KCL worth it?

I have an offer for law from KCL and Nottingham, at the moment I'm finding it very difficult to choose which to put as firm.

pros of kings:
London life should offer great variety and so many things to do im from a city with a population of 70000....
Not campus can go shopping ect when ever
Is a russel group uni ( Ithink?)
Many premiership football grounds in London woo!
Graduate prosects are 4th highest comapred to 22 of notts
I love gigs and all the big bands come to brixton and I on average see about 20 big gigs a year and this would be v convienient

cons:everything in london is expensive and i'm rather poor i.e i hear when you have to move out in 2nd year some people are paying £250 a week for accom
transport is v expensive short tube trip £5?
is 1 place below notts in law table and 5 in overall table (times 07)
Hear say evidence suggests the uni experience is more limited due to the city based nature of the uni i.e friends are harder to come by, not a strong group vibe
Again hearsay but I is London a bit like marmite, love it or hate it I've not really had a prolonged stay there so don't no but am slightly worried about the massive scale difference.

Nots pros:
cheaper than kings
nice green campus with a 18.5k student population 6k more than kings
offer of AAA comapred to AAB higher entry standartds mean a higher quality of undergraduate?

cons:
is campus going to be annoying travelling from campus to town ect
The city has a lot less to offer than london (pop of 300k comapred to 6 mil, and only one potential championship football team!)
Not many music venues not a gig hotspot
Not a russle group uni, so less respected?

Offer is AAB and notts is AAA If i get AAA am I silly to go for a lower grade band uni?

Any comments or additions on my supposed pros and cons would be greatly welcomed from current or prospective students. I just want all the facts before I make a life changing decision :confused:

Thanks!

Reply 1

Dark and Lovely

15

King's have raised their entry requirements to AAA for 2008...the AAB is actually just a tease, most of those who they give offers to are predicted AAA..so the lower grade entry of KCL doesn't mean anything-I was worried about that too.

KCL is russel group and part of the golden triangle and so a UofL uni, ...so you can use all their facilities and thus mix with a lot more people across all the nearby unis to Kings. I don't understand why friends would be harder to come by-the amount of Unis LDN means you are more likely to encounter people in your same situation and also you have lectures and live in halls with other students.

Money Wise-get a job! The pay in london is high compared to other places i.e. I hear of students getting paid up to £10 per hour for some jobs

If you intend to practise law in a top city firm...chances are you're gonna end up in London or at least aim to and so will have to live there eventually...uni would help you get used to that or be a warning that you don't wanna work there?

Reply 2

shady lane

16

polarman

cons:everything in london is expensive and i'm rather poor i.e i hear when you have to move out in 2nd year some people are paying £250 a week for accom

I've never heard of anyone paying that much. I'm certainly not. If you're paying more than £150/week, you're either filthy rich, or very stupid and getting ripped off.

polarman

transport is v expensive short tube trip £5?

A student travelcard is £16 per week, a student bus pass is £9.40 per week. A single tube journey on Oyster Card is £1.50.

Reply 3

Lolly-88

13

It seems to me that you've already partially made your mind up. It looks like you favour KCL.

Nottingham IS part of the Russell Group. The grades Kings give you in the offer does not mean anything as many people who are predicted AAA will probably be applying anyway.

I'm rather poor too :frown:

and i'm going to London don't let that deter you....that's what a student loan is for, if you're wise with money you will manage. :smile:

Also for the transport thing some places in London are fairly near by unless you are perpetually lazy you could always quite controversially......walk!! That costs nothing, although obviously at night this may not be a good idea.

Reply 4

willow86

Well having lived in London and Nottingham I'd go for London...I'm moving back down to go to Kings this year and I can't wait.I don't think you'll find much difference price wise, pay for jobs is crap here in Nottingham and I think transport will be easier in London.
In terms of grades, I guess it's about whether you really think you can get AAA, otherwise I don't know if I'd take the chance.

