Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

York/Southampton Or Reapply Next Year

Hi everyone, I just got my results yesterday and did a bit better than I expected. I currently have a firm offer from Southampton as well as an insurance offer from York for Economics.

Because of the offers, I had to choose Southampton as my firm and York as my insurance when I applied but judging by the league tables York seems to be a bit more respected than Southampton when it comes to Economics.

So I am quite torn choosing between the two as although York is slightly better, I think Southampton has better facilitates and is cheaper for accommodation. So I would love for some opinions about which I should choose as I can't really make up my mind at the moment.

Another option I could potentially take is reapply again next year to get a shot at a better uni, but I don't know if this would be the best use of my time.

These are the results I got for my A-Levels:
A* - Economics
A* - Maths
B - Further Maths
B - Physics

I could potentially retake a few modules to bump the Bs to As but I don't know how much this would benefit me.

Any opinions/ help would be much appreciated.

Reply 1

ad4155

Hi there
Congrats on such great results :smile:

I would suggest going to whichever university you liked more, and felt more at home at. I know it's a very vague answer, but anyone who has gone to uni will say to totally ignore the league tables when it comes to choosing which uni to go to. They change every year.
If you go to a uni purely for the prestige, you may do well, but more often than not, you will either not like the place or live in regret of what it could have been like if you went to the uni you truly wanted to go to. As a result, it is unlikely that one will do as well as they hoped.
I'm sure that you know that going to uni is a very personal experience, and therefore you have to make descisions that are right for you. You say that in your opinion, Southampton has better facilities- perhaps they suit your learning style better?
Ring up the unis and their departments. Go to their respective open days if you need to, ask questions, and listen to your heart (cheesy I know). I have to stress you must go where you feel happy and comfortable, not for prestige. Prestige is not garuntee of a better future by any means.
With regards to a gap year, I agree that since you have such great results, it wouldn't be the best use of your time. Have you met the entry requirements for this course at York?

Hope this helps and good luck. With your results, you deserve to go wherever you want to go :smile:

Reply 2

knockedhat

Hi thank you! I'm kind of stunned by what I got as well. I've decided to settle for york after taking a look around their campus which looks really nice. Thanks for your advice :smile:

Reply 3

MissBetBet

Southampton has been Russell group and more prestigious for longer?
York is only just Russell, and uk rankings are most certainly not everything. Try Europe rankings? They show the bigger names globally. :wink:

But gook luck with York if you stick with it. I think once it's a top Russell/good uni, the minor differences of rank/reputation are just us being fussy, employers see "GOOD UNI" and that's about it :')