Define "better" as in better unis and why do you think it is important to go to a "better" university?
If the answer is job prospects then that is the wrong reason. If you know that the teaching / support / extras / employability at one university is better than another then absolutely go for that.
For me, if I had my time again, I would definitely take a gap year and use that time to work a little and travel and most importantly discover a little bit about who I am, what I like and then I can use that information to take my next step. I can't help but feel too many people do what I did and jump onto the conveyor belt of life because that is what is expected despite it bringing little personal reward or satisfaction.
Good luck!
If the answer is job prospects then that is the wrong reason. If you know that the teaching / support / extras / employability at one university is better than another then absolutely go for that.
For me, if I had my time again, I would definitely take a gap year and use that time to work a little and travel and most importantly discover a little bit about who I am, what I like and then I can use that information to take my next step. I can't help but feel too many people do what I did and jump onto the conveyor belt of life because that is what is expected despite it bringing little personal reward or satisfaction.
Good luck!
Original post by hotpud
Define "better" as in better unis and why do you think it is important to go to a "better" university?
If the answer is job prospects then that is the wrong reason. If you know that the teaching / support / extras / employability at one university is better than another then absolutely go for that.
For me, if I had my time again, I would definitely take a gap year and use that time to work a little and travel and most importantly discover a little bit about who I am, what I like and then I can use that information to take my next step. I can't help but feel too many people do what I did and jump onto the conveyor belt of life because that is what is expected despite it bringing little personal reward or satisfaction.
Good luck!
If the answer is job prospects then that is the wrong reason. If you know that the teaching / support / extras / employability at one university is better than another then absolutely go for that.
For me, if I had my time again, I would definitely take a gap year and use that time to work a little and travel and most importantly discover a little bit about who I am, what I like and then I can use that information to take my next step. I can't help but feel too many people do what I did and jump onto the conveyor belt of life because that is what is expected despite it bringing little personal reward or satisfaction.
Good luck!
Original post by tcrain957
More just curious for opinions and reasons as im very stuck atm :/
What are you stuck on?
Which course looks most interesting?
Which university is located in the place you find most pleasing?
Which course is likely to lead to a job you will enjoy?
If you are struggling to answer these questions, maybe taking a year or two out might be a better option?
Original post by tcrain957
CS or CS And Maths for all, curious on which to firm not scottish,and AAB-ABB offer grades, or gap year for better unis. Opinons?
Now with a gap year, where would you be looking to apply for "better" unis? I'm guessing you're looking at the likes of Imperial and Oxbridge, right?
For this to happen, you need to achieve 2 A*s A as a minimum to be in with a decent chance of getting in (minimum entry to Cambridge but I think Oxford is 1 less A star). So focus on your A levels! You should decide on firm and insurance based on your personal preferences. Rankings will say some things about each of the universities but at the end of the day, it's what you feel about the place.
Now, I got into Imperial this year to study Computer Science (Cambridge rejection). The admissions process at both is SUPER competitive with Imperial being more competitive between the two (1 in 17 vs 1 in 13 at Cambridge. Oxford has similar numbers to Imperial but the department is way smaller because it's sort of split between the joint honours courses with Philosophy and Maths so a massive department isn't really needed). Cambridge and Imperial now both require the TMUA for 2025 entry so if you plan on applying to both, you NEED to smash that admissions test.
Also, if you plan to take a gap year, you need to show them that you haven't just fallen off and have put your gap year to good use.
I would advise against a gap year (after briefly considering it myself) because I'm sure you would still be as happy at Edinburgh, Durham, York and the other places you applied to and you not only risk losing out on these offers but also, you might not get into these competitive courses at the likes of Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, KCL etc. However, if you think that you can prove that the gap year was for improvement purposes, you should be OK. Also, if you do get an offer from Cambridge, they make you sit the STEP to check that your Maths hasn't fallen off.
I loved the facility at Durham and it was a nice and quiet town but there isn't really that much to do. I mean, on the Open Day, you don't get that vibe because of the crowds of people but I went to Durham in Year 11 just before exams to visit some family friends and the town centre was really quiet but it was a nice atmosphere.
I haven't seen York Uni but it ranks a decent bit lower than the other two for CS so may be worth considering.
Edinburgh in my opinion has everything - city vibe, quiet vibes, green spaces, architecture and many other things.
Original post by tcrain957
CS or CS And Maths for all, curious on which to firm not scottish,and AAB-ABB offer grades, or gap year for better unis. Opinons?
Edinburgh is by far the best of those 3 for Mathematics. It's 33rd in the world for it on QS Rankings. Next best is Durham (201-250), then York (251-300).
