Am I making a mistake with my uni choices?

Go with where you personally would be happy. Newcastle is still a great uni and you’ll be much more likely to do well if your in an environment your happy and comfortable in.
Reputation isn’t everything

Hey,

I think you’re making a really mature decision by choosing your universities based on preference rather than reputation. I live in London and the way the unis are spead around the city here is not for everyone. Though UCL is obviously more reputable which will definetly help when trying to get training contracts, Newcastle is still a russell group and your still in a strong position. I would think about if you want to practice law after you’ve studied it and employment rate for each uni.Hope this helps!

You absolutely are making the right choice. I have offers for law from both Durham and LSE. Obviously, for law, LSE is more reputable but after speaking to many people I don't think I'd enjoy it, and wouldn't have the 'uni experience'.

Thank you

I do feel I’d be happiest at Newcastle and it’s environment, which is what matters most to me.

Well done - they’re both very good unis

I think there’s less of a difference between LSE and Durham compared to UCL and Newcastle though! Durham is still a fantastic place to study.

You absolutely are making the right choice. I have offers for law from both Durham and LSE. Obviously, for law, LSE is more reputable but after speaking to many people I don't think I'd enjoy it, and wouldn't have the 'uni experience'.

I’m from Newcastle! I live here and I’m planning on going to Newcastle university even though I got an offer from USL, if your interested in having a good uni life as well as good education Newcastle is deffo the right choice!! UP THE NORTH

Yeah I'm very grateful That's a good point; however remember that although UCL may have better career help & lecturer's than Newcastle, if you work really hard and, for arguments sake, get a 1st at Newcastle, if anything, that'll seem more impressive than getting a 1st at UCL because it shows that all of your hard work was down to you and not with the aid of renowned academics. I spoke to a friend who's done everything (worked for oxford uni, UCL, the UN, the World Bank etc.) and he said London schools & oxbridge are better for doing master's degrees. It sounds cliche but uni will be some of the best years of your life, London is so expensive, you'll find it hard to socialise (as there's no campus or common rooms) and the pressure will very high.

It's up to you there's pros and cons of both. But, just for reference, my friend I mentioned earlier did an undergrad law degree at a regular uni (may not have even been a Russel Group) and last week he flew out to Brussels to give an advisory lecture to the EU. It's much more about your work ethic rather than the place you're studying

I made a similar decision. I declined LSE for BSc Economics and placed Warwick as my firm choice. Whilst I'm sure the experience at LSE isn't as bad as is suggested, both by league tables and current students, I decided I'd much prefer Warwick for its student satisfaction and far superior teaching standards in the Economics department.

Thanks for reopening the thread.

As I said in a PM to the OP, the universities are very different. UCL would be better if you need people to motivate you along the way - it’s got that competitive energy vibe to it, partly fuelled by the number of rich/super rich international students trying to live up to the expectations of their successful families.

Newcastle will be much more relaxed and won’t have that same vibe to it. It’s great if you don’t want to be caught up in that energy, but at the same time you will need to be far mor proactive and self sufficient to get the opportunities the UCL students will be presented with. There will be well off kids from the Home Counties at Newcastle, but typically they have chosen Newcastle to get away from the environment (and the grasps of their parents). You won’t get the same group mentality at Newcastle, but that could actually be a good thing.

But it really depends on what you are aiming for post graduating. If you are aiming for the elite of elite careers in London, then go to UCL and be willing to potentially sacrifice your happiness for 3 years for the bigger long term goal. If you just want a good job post graduating, then go to Newcastle - 99% of recruiters out there won’t care the difference between Newcastle or UCL. It’s only if you are aiming for the 1% that it could pose an issue (but even then you could do a PG degree at UCL).

Although it's great to enjoy the City, if you're choosing Newcastle for a good night out then you're probably going to run into trouble at some point. If you go, just remember what your priorities are.

It’s true - there will be more BBC students there compared to UCL (UCL won’t be immune to the odd student with lesser grades).

Most students at Newcastle won’t have any aspirations to work in London. The majority will want to stay in the North East. There will be a small amount of people from the Home Counties who will, but typically they will be the ones with lesser grades and would probably struggle getting into the elite firms if they haven’t got AAB (or above).

That means you won’t get the same kind of support as someone would at UCL. Whether it be fewer careers events, a less knowledgable careers service/academics, or fewer peers to support you in your career aspirations, that will all limit the opportunities you are presented with. You will just have to make your own opportunities.