Reply 5

Bissman

Kings may have lower entry requirments in terms of A level grades, but they also employ the cut off point of 16 for the lnat

Reply 6

la fille danse

17

Nobody pays £250 a week unless they want to. Expect to pay £100-£120.

Reply 7

mclare

Bissman

Kings may have lower entry requirments in terms of A level grades, but they also employ the cut off point of 16 for the lnat

Is this the same for all law courses? I got 14 in my LNAT and have been offered a place on the M121 law and french law course so perhaps not!

Reply 8

polarman

OP

went to KCL hated it! some yankee doodle law admissions lady had us in a tiny room and there was 2 people to show 150 around! no organisation at all! BTW £3.50 for a pint of stella lol im going elsewhere I doubt I'll ever want to live in london !

Reply 9

shady lane

16

A pint at the King's bar is under £2...

Reply 10

Dark and Lovely

15

polarman

went to KCL hated it! some yankee doodle law admissions lady had us in a tiny room and there was 2 people to show 150 around! no organisation at all! BTW £3.50 for a pint of stella lol im going elsewhere I doubt I'll ever want to live in london !

That is v. strange there were about 60 of us at our open day day with 6 guides..so groups were cool and we were in a lecture theatre at the waterloo campus...aah well enjoy Notts! more KCL for me.

Reply 11

dollsie

I was at the open day on wednesday too and i agree- it was very disorganised and they didnt really seem like they knew what they were doing- but i still loved the place...my firm choice.

Reply 12

Dark and Lovely

15

forgot to add, all KCL students get a bursary that is half their maintenance grant! If i read it correctly...that's like up to £600 of money you don't have to pay back.

Reply 13

3.1415926535897

10

kcl is gash and the law students are nothing special but for some reason the department is held in high esteem.

london is also better.

Reply 14

red_alert

I didnt like London. That's my take on it.

Reply 15

diodo

I would have to emphasize KCL because of London. Especially for law it has a good reputation and it will appeal quite good in the big firms that are located in london

Reply 16

dazmanultra

1

3.1415926535897

kcl is gash and the law students are nothing special but for some reason the department is held in high esteem.

Interesting point of view, but it doesn't really hold much water.

Reply 17

Zoecb

11

polarman

I love gigs and all the big bands come to brixton and I on average see about 20 big gigs a year and this would be v convienient

Brixton is the least of it - Hammersmith and Astoria get more than them, and KCL SU itself gets really good bands every now and again.

everything in london is expensive and i'm rather poor i.e i hear when you have to move out in 2nd year some people are paying £250 a week for accom

I'm looking for £110 a week places and so do most people. Only the already rich can afford much more than that.

transport is v expensive short tube trip £5?

Nope, £1.50, but all bus journeys are £1 and you can walk most places anyway.

is 1 place below notts in law table and 5 in overall table (times 07) Sounds dodgy to me, KCL is extremely renouned for law, lawyers more or less have their own campus.

Hear say evidence suggests the uni experience is more limited due to the city based nature of the uni i.e friends are harder to come by, not a strong group vibe

It's whatever you make it....

Reply 18

Wild Thing

11

shady lane

I've never heard of anyone paying that much. I'm certainly not. If you're paying more than £150/week, you're either filthy rich, or very stupid and getting ripped off.

A student travelcard is £16 per week, a student bus pass is £9.40 per week. A single tube journey on Oyster Card is £1.50.

They´ve raised it.

Anywho, I was paying 200 pounds a week and that was the CHEAPEST i could find in the areas i wanted...

Reply 19

Wild Thing

11

polarman

went to KCL hated it! some yankee doodle law admissions lady had us in a tiny room and there was 2 people to show 150 around! no organisation at all! BTW £3.50 for a pint of stella lol im going elsewhere I doubt I'll ever want to live in london !

its 1.50 at waterfront :rolleyes:

KCL worth it?

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