Firm choice and insurance choice help

Got offers from Royal Holloway, Lancaster, and Loughborough University to study Politics, what should I choose?

Which course do you prefer?

Look at the optional units for all years of the course at each Uni and think about which ones you would choose if you went to that Uni.

Are there any extras like work placements or study abroad on offer - this adds heaps to to your graduate CV.

Have a look at campus tours/open day films on YouTube.

Think about the reality of living in each place

Reply 2

mike23mike

Loughborough with Lancaster as your backup

Reply 3

Artjen

Do you prefer to be in a big city, a small town, or stuck out in the sticks but a short hop from a National Park?

Think of your criteria for choosing and rank the unis for each one, then see which one comes out top the most.

Reply 4

normaw

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

Original post by mike23mike

Loughborough with Lancaster as your backup

What's your rationale for this? The course that interests the OP the most is the most important factor.

Reply 5

Loughborough Student Community

Official Rep

Original post by Ronnie_1

Got offers from Royal Holloway, Lancaster, and Loughborough University to study Politics, what should I choose?

Hi @Ronnie_1

It's great to hear you're thinking about studying at Loughborough!

If you haven't already I'd recommend taking a look at the course pages for the Politics courses you've applied for. If you scroll down on our course page to the 'what you'll study' section you will be able to see the modules you would be studying and see if anything interests you in particular. On our Politics course you have the option to do a placement or study abroad year which may be of interest to you.

The thing that helped me the most when deciding which uni to go to was going to visit them and attending offer holder days. These were a great opportunity to hear more about the course and also meet some of the academic staff who would be teaching me. I think the the best thing about them is the chance to speak to current students who are at the university and studying the course you want to study. Talking to students and hearing about student life is really what made my decision as that was what differentiated the unis for me. If you can't make it to an offer holder day I would still encourage you to visit the unis as it's important to choose somewhere where you can see yourself fitting in and being happy as you'll be living and studying there for the next 3+ years. If you click here you'll be able to see the options to visit Loughborough.

It's important to consider the locations of the unis. I've never had a problem getting anywhere from Loughborough. We're only a 10 minute train ride away from Leicester and not much further from Nottingham - there are also buses that run regularly. It only takes around an hour and a half to get to London (depending on the train you get) and I know there are also coaches that you can use to get to London and also north of Loughborough. There is even an airport close by if you wanted to go abroad!

It's also worth taking a look at the accommodation for both of the unis to see what options are available. At Loughborough we have 16 halls of residence for undergraduates that cater to lots of different needs so I would suggest taking a look at those.

Finally I'd take a look at the extracurricular activities offered by the unis - perhaps there is an interest or a hobby that you have and you would like to continue it or you want to try something new. At Loughborough we have over 100 societies to choose from so there's plenty to get involved in. There's also lots of ways to get involved in sport, if you're interested, and there's something for every level of sport so you can make the most of the great sports facilities here.

I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions just let us know :smile:

Jess

Reply 6

mike23mike

Original post by normaw

What's your rationale for this? The course that interests the OP the most is the most important factor.

I guess the OP is not sure and asked for opinions, I am sharing my opinion.

Reply 7

Artjen

Original post by mike23mike

I guess the OP is not sure and asked for opinions, I am sharing my opinion.

Yeh but it really helps if you say why that's your opinion. No-one SHOULD pick a uni based on a random person on a forum going "I'd pick this one". (I say SHOULD because no doubt some people actually would...)

But if you say "I'd choose Loughborough because they do a lot of sport there" OP can think "oh great I like sport too so I'll go there" or "I hate sport, maybe Lboro's not for me".

Reply 8

mike23mike

Original post by Artjen

Ok, here goes. If one is influenced by university rankings then the order should be Lancaster (ranked 19th) then Loughborough (31st) and then Holloway (34th) for politics. I have recently visited both Lancaster and Loughborough unis and even though both are campus unis, Lancaster seemed a bit more isolated (in the sticks) compared to Loughborough - a quick train ride to Nottingham for a night out if campus life is getting monotonous. I discounted Holloway because of the cost of living in London - £300 a week rent is no joking matter.

