Kent or Essex University!!!??? Help me decide!?

I am trying to decide whether to put Essex uni, to study Literature and Philosophy, or Kent uni, to study Comparative Literature and Philosophy as my firm choice. I want a uni with a good academic reputation, nice campus and lively surrounding area with decent night life, and good study abroad programme. I've visited both and done lots of research and feel like they both have these qualities, and I like them equally. They have both offered me places with the condition of ABB, can anyone give me opinions on which I should chose, whether you're at either of them, or just know anything helpful!? I'm really struggling to chose!

Reply 1

Jackso

17

Honestly, they're both on the same level in terms of academic reputation more or less. Kent does slightly better in the national rankings; Essex does slightly better in the world rankings (both of these mean **** all really but just pointing it out.) However, Essex is known for having an excellent Philosophy department and is a lot cheaper in general (if you live in the towers, which most undergraduates seem to.) So for that reason, unless money isn't an issue at all, I'd go for Essex. Have you looked into the course structure for both universities? Because other than that, the differences between them are pretty small.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

CharlotteAmelia

OP

3

Original post by Jackso

Honestly, they're both on the same level in terms of academic reputation more or less. Kent does slightly better in the national rankings; Essex does slightly better in the world rankings (both of these mean **** all really but just pointing it out.) However, Essex is known for having an excellent Philosophy department and is a lot cheaper in general (if you live in the towers, which most undergraduates seem to.) So for that reason, unless money isn't an issue at all, I'd go for Essex. Have you looked into the course structure for both universities? Because other than that, the differences between them are pretty small.

Thanks for the advice, yeah and philosophy is not that high at kent, so that's definitely a pro for essex, but as far as the costs go, even if its cheaper to live in essex (and I hated those tower blocks so would apply for their other on campus halls!) kent has a really good bursary/scholarship scheme which I'd qualify for, you see how I'm struggling to decide!

Reply 3

Jackso

17

Original post by CharlotteAmelia

Thanks for the advice, yeah and philosophy is not that high at kent, so that's definitely a pro for essex, but as far as the costs go, even if its cheaper to live in essex (and I hated those tower blocks so would apply for their other on campus halls!) kent has a really good bursary/scholarship scheme which I'd qualify for, you see how I'm struggling to decide!

Ah, in which case Kent might be a bit better for you. They are very generous with their scholarship scheme, if you get any equivilant of AAA (A*AB or A*A*C) they give you £3000 off per year I think. Although just to let you know, in the long run for the vast majority you won't be paying back any more than those being charged the full £9000 by the time the debt runs out in 30 years. That is, unless you're earning a substantial amount of money. So I personally wouldn't let that factor in your decision too much, unless you're actually being given the money directly (sorry for the essay.)

Personally, I think I'd give Essex the edge since your subject plays directly with its strengths. Although take everything I say with a pinch of salt because Kent rejected me and I'm possibly firming Essex. :tongue:

Reply 4

CharlotteAmelia

OP

3

Original post by Jackso

Ah, in which case Kent might be a bit better for you. They are very generous with their scholarship scheme, if you get any equivilant of AAA (A*AB or A*A*C) they give you £3000 off per year I think. Although just to let you know, in the long run for the vast majority you won't be paying back any more than those being charged the full £9000 by the time the debt runs out in 30 years. That is, unless you're earning a substantial amount of money. So I personally wouldn't let that factor in your decision too much, unless you're actually being given the money directly (sorry for the essay.)

