Lancaster vs Glasgow vs Exeter vs Strathclyde vs Keele

Hi everyone!


I would be very happy if anyone could share his/her thoughts about these universities and courses:
Lancaster University - Accounting, Finance and Mathematics
University of Glasgow - Finance and Applied Mathematics
University of Exeter - Mathematics with Finance
The University of Strathclyde - Mathematics, Statistics and Finance
Keele University - Finance and Mathematics



I am an EU applicant, so I don't actually know very much about those unis. I got conditional offers from those unis (I only have to met the English requirements ). I can’t make up my mind which one should I choose. The list above is also my “top list” at the moment, but the two first ones are really equal. I put Lancaster first because it seems to be a good uni and the place seems to be OK, too. And I have read that Lancaster has somewhat different system (college system) than the other unis have. On the other hand, Glasgow's course has a few more modules and applied maths is maybe more fun than the usual one.
So, which uni would you choose? (Considering the following criteria: uni reputation, career prospects, cost of living, satisfaction with the course (modules etc), overall life there etc)

Thanks!

I'd chose either Lancaster or Exeter:

Lancaster have a close link with PwC, as do Exeter have a close link to KPMG - who are both Big4 Accountancy firms.

Both are reputable - although Exeter I think is more reputable than Lancaster.

Lancaster (being in the North of England) will most likely be cheaper to live than Exeter.

Those are the only two I can comment on unfortunately as they were the only two that I looked into and I firmed Lancaster - so I have my biases but I tried to make it a neutral between the two that I know about!

Thank you very much!
It's so difficult to make my decision ...

Well...what has each university given you as an offer? And which course do you really like?

I have conditional offers from all the unis. Condition for all is the IELTS exam. There are no other conditions. The IELTS condition varies but generally all they want is 6.5 on average. I haven't taken the exam yet, but will do it soon. Hopefully I pass it!

I looked at the curriculum for Exeter and it seemed to be pretty good. At the beginning I thought that Exeter is more like overrated but I have realised it isn't. Am I right?

Now I am just thinking between Exeter and Lancaster. At the moment, I would probably pick Exeter but I have a few weeks to think about it.

Maybe you could give me some more good advice?

If the only thing they want is 6.5 IELTS then the only things you should look for is the course and the accommodation. Above all, go with the course choice that you feel that you would enjoy the most - so if that is Exeter then go for Exeter, however don't dismiss Lancaster.

I would love to give you information and advice, but I can only really give advice from a prospective undergraduate at Lancaster and therefore my advicce won't be very good/neutral/unbiased.

So yeah, look at the two curriculums and see which one you think you'd prefer, but apart from that what sort of advice are you after?

Ok, thanks.
I have some weeks left to make my decision. I will look some other information, maybe it will help.

I have another question, maybe you can answer this. If you look at programme specification at Exeter https://udb2.emps.ex.ac.uk/api/index.php/databases/teaching/programmes/info/2003/pdffile there's a line: Programme accredited/validated by N/A.

What does it mean? I read that it's illegal in the UK to provide unaccredited courses or sth but why is there N/A?

I think you read that last bit wrong. It is illegal to provide a degree from an institution (i.e. university) that isn't recognised by the Secretary of State, in other words that it hasn't been given a Royal Charter. Exeter is recognised by the Secretary of State and was awarded with a Royal Charter back in 1955, so there is nothing to worry about.

Normally accreditation is where a certain body/institution values the curriculum taught at the university highly and therefore awards it with an accreditation. Lancaster Management School (with all the finance/economics/business courses etc.) is triple-accredited - one of ten business schools in the UK to hold the honour.

Basically, the course at Exeter isn't accredited by any institution (Maths, EQUIS, AMBA etc.) but that isn't anything to worry about in my opinion because Exeter is such a good university that its prestige can go a long way.

At the moment I have no more annoying questions to you!
Thank you very much for your help and good luck in your studies!