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UCL vs Warwick vs St. Andrews

What are the pros and cons of each of these three unis for mathematics? I have offers and need to pick one, but am curious of others' opinions on them. Thank you!

Reply 1

Hi1997

I have several friends at UCL, one friend at Andrews and i myself at Warwick. So i am in the best position to answer the question.

The academic difference between these 3 universities is negligible. Like my grandfather says, unless you go to Oxbridge no one gives an F.

What really matters is the city. They all 3 are so different. UCL is in London so that is self explanatory. St andrews is extremely rural. Warwick is very countryside like there's a campus bubble. But 30 minutes from both Coventry and leamington by bus. So halfway between Andrews and UCL's position.

The course also matters, look into the modules and see if they are right for you.

Reply 2

username638250

Original post by Maclain

What are the pros and cons of each of these three unis for mathematics? I have offers and need to pick one, but am curious of others' opinions on them. Thank you!

Warwick Maths is part of COWI, the top 4 universities for Maths in the country. Course wise, I would choose Warwick; it offers flexibility, prestige and high standards.

Reply 3

monkyvirus

Original post by Hi1997

What really matters is the city. They all 3 are so different. UCL is in London so that is self explanatory. St andrews is extremely rural. Warwick is very countryside like there's a campus bubble. But 30 minutes from both Coventry and leamington by bus. So halfway between Andrews and UCL's position.

The course also matters, look into the modules and see if they are right for you.

St Andrews isn't that rural, it's 30 minutes from Dundee and has bus links to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Based on your description it sounds a lot like Warwick. There's also a train station a lot closer than Dundee (about 10 minutes by bus).

I agree with you about checking the modules. St Andrews has a strong focus on ecological statistics and solar theory. Its particularly good in stats and applied maths with a relatively small pure department (though still excellent if you like the modules offered).

Warwick does have a much better reputation for maths overall.

Reply 4

Foxab77

Warwick. Any day.

I do Mathematics and Economics here at Warwick (2nd year), and the maths experience and atmosphere here is unreal. I am not exaggerating.

A bit about me: I had offers from UCL Maths and Econ, Imperial Maths, but I didn't apply to St Andrews. And I got rejected from Oxford.

Reply 5

Foxab77

Also be careful- make sure you can meet Warwick's entry requirements- they seem to keep increasing them each year for Maths !

Reply 6

Jai Sandhu

Original post by Foxab77

Also be careful- make sure you can meet Warwick's entry requirements- they seem to keep increasing them each year for Maths !

Im 100% sure they did the opposite recently, now they have the same entry requirements as when we were admitted + A*A*AA or A*A*A*, no STEP or AEA, imo those 2 additions make it much easier, also, I thought Parley was the only person who did Maths and Economics.

Reply 7

username1732491

Original post by monkyvirus

I agree with you about checking the modules. St Andrews has a strong focus on ecological statistics and solar theory. Its particularly good in stats and applied maths with a relatively small pure department (though still excellent if you like the modules offered).

As a Pure student at St. Andrews I would like to clarify a couple of things.

St Andrews does have decent Pure department, with large focuses on Algebra, Groups and Fractal Geometry, as well as history of mathematics. It is rather small, though that may be because the building itself is pretty tiny and is mostly full. A new building is scheduled to be built at some point, though I don't know when.

St Andrews organises the "Groups St Andrews" conference every 4 years in various cities (this year it's in Birmingham). They are also developing a programming language called GAP that is specifically designed for use by mathematicians (I was lucky enough to get on to the development team, so hopefully I'll get start to working on it myself in the near future :biggrin:

).

Overall I'd say the course is overwhelmingly fun, and given the size of the department and student body it's probably a rather intimate experience compared to other unis. It's also a great way to get connections, as a good number of the staff are rather big names in their respective fields, and the small class sizes allow for students and staff to get to know each other well.