Queen Mary or Exeter for psychology?

Hey guys Im an international student with unconditional offers from both Queen Mary and Exeter. Now, I know that Exeter ranks better overall but I am a bit worried about being stuck in a small city with posh people that I won't get along with since Exeter has a bit of a reputation and its share of scandals when it comes to tolerating and accepting different races or cultures. Also I have been to London a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, and would love to study there. And the fact that they are both in the Russel Group doesn't make things easy for me. Can someone please open my eyes to the pros and cons of studying in either university? Thank you in advance.

Reply 1

Muttley79

20

Original post by Anonymous

Hey guys Im an international student with unconditional offers from both Queen Mary and Exeter. Now, I know that Exeter ranks better overall but I am a bit worried about being stuck in a small city with posh people that I won't get along with since Exeter has a bit of a reputation and its share of scandals when it comes to tolerating and accepting different races or cultures. Also I have been to London a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, and would love to study there. And the fact that they are both in the Russel Group doesn't make things easy for me. Can someone please open my eyes to the pros and cons of studying in either university? Thank you in advance.

All unis will have racists - Exeter did something about them. Exeter is not a small city. I'd chose it over QM [not one of the top London unis]

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

Hey guys Im an international student with unconditional offers from both Queen Mary and Exeter. Now, I know that Exeter ranks better overall but I am a bit worried about being stuck in a small city with posh people that I won't get along with since Exeter has a bit of a reputation and its share of scandals when it comes to tolerating and accepting different races or cultures. Also I have been to London a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, and would love to study there. And the fact that they are both in the Russel Group doesn't make things easy for me. Can someone please open my eyes to the pros and cons of studying in either university? Thank you in advance.

Do not look at the league tables when considering universities. British league tables are very unreliable. The are often very different to reality. Exeter is a university with a relatively poor academic reputation/standards. Queen Mary is far more renowned and respected. It is far more popular than Exeter. Many people in this country have never heard of Exeter. Everyone knows about Queen Mary though. A degree from Queen Mary is far more respected than one from Exeter.

Exeter is not a posh city. I am not sure where you got that idea from. Exeter is located in one the poorest part of the UK, Cornwall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cornwall). You need not worry about posh students at Exeter. The student population is largely white (roughly 80%) and from underprivileged backgrounds. Around 20% are international.

Queen Mary is larger than Exeter with a larger student population. Queen Mary is far more diverse. 60% of its students are from coloured backgrounds and 30% are international. If you come from a country that is not huge you will struggle to find other students from your country at Exeter. At Queen Mary its much more likely that you will not only find students from your own country, but entire societies made up of students from your country. Another bonus about Queen Mary is that its part of the University of London! You can use your Queen Mary ID to access any of the 15+ UoL universities and their services (libraries, canteens, computer facilities, lecturers etc). These universities include some of the best universities in the world LSE, UCL, Imperial, Kings and City. Plus you get to mix with the hundreds of thousands of students that attend the UoL universities. I am currently studying in London and I have many friends at different universities that I visit often. You will not find posh students at Queen Mary either. Most students at Queen Mary are from middle-class backgrounds.

Racism is rife in Exeter both inside and outside the university, amongst staff and students. Corruption at the university is also very prevalent at staff level. Student support is practically nonexistent. There are a handful of student union reps providing advice to the 20 thousand student population at the university. They are practically swamped, sometimes working during their maternity leave to help students because students lack other viable options. They do not except phone calls and the university has greatly limited their powers practically making them useless. It does not allow them to support students in any tangible way. So if you fall on hard times you are practically on your own. The police service in Exeter is also very racist and corrupt. Just as bad as the university.

The current dean at Exeter, an individual that never engages with the student population, is being replaced by a relatively unknown woman that used to work as a vice chancellor for research at the University of Leeds. The change is no doubt largely motivated by the continued problems and scandals that the university has suffered over the past few years. The most interesting thing about this new dean is that her background is in research as in the focus of the university in this change is not the students but the university's academic reputation in research. The university is also extremely poorly organised with drop out rates in some of its courses exceeding 50% in the first year. They also have a large contingent of legal advisors. This should be a warning sign to any student thinking about wanting to study at this university. It has a lot to fear and a lot to hide. I think they have had three huge court cases in the past 5 or 6 years, one recently involving discrimination against a disabled staff member fired from his job. I have friends at this university who have suffered abused much worse than just discrimination, one attempted suicide. I can't go into detail about their case. I worry that this might identify them, but its very serious stuff, things you only see and hear about in movies. Corruption is really bad at this university.

I have friends at Queen Mary and others who have graduated from this university and all like it very much. I have heard about problems, but nothing as serious as the stuff in Exeter.

In London, the transport services are amazing. They arrive very quickly and they are very easy to use and they are practically available 24/7/365. Transport services in Exeter are bad relatively speaking. They are privatised. So they are more difficult to use than the ones in London. They are also not available 24/7/365. People mostly rely on taxi cabs especially if they are travelling late. Travelling to and from Exeter to cities other cities is not easy. It take a long time and ticket prices are high. Shops in London are open 24/7. In Exeter most shops close at 5. You have far fewer options (clubs, restaurants, hospitals, GPs, dentists, pharmacists etc) in Exeter than in London. In London, if you feel hungry at 3 am in the morning you have a choice of a thousand different restaurants that deliver to your door. In Exeter everything closes early. So you have to plan ahead. Exeter is mostly a white city. It has a strong presence of right wing extremists groups. Comparatively speaking, London is very diverse and its 24/7/365 unlike Exeter.

Yeah comparing Exeter to Queen Mary is a lot like comparing manure to caviar.

Reply 3

Anonymous #3

Wow, that is incredible to hold unconditional from two great unis. It depends on what your preferences are. If you're looking for a quieter more rural environment then Exeter, but if you like busy cities then Queen Mary. Although as Queen Mary is in London the accommodation is likely to be more expensive but its location may lend itself better for parties. Queen Mary holds silver TEFL while Exeter holds Gold. I would definitely look at their websites, career prospects, position on league tables, and courses content. See which uni covers the modules you are most interested in.

Original post by Anonymous

Hey guys Im an international student with unconditional offers from both Queen Mary and Exeter. Now, I know that Exeter ranks better overall but I am a bit worried about being stuck in a small city with posh people that I won't get along with since Exeter has a bit of a reputation and its share of scandals when it comes to tolerating and accepting different races or cultures. Also I have been to London a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, and would love to study there. And the fact that they are both in the Russel Group doesn't make things easy for me. Can someone please open my eyes to the pros and cons of studying in either university? Thank you in advance.

Queen Mary or Exeter for psychology?

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