Decision Time: SOAS Vs Nottingham Vs Manchester

SOAS --> very specialised course...modules on africa + asia
etc...its an ok Uni imo...but i think the general perception is
that the other two are better.

Economics > Industrial Economics but i think its pretty easy
to switch from Industrial Economics to normal economics..
seeing as you didnt do A-level maths you will probably be
doing BA Economics at Nottingham...(or even Bsc if you can
prove that you can handle it?)

Manchester Economics is also not in the top 20 in the Times
guide if you are going by the tables.

and no, the crime isnt that bad...just look at the Nottingham
forum and nearly all the students will confirm that its just
the news papers blowing things way out of proprtion.

this is unless of course you love getting drunk and wandering
around the most dangerous parts of the city...but that will
get you in trouble in any city you go to :wink:

it clearly seems that Nottingham is the best place for you
seeing as you actually liked the place (or atleast dont mention
not liking it)..

Reply 2

67382

I'd probably go for Manchester or Nottingham. If it was straight econ it would definately be Nottingham. The BA(econ) course at Manchester looks fantastic if you don't want to be too specialised. You take politics, economics, maths, politics, history etc. and the modules to choose from are vast. I really only know about the Manchester course as it's likely to be my insurance. However if you hated it I would seriously suggest not going there.

Reply 3

i think you can easily switch. a first year student who was our
guide (and she was very very hot too imo :wink:

) told us how she
originally got in for Industrial Economics and then switched
to Economics and Philosophy before finally settling down on
single honours economics. also the course in Nottm is desgined
so that you can take classes outside of your chosen degree.
for example you can take classics, physics etc etc and all of
this will contribute to your exam (although you dont have to).

Reply 4

receipt

i'd take SOAS personally..

because......?

I wouldnt take soas unless your into development, but it does teach you all the necessary skills to be an economist. But most economist undergrads are not really interested in that with finance, consultancy, statistics etc being the kind of career esque routes. I would say soas has the most unique degrees in the sense of the international slant. But its not for everyone

Reply 7

receipt

because i'd want to do pure economics, and manchester university is too close to home. Plus London = networking.

Even if i lived in London, i'd still pick SOAS for the contacts you could portentially make - plus the course seems fairly interesting.

Reply 8

yes but as i said its pretty easy to swtich from Industrial
Economics to pure economics once you get there (atleast
according to lecturer)..

if there was absolutly 0% chance of swtiching from I.E to E
in nottm then yes, i too would choose SOAS.

Reply 9

fundamentally

Academically:
Nottingham (academically excellent )
Manchester (academically respectable )
SOAS (academically ok. )

Area outside campus:
SOAS (it is in london )
Manchester
Nottingham (crime ++++++ )

Campus
Nottingham/Manchester (decent students. decent union. decent on campus social activities )
SOAS (left wing loonies, strange islamic extremist groups and drug dealers galore. It is called Weirdies College for a good reason. )

Overall:
Nottingham/Manchester
(long gap )
SOAS

Reply 10

Alan Smithee

fundamentally

Academically:
Nottingham (academically excellent )
Manchester (academically respectable )
SOAS (academically ok. )

Area outside campus:
SOAS (it is in london )
Manchester
Nottingham (crime ++++++ )

Campus
Nottingham/Manchester (decent students. decent union. decent on campus social activities )
SOAS (left wing loonies, strange islamic extremist groups and drug dealers galore. It is called Weirdies College for a good reason. )

Overall:
Nottingham/Manchester
(long gap )
SOAS

A huge majority of this is rubbish.

Reply 11

g_money

OP

Thanks everyone for your advice. Regarding changing from Industrial to pure Economics at Nottingham I think it would actually be quite difficult as pure Economics is much more competitive to get into (standard offer AAA compared to ABB for Industrial) and it's in a different department on a different campus: pure is in Economics / Social Sciences on University Park whereas Industrial is in the Business School on Jubilee. If I can't change from Industrial to pure, which I'm quite sure I can't, is the general consensus that I should just dismiss Nottingham? And if so which should I go for out of SOAS / Manchester?

Also what did the previous comment mean?: "...A huge majority of this is rubbish...". Did this refer to the discussion as a whole or just "fundamentally"s poor opinion of SOAS?

Reply 12

Jenii

I would argue Manchester and SOAS are similar in terms of reputation with Manchester probably just edging ahead unless you're particularly intersted in development economics.

I

Reply 13

id choose SOAS over Manchester but thats just me.

Reply 14

unknown demon

snap, so much more exotic:P

Reply 15

Jenii

I'd choose Manchester- but I'd not keen on being in London as a student.

Reply 16

unknown demon

Londonis a great place to be a student, apart from the exorbant prices.

Reply 17

Alexii

12

I would choose SOAS, but then again I am going to SOAS to study Economics (hopefully, in the process of geting it changed) so I would say that.

Also, I'm neither a left wing loony, an islam extremist or a druggie if that's any consolation.

Fundamentally seems to talk a lot of crap it seems to me.

Reply 18

Alec3

Disagree with a lot of what Fidelis has to say.

Academically, SOAS has a great reputation for Economics. I might put it in the same league as Nottingham though it does have a more macroeconomics/developmental focus.

As for the students, SOAS has a very vocal student union and there are some extremists but these extremists form a very vocal *minority*. Most of the people there are moderates and there is an Investment Banking society which shows that not all the students are left-wing nutters.

If you're looking league tables, do look at a few. SOAS is in the top 5 according to Guardian league tables. Granted Guardian is a left-wing newspaper, it is still highly-respected and will be read by many employers!

Reply 19

unknown demon