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KCL vs UCL vs Edinburgh

Which one is best for mathematics based on
a) Course structure,Faculty,Alumni etc
b)Prestige,rankings etc

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Reply 1
I would go for Edinburgh
KCL is not been doing that well in the rankings in recent years
UCL will be expensive to live at.
UCL > Edinburgh > KCL for reputation, I think?
Original post by yl95
UCL > Edinburgh > KCL for reputation, I think?


Basically this.
UCL> KCL> Edinburgh
Reply 5
UCL>>>>>>> KCL>>>Edinburgh
UCL is the best, fairly sure
Reply 7
Little to no difference between UCL and Edinburgh. KCL is not as good as the other two.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 8
Original post by Hrittik Roy
Which one is best for mathematics based on
a) Course structure,Faculty,Alumni etc
b)Prestige,rankings etc


Don't base your decision on (b), its a bit useless as all three of them are very prestigious.

I'd say UCL then Edinburgh and lastly KCL. You learn far more harder and interesting modules in UCL during 1st and 2nd year than the other two. You don't really get much chance to choose any modules for KCL.
Reply 9
Original post by kkboyk
Don't base your decision on (b), its a bit useless as all three of them are very prestigious.

I'd say UCL then Edinburgh and lastly KCL. You learn far more harder and interesting modules in UCL during 1st and 2nd year than the other two. You don't really get much chance to choose any modules for KCL.


You havent even started university...how could you judge difficulty of their modules??

UCL wont run courses that are any different to the courses at Edinburgh. Edinburgh may look different as it is scottish uni, slight different system. The outcome will be exactly the same.

The course at KCL looks weaker and slower in my honest opinion. Many key modules are delayed a year.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 10
Original post by FGT12
You havent even started university...how could you judge difficulty of their modules??

UCL wont run courses that are any different to the courses at Edinburgh. Edinburgh may look different as it is scottish uni, slight different system. The outcome will be exactly the same.

The course at KCL looks weaker and slower in my honest opinion. Many key modules are delayed a year.


Course modules and syllabus are published on their website, and I have asked this question to Maths undergrads here, plus I've had attended some lectures on open days informing us about most general modules offered at every uni and their difficulty.

I know your second point fully well, but its still a matter of preference.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 11
Original post by kkboyk
Course modules and syllabus are published on their website, and I have asked this question to Maths undergrads here, plus I've had attended some lectures on open days informing us about most general modules offered at every uni and their difficulty.

I know your second point fully well, but its still a matter of preference.


The KCL course is slow, especially considering A*AA entry requirements.

Universities are likely to oversell their courses on open days, as are the undergrads. You need to go to university first to understand the issues.

Edinburgh allows english students to start in their second year which is why the course would look slower. The end product at UCL will be very similar.
Reply 12
Original post by FGT12
The KCL course is slow, especially considering A*AA entry requirements.

Universities are likely to oversell their courses on open days, as are the undergrads. You need to go to university first to understand the issues.

Edinburgh allows english students to start in their second year which is why the course would look slower. The end product at UCL will be very similar.


The second year in Scottish universities is equivalent to first year in UK universities, since many Scottish students take the Advancced Highers.
I'm doing a maths course at UCL and it's really well structured and profs are really good and know their stuff. If you do it next year your analysis prof (hardest module) will probably be taught by this hilarious boss Russian prof. Can't imagine anyone teaching it better than him.
There's also loads of opportunities to get help with stuff outside classes. Weekly small group tutorials and problem classes. When you send an email to a prof asking for help they reply the same day most of the time.
Reply 14
Realistically, the difference between them is negligible.

Avoid Edinburgh if you don't want to live in Scotland. Avoid UCL and KCL if you don't like haemorrhaging money in London.
Original post by monk1324
I'm doing a maths course at UCL and it's really well structured and profs are really good and know their stuff. If you do it next year your analysis prof (hardest module) will probably be taught by this hilarious boss Russian prof. Can't imagine anyone teaching it better than him.
There's also loads of opportunities to get help with stuff outside classes. Weekly small group tutorials and problem classes. When you send an email to a prof asking for help they reply the same day most of the time.


