Help me I don't know what uni to go to

Hi,

Basically I'm having trouble deciding where I want to go to university. I already have my A-Level results since I'm applying as a 19 year old who just finished college rather than when most people do it. I want to study History, and I got A*AA at A-Level doing history, english literature and government and politics.

I've applied to Oxford cause my teachers said I should but I feel like I will never get in and don't know if I'd even like it. It seems really intimidating and kind of..alien.. I am from a state secondary school and an inner city sixth form college and I feel like I might feel like an outsider in that environment..Dunno really. That's what my friend said.

The idea of going to live in a small town is not very appealing to me (I am from a large-ish city, Manchester). At the same time I want to go somewhere with as good an academic reputation as possible really. My other potential choices are Bristol, Durham, UCL and Edinburgh. I've never visited Edinburgh cause it's kind of a pain to get to but it looks pretty good, although degrees are four years in Scotland right?? I don't know how it 'ranks' against the others really in terms of academia. All the league tables I've googled say different **** lol.

UCL seemed really nice but London is so expensive and I'd have to spend a lot on travel, since rent prices would probably drive me to the outskirts of the city in 2nd/3rd year. This puts me off. Durham is at the opposite end of the spectrum in that it is very small. I like going out to clubs and gigs and stuff and I feel like Durham has very little night life. All I really saw there was a cathedral and a Sainsbury's and some trees. On the other hand the uni is very good academically speaking, especially for history. Bristol is cool, seemed like a really nice city when I visited, and the uni seems good too.

Sorry if this has been a long, boring post, but I'd love to hear back from people who attend any of these universities or anyone with any kind of opinion really. I'm probably overthinking this stuff but it's 27 grand worth of education so I don't wanna make a bad decision. I'm also not at college anymore so I don't really have anyone else to ask but strangers on the student room lol

CHEERS

true haha, i haven't actually applied to anywhere but oxford yet cause the deadline for elsewhere is later and i can add those in track. i kind of assumed everywhere else I'm applying would give me an offer cause i already have the grades that they require, or better than (usually for history it's AAA, Durham being an exception and wanting A*AA)

Apologies, I misread your post!

Getting an offer if you already meet a university's requirements is obviously very probable but not certain. For example, the admissions tutor might decide that your personal statement is crap and that your reference contains hints at the bare minimum of ability! That said, it would be quite remarkable if you didn't get at least one offer from your four remaining choices if you meet or exceed the target grades.

One point to consider is that you will receive your Oxford decision on the 10th January, ie before you have to submit your other choices. How much impact will that have on you? Are your doubts about Oxford more to do with fears over how you did in the HAT and about what might happen at interview, rather than about studying there?

As for the others, yes London is expensive - but it also has advantages for employment. Yes, Durham is a small place but there really is more to do than visit the cathedral and buy microwave pasta. And if Edinburgh is a pain for you to get to in order to look around it, how would you feel about getting there and back several times a year?

My advice would be to look at the courses more closely. If there are compulsory modules, are you happy with them? Are the options interesting? Try noting down what you would choose each term/semester at each of the unis you are considering. Does one course look more attractive than the others?

And if you really are concerned about environment, have a look at other decent 'big city' unis such as Birmingham, Sheffield or Leeds.

True, i should definitely look more at the differences between each course..i'll order some prospectuses. i remember thinking that Durham's looked really good, and i like microwavable pasta anyway. thanks for the advice!!