country (Austria), whereas I will have to pay a lot in the UK.
I don't know a lot about Bath's reputation, but I'm not sure if it is good enough to be worth all the extra money...

I know it is among the Top Ten UK-wide, but can it compete internationally? It doesn't really seem to be an elite university...
And would I have a chance for a postgraduate admission at Oxbridge with a degree from Bath?

Any advice is welcome, I am pretty desperate to be honest! I'm trying to justify spending a fortune to myself (and my parents!)
Thanks a lot :smile:

Reply 1

lucas13

its not the most well known internationally but can compete with the best, it has improved its reputation a lot recently as well.

you could definately get into postgrad at oxbridge if you wanted.

it is a lot to spend but the repayment terms are quite generous in the uk, i assume its the same as for students in the eu. if you dont earn that much you dont have to pay it back.

not sure of the standard of austrian unis so its hard to compare, is it a midranked or top ranking one though.

University of Bath

Bath

Reply 2

Pro Crastination

From what I've been told, lots of people go on to do post-grad courses at Oxbridge/LSE etc from Bath. I would point out, however, for Cambridge at least, I don't think they are too fussed where you did your undergraduate degree, just as long was you did well: eg, 1.1 or a 'good' 2.1. So, you may want to check out first whether people from the Austrian university are able to go to Oxbridge-level universities anyway.

If you're going purely for the international reputation, I'd probably recommend looking at Manchester as well. Grade-wise I don't think it's particularly difficult to get into (at least for UK students who'd be applying to universities like Bath), and it's ranked within the top 50 in the world.

Also, consider what particular course you are taking. There are certain courses that Bath excels at nationally/internationally, such as Management. I know Bath runs an MBA program as well, I believe it was ranked in the top 20 in the world. This may be the case for your particular course, in which case, Bath would definitely be worth it.