For Computer Science, Edinburgh is 20th, York is 198th, and Durham is 301-350. I can't work out why Durham is ranking higher than Edinburgh and York for this on www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. In the case of Edinburgh, it appears to be purely because of student satisfaction, perhaps aided by the fact Durham got a new building recently. Durham have not historically been great for Computer Science. And York, for whom I hold no general candle as I was there when it was incredibly tired looking in the late 1990s, seem to be below Durham on CUG largely because of student satisfaction and entry standards. Computer Science is a subject for which York seem to be genuinely good - they got a nice building at a time when most other departments were making do with 1960s CLASP (and it appears that they've since moved to a newer building on the newer, adjoining, campus).
This is a clear win for Edinburgh.
Which universities do you regard as notably better than Edinburgh for these subjects?
(edited 2 days ago)
Original post by Picnicl
Edinburgh is by far the best of those 3 for Mathematics. It's 33rd in the world for it on QS Rankings. Next best is Durham (201-250), then York (251-300).
For Computer Science, Edinburgh is 20th, York is 198th, and Durham is 301-350. I can't work out why Durham is ranking higher than Edinburgh and York for this on www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. In the case of Edinburgh, it appears to be purely because of student satisfaction, perhaps aided by the fact Durham got a new building recently. Durham have not historically been great for Computer Science. And York, for whom I hold no general candle as I was there when it was incredibly tired looking in the late 1990s, seem to be below Durham on CUG largely because of student satisfaction and entry standards. Computer Science is a subject for which York seem to be genuinely good - they got a nice building at a time when most other departments were making do with 1960s CLASP (and it appears that they've since moved to a newer building on the newer, adjoining, campus).
This is a clear win for Edinburgh.
Which universities do you regard as notably better than Edinburgh for these subjects?
For Computer Science, Edinburgh is 20th, York is 198th, and Durham is 301-350. I can't work out why Durham is ranking higher than Edinburgh and York for this on www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. In the case of Edinburgh, it appears to be purely because of student satisfaction, perhaps aided by the fact Durham got a new building recently. Durham have not historically been great for Computer Science. And York, for whom I hold no general candle as I was there when it was incredibly tired looking in the late 1990s, seem to be below Durham on CUG largely because of student satisfaction and entry standards. Computer Science is a subject for which York seem to be genuinely good - they got a nice building at a time when most other departments were making do with 1960s CLASP (and it appears that they've since moved to a newer building on the newer, adjoining, campus).
This is a clear win for Edinburgh.
Which universities do you regard as notably better than Edinburgh for these subjects?
Oxbridge, Imperial, Warwick. (Maybe UCL? probably not though).
As for Durham not being great for CS, it's because the course is basically just Maths with the words "Computer Science" over the top. That is obviously an exaggeration but it is very mathematical, which, I agree, is important for CS, but it shouldn't be the main focus, I don't think. It's still a very good course but I think relative to the courses of the other top 10 unis, it isn't as CS-focussed, but will provide a very good foundation for entering theoretical CS and research.
As for Durham ranking higher for CS, deffo to do with student satisfaction. In the past Edinburgh had problems of students being unhappy with the quality of teaching and things (but it's improved A LOT since then.) But, in a way, many people flock to Durham because it's got that Oxbridge vibe but with a lot less stress and more time to do what you want whereas the Edinburgh course is also quite rigorous, what with CS being one of their flagship courses.
(edited 2 days ago)
Original post by Picnicl
Edinburgh is by far the best of those 3 for Mathematics. It's 33rd in the world for it on QS Rankings. Next best is Durham (201-250), then York (251-300).
For Computer Science, Edinburgh is 20th, York is 198th, and Durham is 301-350. I can't work out why Durham is ranking higher than Edinburgh and York for this on www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. In the case of Edinburgh, it appears to be purely because of student satisfaction, perhaps aided by the fact Durham got a new building recently. Durham have not historically been great for Computer Science. And York, for whom I hold no general candle as I was there when it was incredibly tired looking in the late 1990s, seem to be below Durham on CUG largely because of student satisfaction and entry standards. Computer Science is a subject for which York seem to be genuinely good - they got a nice building at a time when most other departments were making do with 1960s CLASP (and it appears that they've since moved to a newer building on the newer, adjoining, campus).
This is a clear win for Edinburgh.
Which universities do you regard as notably better than Edinburgh for these subjects?
