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Uni decision HELP please - media & communication

Hi, I'm an international student about to finish my foundation course.
I've made my UCAS application and all decisions have been made but I'm not happy with these results.

I was rejected by the University of Leeds without any reason, and I have three options: York, Royal Holloway, and Goldsmiths. I'm doing media and communication, and I don't know which university would be good for me.

I also compared these options in the environment, recognition and future job (most important). York is a small and safe city but can't say its cheap, and among them, it's the most well-known school, but it's research-focused, so I'm not sure how strong its media program is.

Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway, their module looks interesting, but I'm not sure about living in London and if is good for international student in the industry.

I didn't expect that rejected by Leeds without any acceptable reason, and the same course I applied for, is still available to apply for vacancies. So i'm thinking of submitting my appeal form to Leeds.

I need your advice, on which is a better option, and whether is it worth submitting an appeal form and waiting.

Reply 1

Hey! I graduated from Goldsmiths (Arts Management programme) few months ago. I have to say that the teachers are amazing. The university is small and intimate. My class had only 12 people, so not only did I feel prestigious, but the teacher also had time for everyone. However, I’ve heard that in Drama or Fine Arts, classes can have as many as 40-60 students.

Goldsmiths gave me incredible internships and work placements - much better than my friends from UAL or UCL. I think that if the teachers like you, they can really get you some amazing internships that aren’t easily accessible to others.

Besides, Goldsmiths ranks highly in arts and media. York is equally prestigious, even more than Goldsmiths, and I believe it’s part of the Russell Group.

If you’re looking for a prestigious university and a Russell Group institution, go there. However, I doubt you’ll get nice student internships or connections in big/good companies as easily, because York is quite far from major cities where such opportunities are available

Reply 2

FWIW Royal Holloway isnt in London, at least not in the sense of being any where near the City of London, its 25 miles west, outside the M25 in a much more rural setting

Goldsmiths is a bit closer to "proper" London and likely to be an expensive placed to live. Royal Holloway and York not so much

You will be there for a number of years, which one do you like the most? What sort of student experience are you after? Because all 3 are quite different in that regard
Original post
by Lee JY
Hi, I'm an international student about to finish my foundation course.
I've made my UCAS application and all decisions have been made but I'm not happy with these results.
I was rejected by the University of Leeds without any reason, and I have three options: York, Royal Holloway, and Goldsmiths. I'm doing media and communication, and I don't know which university would be good for me.
I also compared these options in the environment, recognition and future job (most important). York is a small and safe city but can't say its cheap, and among them, it's the most well-known school, but it's research-focused, so I'm not sure how strong its media program is.
Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway, their module looks interesting, but I'm not sure about living in London and if is good for international student in the industry.
I didn't expect that rejected by Leeds without any acceptable reason, and the same course I applied for, is still available to apply for vacancies. So i'm thinking of submitting my appeal form to Leeds.
I need your advice, on which is a better option, and whether is it worth submitting an appeal form and waiting.

Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths are highly regarded for media and communication. London is certainly a very good place for media and communications students.
Original post
by Lee JY
Hi, I'm an international student about to finish my foundation course.
I've made my UCAS application and all decisions have been made but I'm not happy with these results.

I was rejected by the University of Leeds without any reason, and I have three options: York, Royal Holloway, and Goldsmiths. I'm doing media and communication, and I don't know which university would be good for me.

I also compared these options in the environment, recognition and future job (most important). York is a small and safe city but can't say its cheap, and among them, it's the most well-known school, but it's research-focused, so I'm not sure how strong its media program is.

Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway, their module looks interesting, but I'm not sure about living in London and if is good for international student in the industry.

I didn't expect that rejected by Leeds without any acceptable reason, and the same course I applied for, is still available to apply for vacancies. So i'm thinking of submitting my appeal form to Leeds.

I need your advice, on which is a better option, and whether is it worth submitting an appeal form and waiting.


Do you have any thoughts about what sort of job or career path you would like post degree?
If you aren’t happy with any of your offers then you can always decline them and apply through UCAS Extra. There’s a lot of great courses with vacancies still open.

Reply 5

Original post
by TopBun
FWIW Royal Holloway isnt in London, at least not in the sense of being any where near the City of London, its 25 miles west, outside the M25 in a much more rural setting
Goldsmiths is a bit closer to "proper" London and likely to be an expensive placed to live. Royal Holloway and York not so much
You will be there for a number of years, which one do you like the most? What sort of student experience are you after? Because all 3 are quite different in that regard

thanks for advice, i lived in york, felt its a bit boring also the overall environment was pretty limited to uni student, and thats why i’m thinking goldsmith and royal holloway even though they are both lower rank than York
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 6

Original post
by PQ
Do you have any thoughts about what sort of job or career path you would like post degree?
If you aren’t happy with any of your offers then you can always decline them and apply through UCAS Extra. There’s a lot of great courses with vacancies still open.