Personally, I think I'd give Essex the edge since your subject plays directly with its strengths. Although take everything I say with a pinch of salt because Kent rejected me and I'm possibly firming Essex. :tongue:

No need to apologise for the essay haha I appreciate the opinion! That is true about the money, I've decided today, after several days deliberation after posting this, i'm going for Kent. Even though Essex is higher for philosophy, the subject most important to me is the literature side and I will probs go on to do a post grad in that, and Kent is about equal to Essex for Lit, plus its where my gut tells me! Ooh really, good luck at Essex if you do firm it!!! Thanks for the replies :smile:

Reply 5

Jackso

17

Original post by CharlotteAmelia

No need to apologise for the essay haha I appreciate the opinion! That is true about the money, I've decided today, after several days deliberation after posting this, i'm going for Kent. Even though Essex is higher for philosophy, the subject most important to me is the literature side and I will probs go on to do a post grad in that, and Kent is about equal to Essex for Lit, plus its where my gut tells me! Ooh really, good luck at Essex if you do firm it!!! Thanks for the replies :smile:

If it's what your gut tells you then I'm sure you made the right choice, I hope you have a good time at Kent. And thank you. :smile:

Reply 6

Stag H.

3

Original post by CharlotteAmelia

No need to apologise for the essay haha I appreciate the opinion! That is true about the money, I've decided today, after several days deliberation after posting this, i'm going for Kent. Even though Essex is higher for philosophy, the subject most important to me is the literature side and I will probs go on to do a post grad in that, and Kent is about equal to Essex for Lit, plus its where my gut tells me! Ooh really, good luck at Essex if you do firm it!!! Thanks for the replies :smile:

Hi, I am currently struggling to choose between Kent and Essex for Computer Science. I know your post was over 6 years,ago bit did you go to Kent and would you recommend it? Thanks

Reply 7

username3581862

17

Original post by Stag H.

Hi, I am currently struggling to choose between Kent and Essex for Computer Science. I know your post was over 6 years,ago bit did you go to Kent and would you recommend it? Thanks

Honestly they’re both good institutions. I myself am an Essex student so I can say that it’s pretty good. It’s even jumped to 26th place in the league tables (though this doesn’t really mean much) as well as being university of the year. Likewise, Kent is also a good institution but obviously I’m biased towards Essex. You should go to the open days and see how it’s like.

Hi there,
I'm an official social media student rep for the University of Kent. Firstly, congratulations on your offer to study at Kent!
I'm in my third year studying at Kent and I have really enjoyed my time here. The campus is beautiful and has a really chilled out vibe about it. There's also loads of societies and sports clubs which I've really enjoyed getting into, here's a link to the Kent Union webpage so you can see whats on offer; https://kentunion.co.uk/

Deciding between universities can be really tricky but I would definitely recommend attending open days/applicant days so you can get a real sense of what the university is like. As you are a University of Kent offer holder it is likely that you have been invited to one of our applicant days. If you are yet to book your place you can do so here; https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/visit/applicant-days/index.html
Also, through our Unibuddy system you can speak to current Computer Science students about their experience studying at Kent; https://www.kent.ac.uk/unibuddy/

Obviously I would totally recommend the University of Kent, but I would definitely suggest visiting the university so you can get a sense of it all for yourself!
If you have any questions about day-to-day life at the University of Kent please feel free to ask :smile:

Original post by Stag H.

Hi, I am currently struggling to choose between Kent and Essex for Computer Science. I know your post was over 6 years,ago bit did you go to Kent and would you recommend it? Thanks

Reply 9

Anonymous #1

Welp, 7 years after this post was created, I am in the same boat! I am an international student looking at both schools, and I can't visit either of them due to distance. I got an easier offer from Essex which has me a bit biased in their favor because I would really like security in where I am going as I end my senior year, especially since all of my friends will definitely know where they are going by May, but I will be stuck waiting for exam results in July. I have applied for Mathematics at both schools and gotten an offer from both. Kent's offer is not out of possibility, but it is also not guaranteed that I will get it. I really like both schools but I don't know which to pick. If anyone has any insight, that would be nice, thank you.

Reply 10

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by Anonymous

Welp, 7 years after this post was created, I am in the same boat! I am an international student looking at both schools, and I can't visit either of them due to distance. I got an easier offer from Essex which has me a bit biased in their favor because I would really like security in where I am going as I end my senior year, especially since all of my friends will definitely know where they are going by May, but I will be stuck waiting for exam results in July. I have applied for Mathematics at both schools and gotten an offer from both. Kent's offer is not out of possibility, but it is also not guaranteed that I will get it. I really like both schools but I don't know which to pick. If anyone has any insight, that would be nice, thank you.

if you HAVE to choose then 1000000% go with Kent. Kent is at least a respectable-average uni whereas Essex is one of the crappiest unis we have. The main problem is the lack of nightlife in Kent but at least Canterbury is an extremely historic city. I would like to know if you had any other offers?

