KCL as bad as they say? KCl classics or UoE classics

1

Hi everyone, I’m an international student coming to King’s for a semester on exchange. I chose King’s because I really wanted to live in London, and I’ve heard great things about the Classics department as well as King’s strong international reputation, overall just below the very top tier (Oxbridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial).
That said, from what I’ve seen (at least on Reddit), King’s sometimes seems to be considered less prestigious compared to some other UK universities, which made me a bit concerned because I’m hoping to apply for a Master’s degree (possibly after that a PhD program) in the UK later on and was thinking about getting recommendation letters during my exchange, so the reputation of the university matters to me.
When choosing between Edinburgh and King’s I ended up going with King’s, but now I’m wondering if I might regret that choice..... I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

I wouldn't worry about the reputation of the university much, especially since King's is a Russell Group uni. You'll definitely be able to do a Masters and PhD if you do well. If the only reason you'd want to switch to a different uni is cause you think it'd be more prestigious then i don't think you should switch

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

KCL is very reputable and the difference between it and Edinburgh is tiny, if there is a difference at all.

Reply 3

Physician

21

Original post

by Clarisselxy

Hi everyone, I’m an international student coming to King’s for a semester on exchange. I chose King’s because I really wanted to live in London, and I’ve heard great things about the Classics department as well as King’s strong international reputation, overall just below the very top tier (Oxbridge, UCL, LSE, Imperial).
That said, from what I’ve seen (at least on Reddit), King’s sometimes seems to be considered less prestigious compared to some other UK universities, which made me a bit concerned because I’m hoping to apply for a Master’s degree (possibly after that a PhD program) in the UK later on and was thinking about getting recommendation letters during my exchange, so the reputation of the university matters to me.
When choosing between Edinburgh and King’s I ended up going with King’s, but now I’m wondering if I might regret that choice..... I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

KCL is a top 8 UK university according to the global university rankings. It was traditionally seen as the 6th best UK university for decades, and only in the last 5 years or so has it fallen slightly behind Edinburgh in the global rankings, with Manchester right on its tail also. Since the difference between KCL and Edinburgh is very, very small, it makes no difference whatsoever as to which one you choose, because they will be viewed as equals in the eyes of employers and academia.

If it were down to me, l would have chosen Edinburgh, but only because the university and the city are so beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Oxford and Cambridge in terms of the size and scale of the beautiful ancient buildings, within the university and throughout the city. KCL is also a pretty university, but some of their academic buildings are leased (Somerset House being the obvious example), and they are quite spread out across central London. At Edinburgh all the stunning buildings are quite close to each other, and some of them are just breathtaking.

KCL as bad as they say? KCl classics or UoE classics

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