Hi, thank you! I’m not 100% sure that i’ll get an offer with an extra apply and I couldnt find unis I want to go

Reply 7

Original post
by cksiu
Royal Holloway and Goldsmiths are highly regarded for media and communication. London is certainly a very good place for media and communications students.

Hi, thanks. Do you think the subjects and major are more important than the overall recognition of the university? Because York is much higher and is regarded as a good university in Russell

Reply 8

Original post
by vv444
Hey! I graduated from Goldsmiths (Arts Management programme) few months ago. I have to say that the teachers are amazing. The university is small and intimate. My class had only 12 people, so not only did I feel prestigious, but the teacher also had time for everyone. However, I’ve heard that in Drama or Fine Arts, classes can have as many as 40-60 students.
Goldsmiths gave me incredible internships and work placements - much better than my friends from UAL or UCL. I think that if the teachers like you, they can really get you some amazing internships that aren’t easily accessible to others.
Besides, Goldsmiths ranks highly in arts and media. York is equally prestigious, even more than Goldsmiths, and I believe it’s part of the Russell Group.
If you’re looking for a prestigious university and a Russell Group institution, go there. However, I doubt you’ll get nice student internships or connections in big/good companies as easily, because York is quite far from major cities where such opportunities are available

Hi, thanks! Goldsmith is well known in the media , but I’m not sure if it’s worth it considering the high cost of living. Later on, I think it’s challenging to work in the media industry, as international especially, so I’m not sure which is more important, the overall recognition of the university degree or modules in major

Reply 9

Original post
by Lee JY
Hi, thanks! Goldsmith is well known in the media , but I’m not sure if it’s worth it considering the high cost of living. Later on, I think it’s challenging to work in the media industry, as international especially, so I’m not sure which is more important, the overall recognition of the university degree or modules in major


Well, having “Russell Group” on your CV won’t guarantee you a job - internships and networking will. I know people from Harvard and Oxford who have the same position as me and work with me daily.

The time when university prestige mattered more than work experience ended in Europe about 30 years ago. I know that in Korea and China, this mindset still persists, but not in Europe. So if you plan to stay here long-term, you need to take that into account.

York is a beautiful and amazing city, but far from the big corporations where you could grow in the field you want to study, but its university has a higher prestige. Unfortunately, it’s a tough decision for you :frown: Wish you all the best!
Original post
by Lee JY
Hi, I'm an international student about to finish my foundation course.
I've made my UCAS application and all decisions have been made but I'm not happy with these results.
I was rejected by the University of Leeds without any reason, and I have three options: York, Royal Holloway, and Goldsmiths. I'm doing media and communication, and I don't know which university would be good for me.
I also compared these options in the environment, recognition and future job (most important). York is a small and safe city but can't say its cheap, and among them, it's the most well-known school, but it's research-focused, so I'm not sure how strong its media program is.
Goldsmiths and Royal Holloway, their module looks interesting, but I'm not sure about living in London and if is good for international student in the industry.
I didn't expect that rejected by Leeds without any acceptable reason, and the same course I applied for, is still available to apply for vacancies. So i'm thinking of submitting my appeal form to Leeds.
I need your advice, on which is a better option, and whether is it worth submitting an appeal form and waiting.

Hi Lee JY,

It's lovely that you're considering York.

Some of the other commenters have posted about internships and I agree they're very important. While York is fantastic for teaching and research you can't rely on that alone.

This is why I strongly advise anyone to make contact with the Careers and Placements Teams as soon as you start. One of the things I love about York (and wish I'd had as an undergraduate!), is the careers pathway support and the Careers Team have a careers journey plan set up to give suggestions for activities to get involved in, and actions you can take along the way. The have dedicated support for international students and the team are also available to support you after you graduate! They can direct you to soooo many events and have their own advertising boad for jobs/internships/work experience called Handshake.

Your degree alone may not be enough to guarantee a good graduate job (from any uni) and most employers will expect you to have a CV demonstrating work experience. That's where the Placements Team come in 🙂 They'll help you with internships, placements and volunteering opportunities while you study.

I also agree with the comment about cost of living not being a main factor to consider. My personal experience is that I moved from Greater London to York a couple of years ago because it was cheaper in York!

Which ever uni you pick, I wish you the very best and if you have any questions about York do let us know 🙂

E.

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