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Nobody feel like mentioning Saffordshire or Stoke university :D

Actually Staffs is supposedly quite good. Visited the main campus once, the whole place is like some kind of isolated university town! Rarely have I seen that in England. Pity I ended up getting an unconditional offer for Stoke :eek: went to Manchester Met in the end. Though with our rooms being upgraded we had to go to City College Manchester for lectures... excellent. Though it is quite a good college (reads thread title) it seems. And my dad teaches there ;)

Law is very good at Manchester.

Funny that Bristol and Nottingham should get mentioned in Tier 2... My girlfriend's triplet brother and sister each go to them!
 
wow have i missed alot while i was at school today lol, sorry i haven't replied to anyone. well for those of you who were interested in what i am looking to study, most likely either engineering or medicine....i like computers and graphic design but i am not sure i want to major in such.

Thanks for all the help!:)
 
How very very interesting! One of my girlfriends brothers is doing Engineering at Huddersfield and the other is studying to become a radiographer in Bristol. Strange :)

Medicine? Kings College London might be worth a look into.
 
wow have i missed alot while i was at school today lol, sorry i haven't replied to anyone. well for those of you who were interested in what i am looking to study, most likely either engineering or medicine....i like computers and graphic design but i am not sure i want to major in such.

Thanks for all the help!:)

Warwick is good (where I go, so I'm bias) in that you can take outside modules, I can do pretty much anything (if I want) from English to Languages to Engineering at Warwick, though this is especially true for Maths.
 
Check out this guide to UK Universities. It ranks them according to subject as obviously all Universities will be better in one area than another.

I'm doing Electrical & Electronic Engineering at The Queen's University of Belfast and i find the quality of teaching to be excellent.
 
One other thing that I would do (other than picking universities) is finding out what kind of requirement you need to have coming from an American school.

I am pretty sure that A level is a little bit more advance than US Grade 12. However, you might be able to use AP as being equivalent to A level (I'm not sure if this will work). I was interested in going to university oversea when I was in high school so I enrolled in the IB program (it is equivalent to A level) and that open up doors for me to go to where ever I want.

Check the requirement first. You have lots of time to pick a university.
 
Might be able to help you with this one as I have done this very thing. Am an American who went off for University here rather than in the States. First thing is first, if you can't get into any IB programme, sign up next year for as many AP classes as you can possibly take if you're not in quite a few already. The British universities will base most of the acceptance off of AP exams. In fact, one of my friends who did the same as me was told to take an AP exam he hadn't even had a class for! :eek:

They'll generally look for 4s or 5s for your results so having AP exams that you've already taken and gotten those marks for is VERY good because then they may not have to do a conditional offer.

Also, you have to be pretty damn sure what you want to go into. The BIG difference between British universities and American universities is that you apply directly onto a course. You don't have a year or so to faff about and instead go straight in. (As a result, the length of a bachelor's is 3 years instead of 4) Ex: If you were to apply to LSE, you would apply to straight to econometrics if you so desired. You wouldn't get a general acceptance, take a few courses and then choose econometrics. Once you're accepted into the course and start it, it is quite difficult to swtich to another course. Sometimes you can do it, but you risk taking on an extra year. A lot of British students take a gap year between the end of college and beginning of university. It helps them take a bit of time to get an idea of what it really is they want to do (haha, at least, in theory).

Another thing to remember is that because of the whole AP exam thing, if you do get only conditional offers and nothing firm, you would definitely need to have a backup school or else you could wind up getting screwed over. It's very risky as you have to wait so long to confirm things.

As for Universities, if you're considering medicine defintely check out UCL and King's. But especially UCL. They're pretty good at other things as well :) Oh, and Imperial is good too! For schools outside of London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge are all great.

Oh, and the difficulty of getting into certain schools really is hit and miss, I've found. I applied to King's, City, Manchester, LSE and St Andrew's and got rejected from all except LSE and St Andrew's...which is bizarre (well, particularly considering the City rejection! The course I applied for wound up in clearing, which means they couldn't fill all the places and they were offering it up to students who had gotten rejected from EVERYTHING and needed to attempt to find a last chance place to go and course to study).

But good job on even considering the jump to UK universities! It's a worthwhile endeavour and it would teach you an incredible amount. Much more than you might be able to learn in America...but that's just my opinion of course :cool:
 
Check out this guide to UK Universities. It ranks them according to subject as obviously all Universities will be better in one area than another.