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

Original post by A Rolling Stone

if you HAVE to choose then 1000000% go with Kent. Kent is at least a respectable-average uni whereas Essex is one of the crappiest unis we have. The main problem is the lack of nightlife in Kent but at least Canterbury is an extremely historic city. I would like to know if you had any other offers?

well thats the first that I've heard of Essex being that bad of a Uni, but the other Uni that I have an offer from is Nottingham Trent University, which is definitely gonna be my insurance choice unless it bumps its way up to my Firm choice. I also have an offer from greenwich but I don't really wanna go there. And I am waiting to hear from Leeds.

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

Also what do you think makes Essex such a bad Uni?

Reply 13

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by Anonymous

well thats the first that I've heard of Essex being that bad of a Uni, but the other Uni that I have an offer from is Nottingham Trent University, which is definitely gonna be my insurance choice unless it bumps its way up to my Firm choice. I also have an offer from greenwich but I don't really wanna go there. And I am waiting to hear from Leeds.

Let me put it this way, here is the league table where I have ordered the universities by entry standards - Essex is 116 out of 131 universities on entry standards, so only the least academic people in the country go there (and they're only 17 UCAS points off the very bottom so we're talking students who routinely get Ds and Es) and that's not even to mention the dodgy atmosphere full of 'urban types' you would get in a place like that you would see upon visiting.

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?sortby=entry-standards

and Leeds not Notts Trent should definitely be your firm if you like the course.

Reply 14

Anonymous #1

I don't really know what UCAS points are so I can't comment on that (I'm an international student). I am a bit confused about the atmosphere that you are mentioning, especially since visiting any UK university is not an option for me. What do you mean by "full of urban types". The problem with Leeds is that even if I do get an offer, I am concerned that I might not get the grades necessary to actually go there since that was the hardest school that I applied to. But I'll just have to wait and see for that. They are taking their sweet time. And I get that entry standards would be a good thing to look at, but can you really say the school is terrible just from that one stat? I've been looking at that website before and I've been comparing the schools on my list, mainly the ones that I've gotten into so far, and they all seemed to hold up when taking other factors into account. So at this point I don't know if it is best to judge a school solely based on their entrance standards. Not to mention the fact that I've seen a bunch of other people on here saying good things about it so I am trying to not ump on either side too quickly.

Reply 15

empeño

13

I don't think a uni should be judged based on their entry standards. Yes that can be an indicator, but it could also show that it's diverse in who it allows in because it sees potential beyond academic success thus far?
I'm not at Essex uni but I'm from the town it's in, so if you have any specific questions on that I could help!
Regarding the "urban types", i have no idea what @A Rolling Stone means haha

Reply 16

Anonymous #1

Original post by Marni_

I'm not at Essex uni but I'm from the town it's in, so if you have any specific questions on that I could help!

Oh yes! Are you from Colchester then? I am wondering how much there really is to do in Colchester, I've heard of all that you could do on campus but not much from the town itself. And do you know how big it is? For reference I am from a city of just under 100,000 people. So a smaller city, but still a city. And I have heard that Colchester lays claim to being the oldest recorded town in England. Is that true? Does that mean that there are a bunch of older buildings and does it have an older vibe? As being from North America, we don't have stuff that is anywhere near as old as England, and that's part of why I am excited to go! Sorry if this was just a barrage of questions, I have been curious about Colchester. Thank you so much if you happen to answer!