Reply 9

Ghostlady

Lancaster is about 15 mins to the city which has 3 clubs and tons of bars. They also have a complimentary bus service should you go out at night (sugar bus) . The uni itself is situated in an area of natural beauty, its got a woodland walk which is a couple of miles around it. Its got lots of eateries and a spa/central which are local shops on campus. The buses run like every 10 mins so its not like a million miles away. Its about 40 mins to the seafront of Morecambe, and an hour to Manchester via train. That said, I would definitely go on the course and what the department can offer you when it comes to internships/ and putting yourself out there for jobs.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 10

Emmanuel AA

Hi, my name is Emmanuel; I'm a 3rd Year student of History & Politics at Lancaster University. I am also a Student Ambassador for both departments. I am assuming you've got an offer to study just Politics at the University but if that isn't the case, do let me know and I can go into more detail about whatever Combined Honours degree you've received an offer for. It's been a great place for me and hopefully, I can offer some useful information.

In terms of the degree structure over the 3 years, your 1st year involves an introductory module to core Political concepts. It doesn't assume you've studied Politics before but it's not just a rehash of A-Level either (although some of it would of course be familiar). If you're doing just Politics, 1st year requires you to take two other modules as 'minors.' So if you're interested in IR, History, English, a language etc., it's a great opportunity to do that as well for an extra year and see if you like the blend. It's also a good opportunity to understand how differently studying certain subjects at uni can be compared to 6th Form. Of course, it's not for everyone but it lasts for just the 1 year and if you want to stick to Politics, 2nd and 3rd year gives you free reign to determine what you'd like to do. Our Politics modules are part of a combined PPR (Politics, Philosophy and Religion) department, so it's quite an interdisciplinary learning environment. Again if you had specific interests you were interested in following up, message back and I can tell you more.

Out of the academics, Lancaster is quite popular with prospective students and current undergraduates I know because it is a campus-oriented university. As a 1st year, pretty much everything you need is available on campus and it's a separate set of facilities from the city centre— which itself is only 3.5 miles away (15-20 min journey by bus). There's a direct bus service to the train station, from where you can commute to Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London etc. but there's a lot to do in the city centre itself. We have a student nightclub, lots of pubs, a castle, beautiful park and many other things for people to do. Again if you wanted to know more about the specifics here, do let me know and I'll do my best to give answers.

The final thing I'll touch on here is accommodation. If Lancaster is your firm choice of university, you are guaranteed accommodation on campus as a 1st year. We have house style and flat style accommodation with shared and private bathrooms and a collegiate system to which all our on-campus accommodation is linked. These colleges are 'communities within the student community' and where a lot of people make friends outside of their degree. Most students then move into the city centre in their 2nd and/or 3rd years but the SU has services to give you help if you wish to do so.

Ultimately, there's a lot I can say here but it depends on what you want to know to make the most informed decision. We have Open Days on the 1st and 15th July too if you wanted to visit and talk to our PPR department, but I'll leave it to you to ask me more specific questions that work for you.

Original post by Ronnie_1

Got offers from Royal Holloway, Lancaster, and Loughborough University to study Politics, what should I choose?

Reply 11

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by Ronnie_1

Got offers from Royal Holloway, Lancaster, and Loughborough University to study Politics, what should I choose?

Hi @Ronnie_1!

Congratulations on receiving offers at all of these universities! I'm currently a 3rd year Psychology student at Lancaster University, and whilst I can't speak to studying Politics at Lancaster, I can give you some insight into what it is like studying at Lancaster in general, and then some tips that I found helpful when I was choosing where to study.

Lancaster has a lovely campus, with lots of greenery, and modern buildings. It has lots of different places where you can study, including the library (with lots of different types of seating/quiet areas), the Management School, and even Costa! There are also plenty of outdoor seating areas for if the weather is nice. Each college has its own bar, including a sports bar where they show live sports, and a bar that serves cocktails, and one that is basically a cafe, so there's something for everyone!

The staff and support services are also very welcoming, and offer a wide range of support. There are also plenty of socieities, and so you're bound to find something that interests you!

Whilst picking a university is difficult, the most important piece of advice I can give is to visit the universities if you're able to. It can help you to visualise yourself studying there, and can help you to see the different things you like about each university, and can help you consider things that you might not have thought about before.

Best of luck with your decision!

~ Cathryn (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)