This I'd think one has to be careful on. The university I go to is ranked second in the country for my subject and yet it's leaving something very big to be desired.......at least it'll look good on a CV? :rolleyes:
 
wow have i missed alot while i was at school today lol, sorry i haven't replied to anyone. well for those of you who were interested in what i am looking to study, most likely either engineering or medicine....i like computers and graphic design but i am not sure i want to major in such.

Thanks for all the help!:)

If you're thinking about Medicine, you should definitely consider King's College London (my uni), UCL or Imperial (all London uni's). Every med student I know from these colleges has nothing but good things to say about it.

If you want to know anything about King's, just PM me :)

EDIT: Oh, and if you change your mind and decide to do something which is taught at LSE, you should definitely apply there. They love foreign students there - mainly because they make you pay extortionate amounts - and it has a pretty good rep, and its not as hard to get into as some people think. Plus I may be there next year ;)
 
For electronics, look at the University of Surrey, it's very highly ranked for electronics subjects, and it's in a nice part of the country.

I don't go there, but I used to live relatively near.
 
EDIT: Oh, and if you change your mind and decide to do something which is taught at LSE, you should definitely apply there. They love foreign students there - mainly because they make you pay extortionate amounts - and it has a pretty good rep, and its not as hard to get into as some people think. Plus I may be there next year ;)

Ouch! But can't say it's not true, I suppose. What are you thinking of doing here next year? More law? How is King's anyway? When I applied for undergrad, it would've been my first choice but I got rejected. Then they claimed they'd have a new Master's programme I desperately wanted to be in...but ultimately made it PT rather than FT and I couldn't take it :(

Yeah, if LSE is on your mind at all...I can give you the dl on it quite well...been here way too long!
 
Ouch! But can't say it's not true, I suppose. What are you thinking of doing here next year? More law? How is King's anyway? When I applied for undergrad, it would've been my first choice but I got rejected. Then they claimed they'd have a new Master's programme I desperately wanted to be in...but ultimately made it PT rather than FT and I couldn't take it :(

Yeah, if LSE is on your mind at all...I can give you the dl on it quite well...been here way too long!

Well, I've applied for the LLM at King's as well as LSE, Oxford, and Cambridge. However, I've only got my application in for LSE so far (thanks to referee's dragging their feet). I'm pretty confident of getting into King's as I'm there now and am aiming for a First - but, heck, these application processes can just come down to luck these days.

All in all, given the option of any of the places I've applied for, I'd probably either stay at King's or go to LSE (if I can afford the fee's). Oxford and Cambridge's courses almost entirely neglect the area's I want to specialise in - socio-legal studies - apart from the obligatory Law & Social Theory module. LSE and King's are the only two that actually have a large degree of focus on it. I know all the tutors at King's who teach my specialisation and know that they are all very friendly and talented tutors, so I see no reason to leave.

What you doin at LSE then? Is the student body as intense as the rumours say? My experience at King's has taught me that the quality of teaching can be pretty hit and miss. It's mostly excellent, but every so often you'll get a tutor that is more concerned with his/her grand research projects than their students. Also, if you don't want to become a city lawyer, the law society will make it clear they have no interest in you :rolleyes:
 
I would suggest you divide your research into two sections.

1) First, work out which are the best academically for what you want to do (including advice from here)
2) Post your shortlist on this thread so we can all say what we think of them in terms of nightlife, atmosphere, cost of living and all that stuff

.

.
 
Well, I've applied for the LLM at King's as well as LSE, Oxford, and Cambridge. However, I've only got my application in for LSE so far (thanks to referee's dragging their feet). I'm pretty confident of getting into King's as I'm there now and am aiming for a First - but, heck, these application processes can just come down to luck these days.

All in all, given the option of any of the places I've applied for, I'd probably either stay at King's or go to LSE (if I can afford the fee's). Oxford and Cambridge's courses almost entirely neglect the area's I want to specialise in - socio-legal studies - apart from the obligatory Law & Social Theory module. LSE and King's are the only two that actually have a large degree of focus on it. I know all the tutors at King's who teach my specialisation and know that they are all very friendly and talented tutors, so I see no reason to leave.

What you doin at LSE then? Is the student body as intense as the rumours say? My experience at King's has taught me that the quality of teaching can be pretty hit and miss. It's mostly excellent, but every so often you'll get a tutor that is more concerned with his/her grand research projects than their students. Also, if you don't want to become a city lawyer, the law society will make it clear they have no interest in you :rolleyes:

Wow, I'm sorry, I totally let this go for a way long time. Haven't been logged into MR for a bit w/last minute essays, skiing and holidays! I'm doing Environmental Policy and Regulation here. And the student body is pretty intense, but there are definitely variations. The most intense you'll get are the hardcore econ people, but the social science people can wind up being pretty laid back. Can hear you well on King's quality of teaching, we get pretty much the same. Same thing w/some of our societies...it can be pretty disheartening at times.