Hey, I think I'm going to be doing Maths at UCL from September and was wondering what the course was like because everything I've read on here seems to say they have no support and stuff. Also since you're still doing the course you may not know but how do like employers and stuff generally view the course and university and stuff I guess?
Original post by the-anonymous-me
Hey, I think I'm going to be doing Maths at UCL from September and was wondering what the course was like because everything I've read on here seems to say they have no support and stuff. Also since you're still doing the course you may not know but how do like employers and stuff generally view the course and university and stuff I guess?


They have plenty of support, I don't know what those people are on about. The lectures go very fast and you're not expected to understand everything in just the lecture (pretty sure this is the case in all unis though), although first term of first year hasn't been that difficult. The two courses I did were Methods and Analysis. Methods is mostly revision of A level stuff (FP modules which I presume you do) with a more advanced uni topic every now and then. Analysis as I said is quite difficult for most people, but the prof is great and it's absolutely doable for anyone who can do well in A levels.
In all maths courses you get weekly homework (total of 9 homeworks) that is graded and counts for 5% of your final course grade. Analysis homeworks do require lots of thought and time because it's an intuitive subject, rather than mechanical like Methods where you can just do exercises and learn steps, but again you can do them together with your classmates (although profs discourage this but everyone does it), ask help from tutors or prof himself or a 2nd year mentor your group will have (usually very smart people). They won't solve your homework for you but will give you tips or show you a similar problem that once you understand you should be able to do the homework.
If you're a really hardcore maths buff there is also optional (really really) hard homework.
I should mention straight maths people do two more courses that I don;t do because I do maths and physics.
Employers love maths people and there is loads of opportunities to do research, see what other graduates are doing, ask for advice and pretty much anything related to career prospects. Some people even go to other cities for socials to meet recruiters and talk to them about job prospects (investment banking would be one example that pays well and seeks maths graduates).
Bottom line is you should definitely study at UCL. As of yet I don't have anything negative to say about studying here.
Original post by monk1324
They have plenty of support, I don't know what those people are on about. The lectures go very fast and you're not expected to understand everything in just the lecture (pretty sure this is the case in all unis though), although first term of first year hasn't been that difficult. The two courses I did were Methods and Analysis. Methods is mostly revision of A level stuff (FP modules which I presume you do) with a more advanced uni topic every now and then. Analysis as I said is quite difficult for most people, but the prof is great and it's absolutely doable for anyone who can do well in A levels.
In all maths courses you get weekly homework (total of 9 homeworks) that is graded and counts for 5% of your final course grade. Analysis homeworks do require lots of thought and time because it's an intuitive subject, rather than mechanical like Methods where you can just do exercises and learn steps, but again you can do them together with your classmates (although profs discourage this but everyone does it), ask help from tutors or prof himself or a 2nd year mentor your group will have (usually very smart people). They won't solve your homework for you but will give you tips or show you a similar problem that once you understand you should be able to do the homework.
If you're a really hardcore maths buff there is also optional (really really) hard homework.
I should mention straight maths people do two more courses that I don;t do because I do maths and physics.
Employers love maths people and there is loads of opportunities to do research, see what other graduates are doing, ask for advice and pretty much anything related to career prospects. Some people even go to other cities for socials to meet recruiters and talk to them about job prospects (investment banking would be one example that pays well and seeks maths graduates).
Bottom line is you should definitely study at UCL. As of yet I don't have anything negative to say about studying here.


Thanks for your reply. That's actually made me feel a lot better about the course and UCL. You actually gave me loads of useful information about the course cause I didn't exactly do much research before applying. Also one more thing, what's it like being a student in London? A lot of people have told me that it's kind of weird cause you don't get that university feel since its not a university town but I love the city.
UCL then King's and Edinburgh.

I feel like King's edges over Edin slightly because it's in London and therefore more well-known internationally. All great Universities though.
Original post by the-anonymous-me
Thanks for your reply. That's actually made me feel a lot better about the course and UCL. You actually gave me loads of useful information about the course cause I didn't exactly do much research before applying. Also one more thing, what's it like being a student in London? A lot of people have told me that it's kind of weird cause you don't get that university feel since its not a university town but I love the city.

I love studying in London. It's very social. All you have to do is come to one of the halls on a Friday night and you're guaranteed to meet lots of people. As I said before, tons of department and society socials and you won't be bored. I can tell you that I definitely get the uni feel but I guess it does come down to personal preference to bit.
On a side note, if you like going out, I went for one night to the Southampton uni (which I guess could be called a uni town?) and night life was pretty bad. Much better in London.

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