Reply 17

empeño

13

Original post by Anonymous

Oh yes! Are you from Colchester then? I am wondering how much there really is to do in Colchester, I've heard of all that you could do on campus but not much from the town itself. And do you know how big it is? For reference I am from a city of just under 100,000 people. So a smaller city, but still a city. And I have heard that Colchester lays claim to being the oldest recorded town in England. Is that true? Does that mean that there are a bunch of older buildings and does it have an older vibe? As being from North America, we don't have stuff that is anywhere near as old as England, and that's part of why I am excited to go! Sorry if this was just a barrage of questions, I have been curious about Colchester. Thank you so much if you happen to answer!

I am indeed.
In terms of size, it's hard to compare to anywhere in N America but it's population is around 200,000 I believe. It's not a city, because typically they have a cathedral in the UK, although we are drawing away from this (there was a battle between Colchester and nearby town Chelmsford a few years ago about which would win city status, Chelmsford won), but it is a very large town that may be considered a city in other countries.
Yes, it's the oldest recorded town in England, and was the capital before London. It has a lot of history, including a castle on the edge of town and the surrounding castle park. Some parts have obviously been updated, but the town centre does still have some cobbled streets, and narrow Victorian style roads with shops either side, and old buildings.
In terms of things to do, it has the usual things like cinema, leisure centre with swimming pool, bowling alleys, shops, bars, restaurants, 3-story night club. It's also about 25/30 minutes by car, train or bus to the beach. Clacton-on-Sea is probably easiest to access by public transport, and has a pier with rides etc too. But there's a lot of seaside towns nearby which can make a nice day out in warmer weather.

Original post by Anonymous

Welp, 7 years after this post was created, I am in the same boat! I am an international student looking at both schools, and I can't visit either of them due to distance. I got an easier offer from Essex which has me a bit biased in their favor because I would really like security in where I am going as I end my senior year, especially since all of my friends will definitely know where they are going by May, but I will be stuck waiting for exam results in July. I have applied for Mathematics at both schools and gotten an offer from both. Kent's offer is not out of possibility, but it is also not guaranteed that I will get it. I really like both schools but I don't know which to pick. If anyone has any insight, that would be nice, thank you.

Hi there!
I'm currently studying at Kent and I honestly have loved my time here! :biggrin:

If you're not able to come and visit the campus yourself, there are several virtual tours you can do of the campus facilities online so you can get an idea of what everything is like. Here is the link.
I would obviously, really recommend Kent because it's somewhere I have enjoyed studying, and if you think that you could get the grades then there is no harm putting it as your first choice! Also, it is relatively common for students to be accepted with grades slightly lower than the entry requirements, but obviously there is no guarantee of this as it depends on the number of applicants that year.
It could also be worth considering what matters most to you from a university, is it the campus or facilities or location or student support? You could then do a pros and cons list and see which university matches what you want the best :smile:

Kent ticked pretty much all of my boxes and the fact that I'm super close to a high speed train line to London means I can get home/to see friends super easy too! It's all about what would make you feel most supported and comfortable as that can really shape your university experience.
If you have any specific questions about life at Kent, please feel free to ask! I'm happy to help where I can :biggrin:

Best of luck!

Reply 19

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by Anonymous

Oh yes! Are you from Colchester then? I am wondering how much there really is to do in Colchester, I've heard of all that you could do on campus but not much from the town itself. And do you know how big it is? For reference I am from a city of just under 100,000 people. So a smaller city, but still a city. And I have heard that Colchester lays claim to being the oldest recorded town in England. Is that true? Does that mean that there are a bunch of older buildings and does it have an older vibe? As being from North America, we don't have stuff that is anywhere near as old as England, and that's part of why I am excited to go! Sorry if this was just a barrage of questions, I have been curious about Colchester. Thank you so much if you happen to answer!

i really strongly believe that the entry standards make a difference to the atmosphere and environment, you don't want to be surrounded by people who don't take their studies seriously. i'm not surprised Leeds would take the longest as it's the best uni generally. please do not firm without visiting first is all i'm saying! and Colchester may or may not be the oldest town, but Canterbury is far more historic nonetheless.

Kent or Essex University!!!??? Help me decide!?

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