For Computer Science, Edinburgh is 20th, York is 198th, and Durham is 301-350. I can't work out why Durham is ranking higher than Edinburgh and York for this on www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. In the case of Edinburgh, it appears to be purely because of student satisfaction, perhaps aided by the fact Durham got a new building recently. Durham have not historically been great for Computer Science. And York, for whom I hold no general candle as I was there when it was incredibly tired looking in the late 1990s, seem to be below Durham on CUG largely because of student satisfaction and entry standards. Computer Science is a subject for which York seem to be genuinely good - they got a nice building at a time when most other departments were making do with 1960s CLASP (and it appears that they've since moved to a newer building on the newer, adjoining, campus).
This is a clear win for Edinburgh.
Which universities do you regard as notably better than Edinburgh for these subjects?
I have since firmed Edinburgh due to reaching most of the conclusions previously mentioned and my own research, in regards to better its mainly down to Oxbridge and Imperial, and im 90% sure my guilt comes from never applying as I severely regret not having the opportunity to at least try, especially as I perform well on the MAT for the one or two times ive attempted it, at the moment the focus is kind of just on the A level grades and making an informed decsion on results day
Warwick ranks higher than Edinburgh for Maths but not Computer Science. UCL doesn't rank higher than Edinburgh for either. QS Rankings.
Oxbridge and Imperial would be the only overall leaders over Edinburgh for this. Unless you preferred Warwick anyway but although Warwick has slightly better research quality than Edinburgh for both subjects, only 59% of staff at Warwick across all subjects on average conduct high quality research whereas it's 76% at Edinburgh.
Edit: I now see you firmed Edinburgh.
Oxbridge and Imperial would be the only overall leaders over Edinburgh for this. Unless you preferred Warwick anyway but although Warwick has slightly better research quality than Edinburgh for both subjects, only 59% of staff at Warwick across all subjects on average conduct high quality research whereas it's 76% at Edinburgh.
Edit: I now see you firmed Edinburgh.
(edited 2 days ago)
Original post by tcrain957
I have since firmed Edinburgh due to reaching most of the conclusions previously mentioned and my own research, in regards to better its mainly down to Oxbridge and Imperial, and im 90% sure my guilt comes from never applying as I severely regret not having the opportunity to at least try, especially as I perform well on the MAT for the one or two times ive attempted it, at the moment the focus is kind of just on the A level grades and making an informed decsion on results day
Lemme tell you from my experience that doing an admissions test in practice is completely different to doing one when it matters. You can prepare as much as you like but you never know how you are going to cope under the pressures. In a normal exam, I never check my answers after answering the question once (which I probably shouldn't do but I write very slowly so very rarely have the time to do so) but during the TMUA, I was literally checking each answer about 3 times after answering the question because of that constant paranoia that you've messed up something really easy.
I too did the MAT and the first time I did it, I scored 72/100 (I was thinking about applying to Oxford initially so started to prepare for the MAT but the Cambridge CS admissions numbers are far friendlier so went with Cambridge in the end). In my first TMUA paper, I scored full marks on the first paper and then dropped 4 questions on the second paper.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Would you rather attend...?
- Play the forum game that's playing 3 threads below this one
- University
- International Reputation vs Global Reputation
- Durham vs York uni
- Warwick vs Exeter Nightlife
- Durham vs Edinburgh university for English lit
- University of Edinburgh vs Durham University
- Bristol vs Durham vs UCL vs Edinburgh for Engineering
- St Andy's vs. Oxbridge = more like Oxbad
- Russel Group vs Bath
- Durham vs Edinburgh
- Edinburgh vs Durham vs Imperial for civil engineering
- The Russell Group hurt/heal game (Part 5)
- Edinburgh vs York
- Imperial or Edinburgh
- Durham vs Edinburgh?
- should i apply to cambridge
- UCL vs Edinburgh vs Durham vs Bristol Engineering
- interview accounting and finance
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 week ago
Hello .. I am looking for computer science program BSc/BEng 2024 entryLast reply 3 weeks ago
What A-Levels should i do if i wanna do a Bsc in Computer ScienceLast reply 1 month ago
Correlation between performance in UKMT and performance in TMUA/STEP?Last reply 1 month ago
Do top universities allow just 3 A levels including Further Maths?Trending
Last reply 1 week ago
Hello .. I am looking for computer science program BSc/BEng 2024 entryLast reply 3 weeks ago
What A-Levels should i do if i wanna do a Bsc in Computer ScienceLast reply 1 month ago
Correlation between performance in UKMT and performance in TMUA/STEP?Last reply 1 month ago
Do top universities allow just 3 A levels including Further Maths?
