Is it risky to apply to only universities within the 'top 5'?

Would you say Cambridge, Exeter, Bath, St Andrews, Surrey and Reading are a good spread for economics?

I'll be cutting that list down to 5 after open days and results.

No LSE/Warwick/UCL?

Reply 41

jamestg

21

Original post by BBeyond

No LSE/Warwick/UCL?

That's all dependent on results. Also I don't fancy studying in London all too much.

Reply 42

samb1234

13

Original post by Student403

Thank you

I'm both British and American but I live abroad

Cheers! It does, yep! Gets to -10 to -20

Sounds like youre going to need to take out a loan to pay for that heating bill lol. Either that or wear like 12 layers all the time

Reply 43

Pro Crastination

19

Have at least one insurance option that you're confident you'll receive an offer for that is a grade or two below your target firms. Don't do what I did and only apply to 2 target firms (and 3 insurances), get offers for all 5, and then think you could have taken at least one risk... :3

Reply 44

BBeyond

15

Original post by jamestg

That's all dependent on results. Also I don't fancy studying in London all too much.

Fair enough, but if you're good enough to apply for Cambridge there's no reason you couldn't get offers from any of the 3 I posted :biggrin:

Reply 45

Student403

19

Original post by samb1234

Sounds like youre going to need to take out a loan to pay for that heating bill lol. Either that or wear like 12 layers all the time

Haha I was talking to a family friend there and he said a thick jacket does the trick :biggrin:

Reply 46

Pro Crastination

19

Original post by jamestg

Would you say Cambridge, Exeter, Bath, St Andrews, Surrey and Reading are a good spread for economics?

I'll be cutting that list down to 5 after open days and results.

Yep, looks about right. Take away one from Surrey or Reading in my opinion. If you're confident you'll get Exeter/Bath offers you're pretty much guaranteed Surrey and Reading offers so there is little risk in only choosing one that you'd think of as an insurance option.

Reply 47

jamestg

21

Original post by BBeyond

Fair enough, but if you're good enough to apply for Cambridge there's no reason you couldn't get offers from any of the 3 I posted :biggrin:

True, just a little worried about my GCSEs. I'm trying to stick to those who don't put much emphasis on them.

Reply 48

username738914

21

Original post by jamestg

Would you say Cambridge, Exeter, Bath, St Andrews, Surrey and Reading are a good spread for economics?

I'll be cutting that list down to 5 after open days and results.

No because Warwick isn't there :')

Would throw in a Notts/Bristol/Durham into the mix, otherwise it seems pretty good.

Reply 49

Siberiaan

21

Sounds like you would only top 5 , for the sake of being top 5 unis. There are unis which are better Imo than some top 5 ranked unis.

Reply 50

SmileyVibe

11

Yes, yes and yes. Be realistic! Check out the average scores and gpas of those schools and compare how you look. If you do not look like it will make the cut then do not apply. I watched a youtube video of a guy who was opening his letters from schools he applied to. He applied to Harvard, Yale, and just about every ivy league you could imagine. He was rejected from every school! He had high SAT scores and good grades so he was no average student.

Its okay to apply to schools that aren't the "top". At least you have more of a chance getting admitted into a college. You can always transfer to a different college.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 51

e2014

OP

11

Original post by SmileyVibe

Yes, yes and yes. Be realistic! Check out the average scores and gpas of those schools and compare how you look. If you do not look like it will make the cut then do not apply. I watched a youtube video of a guy who was opening his letters from schools he applied to. He applied to Harvard, Yale, and just about every ivy league you could imagine. He was rejected from every school! He had high SAT scores and good grades so he was no average student.

Its okay to apply to schools that aren't the "top". At least you have more of a chance getting admitted into a college. You can always transfer to a different college.

We don't have GPAs at UK schools, and I don't think any university has an 'average score/ set of grades' as such. Sure there is a certain standard most successful applicants tend to meet but that isn't the deciding factor. I understand what you mean though! Sometimes even top students get rejected. I'll definitely keep your advice in mind. :smile:

Reply 52

sayswho

6

Original post by e2014

The places I'd probably apply for would be:
Imperial

Original post by e2014

I want to apply for law

You might struggle with that :wink:

Replace Imperial with an AAB-ABB option and you'll have a decent mix of choices.

That said, my only rejection was from one of my prospective insurance choices so you can't always assume who will or won't give you an offer :iiam:

Reply 53

Doones

21

Original post by SmileyVibe

Yes, yes and yes. Be realistic! Check out the average scores and gpas of those schools and compare how you look. If you do not look like it will make the cut then do not apply. I watched a youtube video of a guy who was opening his letters from schools he applied to. He applied to Harvard, Yale, and just about every ivy league you could imagine. He was rejected from every school! He had high SAT scores and good grades so he was no average student.

Its okay to apply to schools that aren't the "top". At least you have more of a chance getting admitted into a college. You can always transfer to a different college.

American admissions are very different to the UK.

Reply 54

username1258398

19

Original post by e2014

Thank you so much! Congratulations on that by the way. Where did you end up going? I do understand what many others have said about not just picking the top 5 but, as you have stated, the ones I'm most interested in do happen to be in the top 5 or so! I don't think that's unreasonable at all given that they all are excellent universities. If I do happen to be capable when the time comes, why not?

I want to apply for law and I do understand that that's one of the most competitive of them all. I'm willing to work very hard though.

No problem, and thank you; Cambridge. Yeah, I think people are just warning against it because there are some people who just choose unis based on league tables and are then really unhappy when they get there. But it's clear you haven't done that so there's no reason to worry. :smile:

Well, good luck, and good on you for being ambitious.

Reply 55

Moonstruck16

5

Since when were St Andrews and Durham top 5...?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 56

username738914

21

Original post by Moonstruck16

Since when were St Andrews and Durham top 5...?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Since league tables

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 57

Doones

21

Original post by Moonstruck16

Since when were St Andrews and Durham top 5...?

Posted from TSR Mobile

2015 overall rankings
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?y=2015
1 Cambridge
2 Oxford
3 LSE
4 St Andrews
5 Durham

Although 2016 saw Imperial at 4th and St Andrews out to 6th.

For Law (the OP's subject) Durham ranks 3rd on CUG. St Andrews doesn't offer Law.

Reply 58

Moonstruck16

5

Original post by jneill

2015 overall rankings
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?y=2015
1 Cambridge
2 Oxford
3 LSE
4 St Andrews
5 Durham

Although 2016 saw Imperial at 4th and St Andrews out to 6th.

For Law (the OP's subject) Durham ranks 3rd on CUG. St Andrews doesn't offer Law.

Oh no OP isn't one of those people who looks at one league table, for one year and then decides that they are the top 5, even though the top 5 changes every few years but the actual top 5 is pretty constant.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 59

Doones

21

Original post by Moonstruck16

Oh no OP isn't one of those people who looks at one league table, for one year and then decides that they are the top 5, even though the top 5 changes every few years but the actual top 5 is pretty constant.

Posted from TSR Mobile

?

Durham *is* consistently top 5 (certainly since 2011, I can't be bothered to check further back).

St Andrews was usually 6th but that's not exactly a million miles out of the top 5. Just d/checked and 5th= in 2016, and 4th in 2015.

Is it risky to apply to only universities within the 'top 5'?

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