Pls help with my 5 UCAS choices!!

Hi! I'm an international student applying through UCAS, so im not too sure about my 5 choices. I have a predicted 41/45 including 3 points for tok/ee, 776 in HLS, which translates to a A*A*A. I was originally planning to apply to
1. KCL-economics+management-required 766 or A*AA
2. Warwick-economics-required 38 points or A*AA
3. University of Manchester- economics-required 35 with 6,6,5 HLs or AAB
4. University of Bristol- economics+management-required 36 with 666 HLs or AAA
5. University of Nottingham-economics-required 38
I was also looking at the university of exeter and university of bath, but I'm not too sure
Could someone help me out and let me know if these universities are good? in terms of student life, atmosphere etc

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 1

green t

london school of economics is good for econ, A* AA for it

Reply 2

mike23mike

Original post by ariacrystal

Hi, well done in achieving such outstanding grades. You really do have the pick of the bunch. All the unis you list are first rate so you will not have a poor educational experience. I know its a bit geeky but, if you have the time, check out the CVs of the professors and departments. Are they advising governments? e.g. Strathclyde Uni (not on your list) is highly rated for economics and the economics department (Fraser of Allender) advises the Scottish Government. Most recent Nobel prize winners for economics have come from the US - so why not study there? The only UK economist in recent times to win the prize is Oliver Hart who won the prize in 2016 and he is at London School of Economics (not on your list)

Some unis you list are campus-based (e.g.Warwick) and others are integrated into the town/city (e.g. Manchester). Thus, you need to decide which type you prefer. Some of the unis you list have been in the news for the wrong reasons so again this could have a bearing on your decision.

- Suicides at Bristol Uni
- Bath uni chancellor being overpaid
- Racism at Exeter uni
- Sexual harassment at Warwick uni
- Students being treated poorly during Covid at Manchester Uni

Reply 3

ariacrystal

Original post by green t

london school of economics is good for econ, A* AA for it

hi! i was considering LSE but they require a 7 in math which i don't have://same goes for UCL

Reply 4

ariacrystal

Original post by mike23mike

Hi! thank you so much for the reply! I'll look up the professors CVs I'm sure that would help a lot! I'm not very keen on going to the US for education and neither are my parents, as for LSE they require a 7 in math which i don't have, i'd rather apply somewhere as a safety college. I also looked at Durham and Cardiff, would u recommend me changing Nottingham to durham? i think it's one of the better unis right?

as for the news articles, thank you so much for bringing that to my attention, I'll discuss these issues with my parents and reconsider. Thank you so much!!

Reply 5

anonuser99

I think your choices are solid however I think Manchester may be too much of an insurance. Maybe look for a uni with triple A requirements. If worst comes to worst.

Night life in all your unis is solid with the outlier being Warwick (although I hear it's not as bad as you'd think) but Bristol and Notts have great night life rep and KCL is in London. These are all very chilled unis from my experience. The person posting the controversies is right tho, you could and should consider the underlying issues behind these.

Reply 6

djkaye

Original post by anonuser99

It's always good to have one's with AAB/ABB requirements even if you're predicted straight A*'s as anything can happen.

and to the OP:
Yes, Durham is one of the top universities. Nottingham is a strong university too, but between Nottingham and Durham Durham is definitely more prestigious (at least when it comes to economics based degrees - Nottingham/Sheffield are strong universities for Engineering).

Reply 7

swanseajack1

Original post by ariacrystal

I wouldnt read too much into the articles. They tend to refer to very small amounts so do not usually apply to everyone. Your chances of getting into LSE without a required Maths GCSE grade is extremely low.

When looking at universities there are several things you need to ask yourself. Do you want a campus or city based university. Do you want to be in a big or small city. Durham and Exeter are in very small cities and the environment is totally different to places like London or Manchester. Warwick is on a campus miles out of the nearest city. Have a think what you would prefer. If you like bigger cities look into London, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol or Birmingham. If it is smaller places look into the likes of Durham, York, Exeter, Bath and Lancaster.

Reply 8

mike23mike

Original post by ariacrystal

Hi I recommend staying with Nottingham. I did not point out a recent article on Durham in my last post but it was not very nice. My friends went to Nottingham and had a great time there.

Reply 9

University of Strathclyde

Official Rep

Original post by mike23mike

Are they advising governments? e.g. Strathclyde Uni (not on your list) is highly rated for economics and the economics department (Fraser of Allender) advises the Scottish Government.

Thanks for the mention @mike23mike :biggrin:

Original post by ariacrystal

Could someone help me out and let me know if these universities are good? in terms of student life, atmosphere etc

@ariacrystal If you do happen to consider Strathclyde then drop me a message any time, happy to help! We're in the top 10 for Economics (complete Uni Guide) and our Business School has a strong international reputation. We are based right in the centre of Glasgow, previously voted 'World's Friendliest City' by Rough Guide Readers :biggrin:

Glasgow is such a student friendly city (there are three universities in the city, with colleges and other campuses close by) and there's something for everyone here. Strathclyde as a uni has a very modern feel, and we have a large and diverse student population :smile: