Newcastle, Southampton, Queen Mary or Warwick! ANY HELP APPRECIATED!

I have offers from Newcastle, Queen Mary, Southampton and Warwick for English literature and film studies, but i just can't decide! Warwick is the best in the charts but it sounds really dead and far away from everywhere and i dont know if id like that, newcastle sounds the best but its not great on the league tables, same with queen mary, and southamptons OK but not great for english and not as good as warwick so i really can't choose! does it matter that much how good your university is on the league tables? and does anyone have experience of these unis? :confused:

Reply 1

River85

Original post by *Charlie__A*

Newcastle is, what, around 25 in the overall league tables? Same with Southampton and Queen Mary (give or take a few places). These are still "good" positions in the league tables.

Don't let league tables fool you into thinking some "ladder" exists, that number 15 is "better" than number twenty. Number twenty is "better" than twenty five. It doesn't work like that.

All of those are Russell Group (or, in the case of QM, a 1994 Group university) and are of a broadlby comparable quality.

League tables matter very little indeed and certainly won't influence an employer. You won't disadvantage your employment prospects significantly by chosing one of those universities over the other.

Chose according to your preferred course and location. If you would like to find out about Warwick, and whether tha campus is isolated and dead, then search these forums. It has been discussed many times :p:

Or create a new thread in the Warwick subforum

Reply 2

QHF

I studied English at QM -- they have a large English Department, with a lot of both academics and students. That could be a plus or a minus. I know nothing about the Film courses there. From a living point of view, QM is a full-blown, one-site campus but inside a city, with some of the benefits of both styles of uni. London's good because it's massive (you can find whatever you want, academically and socially; tonnes of people from all over the world to talk to) and bad because it's massive (getting around can take a bit more time, you can feel lost in the crowd).

I grew up in Southampton and think it's a very nice place to live, but I don't know loads about Soton Uni or its English department.

As River85 says, league tables aren't desperately important and in any case all four unis are essentially in the same part of the tables: the top bit. Think about how the four different courses are organised (how are they assessed? how much of each course is compulsory and how much of it do you choose for yourself?), think about how big each course is in terms of teacher and student numbers and which kind of size you might prefer.

Reply 3

peachmelba

I agree with most that's been written here but would take issue with some of what River said below.

Don't let league tables fool you into thinking some "ladder" exists, that number 15 is "better" than number twenty. Number twenty is "better" than twenty five. It doesn't work like that.

All of those are Russell Group (or, in the case of QM, a 1994 Group university) and are of a broadlby comparable quality.

League tables matter very little indeed and certainly won't influence an employer. You won't disadvantage your employment prospects significantly by chosing one of those universities over the other.

For better or worse, league tables influence a uni's overall reputation. I think that there will be little difference in the reputation of Newcastle, QM and Southampton. But Warwick is not at 25 or 15, it's been consistently in the top ten for years.

That does have a possible impact in terms of some future employers. The Association of Graduate Recruiters represent most of the largest employers of graduates. 2/3 of their members target 20 or less unis, 1/3 target 10 or less. Warwick is likely to be one of the 10 in most cases.

Now you could apply for a place on one of those graduate training schemes from any of the other 3 and be successful. What counts most are what you put into uni: academic performance, extra curriculars, work experience, volunteering. But you will not have the advantage of firms attending recruitment fairs, putting on talks on campus or hosting dinners. I think that is at least one consideration in favour of Warwick.

Having said all that, I hated the Warwick bubble and couldn't have seen myself being happy there, so accepted a place elsewhere (another top 10 uni).

Reply 4

*Charlie__A*

Thank you for all your genuinely helpful answers! =)

Reply 5

oh-bang

Queen Mary is really really high for English lit, and I have several friends doing Film Studies and they say its a really good course! London is so amazing to live in, and the University of London has got a really good reputation!!! So from a living in London perspective you'd get amazing job prospects too because off all the opportunities in London!! Of course Warwick has a bit of a name for itself, but from what I've heard (friends applied there), its not very lively and its full of Oxbridge rejects.
If you want to ask any questions about QM feel free to PM me, I'm more than happy to help :smile:

Reply 6

Ms. Bukowski

QMUL, for having one of the best English departments in the country with an excellent reputation! And if you want to go all in with film later in your life, London's probably the best place to draw inspiration from and meet extraordinary people with the most interesting skills! I'm going to start my English course in Sept. at Queen Mary, and can't wait to study at this university!