St Andrews vs Warwick?

I've just received an offer from St Andrews University for Computer Science (with 2nd year entry) and am now stuck with the very hard decision of choosing between them. I have also applied to Imperial College London but haven't heard anything yet, if I get a place there it will be my firm; otherwise Warwick or St Andrews will. Even if I do get an offer from Imperial however, I will have to choose my insurance from between those two Universities.

Pros for St Andrews:
-Higher ranked in almost all league table.
-Much smaller than Warwick Uni (less than half the size).
-Better student satisfaction.
-Nicer town than Coventry.

Pros for Warwick:
-I have lots of friends going there.
-Much, much closer to my current home.
-Might be more appealing to English employers?
-It's not in Scotland :P

Does anyone currently study at either of these institutions who can give me an insight into what its like to study there? Any advice or tips for choosing between them? All advice is appreciated!

Thanks,

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Reply 1

wolfmoon88

Original post by harrycompsci

I have friend who is in the same situation as you. What he has told me is St Andrews is better than Warwick. Only problem is that it is Scotland and it's a 4 year course (he didn't know about application into 2nd year)

Honestly I would advise you to look into all modules and course structures to decide hich course you like more. If location is not that big of an issue (like located in Scotland cuz St Andrews is def nicer than Coventry) then I would definitely say St Andrews. It's employer reputation should not be any different compared to Warwick in the UK.

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Reply 2

harrycompsci

Original post by wolfmoon88

Thanks for your reply, atm I'm currently leaning towards going to St Andrews but the distance is still a big issue considering I live in south England :/

Reply 3

wolfmoon88

Original post by harrycompsci

Thanks for your reply, atm I'm currently leaning towards going to St Andrews but the distance is still a big issue considering I live in south England :/

think about international students xD we are literally moving miles away from home !

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Reply 4

harrycompsci

Original post by wolfmoon88

think about international students xD we are literally moving miles away from home !

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St Andrews is 500 miles from where I currently live, Warwick is 100.

Reply 5

wolfmoon88

Original post by harrycompsci

St Andrews is 500 miles from where I currently live, Warwick is 100.

Bruv my city is 9563 km away from St Andrews :tongue:

But I guess that's fair.

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Reply 6

Lauren1498x

If all your friends are going to Warwick it could be nice to brand out and find some new friends in a smaller uni? I visited both st andrews and warwick i thought i was going to hate st andrews and love warwick but it ended up the other way round.

also depends what you like - warwick i found really in the middle of the nowhere in a field on its own campus. Although St andrews is small place the uni being spread out integrated throughout the rest of the town. also warwick ranks high because of its business/economics department and in general st andrews is better viewed, that and high satisfaction and small so can make friends won it over for me... just hope i get an offer lol

hope this helps!

Reply 7

harrycompsci

Original post by wolfmoon88

Bruv my city is 9563 km away from St Andrews :tongue:

But I guess that's fair.

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Jo'burg?

Reply 8

harrycompsci

Original post by Lauren1498x

Yeah, I kinda fell in love with St Andrews...the distance is the only thing that bothers me. Also, I only just got an offer today so i'm sure you'll hear from them soon. Out of interest, what course are you looking to do and what are your predicted/current grades?

Warwick

Original post by harrycompsci

i'm in scotland.. so i'd rather get away to England for independence haha

i applied for history/economics and i have equivalent of A*s

Reply 11

harrycompsci

Original post by fleky6910

Warwick

Thank you! A very logical and thought out argument!

Reply 12

harrycompsci

Original post by Lauren1498x

i'm in scotland.. so i'd rather get away to England for independence haha

i applied for history/economics and i have equivalent of A*s

I hear that a lot of Scottish students get unconditionals, so you might get lucky in that respect!

Reply 13

username2808800

Original post by harrycompsci

Thank you! A very logical and thought out argument!

Warwick is a good uni and is very well respected. I think it is more respected than St Andrews , it is also close to where you live. I am in year 11 but my taughts would be Warwick.
The decision is ultimately up to you

Reply 14

Lauren1498x

Original post by harrycompsci

I hear that a lot of Scottish students get unconditionals, so you might get lucky in that respect!

yeah if they gave me an offer it would be unconditional... but there's a cap on how many they can admit from Scotland/EU so I'm not that hopeful

Reply 15

username2808800

Even if you wanted to say banking etc. Warwick is a target and is well respected.
Again this is my subjective opinion.
You need to choose for yourself

Reply 16

WhiteKnight747

Original post by harrycompsci

warwick.

one of best maths & comp sci depts in uk - on par with oxbridge

better employment/career prospects than st A given how heavily employers target warwick - warwick is a key target for top careers (banking, law, consulting, tech) - St A not so much

warwick is a fun campus uni, will be better than living on some golf course in scotland

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(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 17

username2752874

Original post by WhiteKnight747

warwick.

one of best maths & comp sci depts in uk - on par with oxbridge

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Lol

Reply 18

Nulliverse

St Andrews, just the thing like you said, it's in Scotland. 500 miles that would be just too far for me. I've travelled to Glasgow from London and that was a good 7 ****ing hours by train, pretty expensive as well for the train ticket like £60 where as I go to Warwick so it's a bit biased (Everyone hates their own uni) haha but that took me like 1 hour by train, easy, and tickets cost £9 in advance. Stuff like going to see your parents and going to visit other places in the country it would just be sooooooo much easier if you went to Warwick. Warwick in Coventry is also generally closer to more interesting places which you can visit. Also St Andrews having less people, do you view that as a pro? I think it's a con in my opinion. Having more people rejected from one of them or something I dunno which is down to chance lol. And also all of you friends going there doesn't mean you aren't going to make new ones. It's also nice knowing people going to the same uni as you.