Durham vs Warwick vs UCL????

Hey guys!

Im having a pretty difficult time choosing between these three unis for undergra.

Warwick- PPE
Durham- Econs and Politics
UCL -PPE

Which uni do you think i should firm, depending on all factors as a whole and not just league/ranking tables??

pls help :smile:

thanks!

Reply 1

wolfmoon88

21

Original post by hulaloopyloop

Hey guys!

Im having a pretty difficult time choosing between these three unis for undergra.

Warwick- PPE
Durham- Econs and Politics
UCL -PPE

Which uni do you think i should firm, depending on all factors as a whole and not just league/ranking tables??

pls help :smile:

thanks!

Hi

If you have offers from all of these universities! Congratulations! :smile:

They are all quality universities and you are definitely not starved for choices!

I think in terms of which university you "should" firm, only you can be the judge of that. This is definitely about personal preference. Each university offers a different experience. (If I were in your position I would pick UCL but that is just because I applied there and I do not particularly like the other two universities as a matter of personal preference :rofl:

)

I mean the first thing that I think you should consider is definitely the course above all else. What modules can you take in each university? And because the course in Durham is different from the other two, do you want to do PPE or Politics and Economics? Choose the university which has the course that you like the most and are most comfortable with. After all, you are in university to get an education first and foremost :tongue:

You have to enjoy what you are studying because you are going to study this course for 3 or more years!

Then the next thing that is the most important is to look at opportunities each university has to offer, where you can go on study abroad programmes, student societies, career centres etc... These are an important part of the university experience and you have to make sure that you are satisfied with the opportunities that you have in each university.

Then you also have to consider is location and accommodation. Being in a big and cosmopolitan city like London is very different to being in Coventry or Durham. The residential college experience in Durham will also be really different from the student experience in UCL and Warwick so that is something to consider as well. The question you have to ask repeatedly is, what do I want from my university experience?

You can use this website (http://unistats.com/) as a helpful point of comparison between all of the universities. Remember that you don't have to choose your firm and insurance options until a few months later, so you don't have to be so eager to choose now. After all, it is better to think about it and make an informed decision because after all you will be spending the next 3 years of your life maybe more studying in this institution.

I hope this helps and good luck :smile:

Reply 2

hulaloopyloop

OP

2

OMG thank you soo much for such a detailed reply!!! it really helped in clearing my mind and narrowing it down to the basis upon which i should make my decision!! :smile:

the only thing that concerns me sometimes is that although i really like durham and its ranking in uk is pretty high, it happens to be quite low in some of the international league tables... so should i let rankings influence my decision?

also, i applied by deferring my entry, however now i want to enter college this year itself- i called up warwick and ucl and they said i can do that, do you think durham will let me as well?

thanks again!! :h:

Original post by wolfmoon88

Hi

If you have offers from all of these universities! Congratulations! :smile:

They are all quality universities and you are definitely not starved for choices!

I think in terms of which university you "should" firm, only you can be the judge of that. This is definitely about personal preference. Each university offers a different experience. (If I were in your position I would pick UCL but that is just because I applied there and I do not particularly like the other two universities as a matter of personal preference :rofl:

)

I mean the first thing that I think you should consider is definitely the course above all else. What modules can you take in each university? And because the course in Durham is different from the other two, do you want to do PPE or Politics and Economics? Choose the university which has the course that you like the most and are most comfortable with. After all, you are in university to get an education first and foremost :tongue:

You have to enjoy what you are studying because you are going to study this course for 3 or more years!

Then the next thing that is the most important is to look at opportunities each university has to offer, where you can go on study abroad programmes, student societies, career centres etc... These are an important part of the university experience and you have to make sure that you are satisfied with the opportunities that you have in each university.

Then you also have to consider is location and accommodation. Being in a big and cosmopolitan city like London is very different to being in Coventry or Durham. The residential college experience in Durham will also be really different from the student experience in UCL and Warwick so that is something to consider as well. The question you have to ask repeatedly is, what do I want from my university experience?

You can use this website (http://unistats.com/) as a helpful point of comparison between all of the universities. Remember that you don't have to choose your firm and insurance options until a few months later, so you don't have to be so eager to choose now. After all, it is better to think about it and make an informed decision because after all you will be spending the next 3 years of your life maybe more studying in this institution.

I hope this helps and good luck :smile:

Reply 3

wolfmoon88

21

Original post by hulaloopyloop

OMG thank you soo much for such a detailed reply!!! it really helped in clearing my mind and narrowing it down to the basis upon which i should make my decision!! :smile:

the only thing that concerns me sometimes is that although i really like durham and its ranking in uk is pretty high, it happens to be quite low in some of the international league tables... so should i let rankings influence my decision?

also, i applied by deferring my entry, however now i want to enter college this year itself- i called up warwick and ucl and they said i can do that, do you think durham will let me as well?

thanks again!! :h:

No problem :smile:

, I am glad that it helped!

Most international ranking systems focus on postgraduate studies rather than undergraduate studies. I think when looking at ranking systems it is important to look at the methodology that they use to determine the rankings. There are some factors that are more important to me than others, like for example, I like small classes so student to faculty ratio is something I definitely consider when looking at individual universities. Figure out what is more important to you rather than look at composite rankings. That being said, I remember that Durham is still in the Top 100 in the world for most world rankings, which honestly isn't too shabby considering it is the top 1% of the world's universities. So no, don't let international rankings influence your decision too much because Durham is a great university for Politics (and Econ which I assume are your two main interests and not Philosophy in PPE) and people in the industry knows this. - to be fair, St Andrews and Brown University in the US also don't do too well in International Rankings mostly because of course offerings and class size but I would argue that Brown University offers a better undergraduate education than all of the Ivies other than MIT and Dartmouth so in short, don't be too hung up on rankings, choose the university that fits you the most.

I cannot answer that, but what I would do is call or email Durham asking if it is possible. After all, it doesn't hurt to try if you really like the University :smile:

I assume that they would mostly because deferred entry is often harder to get into compared to regular entry so I don't see why not. Just ask soon as possible so they have time to consider it.

No problem, if you still have any questions just ask! :tongue:

Reply 4

AmyAlbertsLamb

10

I'd say firm Warwick PPE and insure UCL. Warwick's PPE course is really well recognised and has many strong connections with the industry- as well as UCL. To be honest, check them out and pick whatever you feel the most comfortable in, they're all in the elite top 10!

Reply 5

hulaloopyloop

OP

2

Original post by AmyAlbertsLamb

I'd say firm Warwick PPE and insure UCL. Warwick's PPE course is really well recognised and has many strong connections with the industry- as well as UCL. To be honest, check them out and pick whatever you feel the most comfortable in, they're all in the elite top 10!