Good luck w/your applications! Hope you're able to get into what you want. And yeah, the staying on at King's probably could make things a whole lot easier, especially when you need references for a job (lol, yeah, all LSE ppl are job-focused for some reason). ;)
 
OK, so much has happened in the last year! I thought it would be good to give everyone a little update in my college search. I want to thank everybody again for all your guidance, and I am serious when I say that I really do appreciate it.

I have been offered a place at The University Of Manchester for this coming fall in a four year honors master degree programme for Biomedical Engineering!

I was also accepted to Newcastle University and awarded a 1500 pound scholarship, as well as the University of Westminster (where my grandfather studied). Most likely i will accept the offer from the University of Manchester however. I am so excited!

Thanks again!
 
For electronics, look at the University of Surrey, it's very highly ranked for electronics subjects, and it's in a nice part of the country.

I don't go there, but I used to live relatively near.

I live pretty close to Guildford and can say it is a nice area. Very easy to get to London as well. Just be prepared for the expensive night life. £3 a pint is not uncommon ($6 roughly).
 
Here's a pretty good list. Based on:

  • overall prestige to the layman
  • quality of teaching
  • reputation of graduates in commerce & industry

I'm not really qualified to speak about subjects such as drama or graphic design etc. Therefore this list is mainly about the more traditional subjects.

Tiers 1-3 are essentially made up of Russell group Universities.

Universities are not ordered within tiers.

The list is by no means exhaustive, and only my opinion...


Tier 1
Oxford
Cambridge


Tier 2
Bristol
Durham
Nottingham
Imperial College (obviously Science subjects)
UCL
Warwick (strong Maths & business management departments)
LSE (obviously, very well respected for finance/economics)
Edinburgh
Kings College London (Medicine)


Tier 3
Birmingham
Glasgow
Leeds
Liverpool
Manchester
Belfast
Sheffield
Southampton
Newcastle
Cardiff


Tier 4
CASS (suprisingly well respected for finance)
Lancaster (has a good management department)
St. Andrews
Reading
Bath
Exeter

et al.

Glasgow should definitely be in Tier 2!

The University of Glasgow (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Ghlaschu) was founded in 1451, in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a renowned centre for teaching and research, with an international reputation, being one of the ancient universities of Scotland, the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world and amongst the largest, and most prestigious seats of learning in the United Kingdom.[4][5] The University has recently been named the Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year, 2007/2008.
 
No one take offense to what I am about to post, as I go to a university like this as well.

Usually if the world "Metropolitan" is in the name of the university it is a second rate school. It would have been an old polytechnic converted into a university. When I say second rate, I do not necessarily mean the education is bad but usually the campuses are spread out around the city and old and falling apart. If you look at the ranking you will also not see any "Metropolitan" university anywhere near the top. I go to UWIC myself, Cardiff's metropolitan university. I HATE it, in fact I hate it so much I got amazing grades and am transferring back to a decent school in the US ASAP. STAY AWAY FROM UWIC!!!

PS: The tier 3 and 4 schools mentioned in the list on top are still EXCELLENT universities and I dont know if there even is a difference between tier 3 or 4, maybe even two. . . All those schools listed are great.

PSS: St. Andrews is definitely a VERY HIGH tier 2 school, considering their entrance standards
 
Conrgatulations on getting your place at Manchester - I'm sure you'll enjoy it, it's a fantastic city to live and study in. I went there myself and now 4 years after graduating I'm still here!
 
Here's a pretty good list. Based on:

  • overall prestige to the layman
  • quality of teaching
  • reputation of graduates in commerce & industry

I'm not really qualified to speak about subjects such as drama or graphic design etc. Therefore this list is mainly about the more traditional subjects.

Tiers 1-3 are essentially made up of Russell group Universities.

Universities are not ordered within tiers.

The list is by no means exhaustive, and only my opinion...


Tier 1
Oxford
Cambridge


Tier 2
Bristol
Durham
Nottingham
Imperial College (obviously Science subjects)
UCL
Warwick (strong Maths & business management departments)
LSE (obviously, very well respected for finance/economics)
Edinburgh
Kings College London (Medicine)


Tier 3
Birmingham
Glasgow
Leeds
Liverpool
Manchester
Belfast
Sheffield
Southampton
Newcastle
Cardiff


Tier 4
CASS (suprisingly well respected for finance)
Lancaster (has a good management department)
St. Andrews
Reading
Bath
Exeter

et al.


Think everyone could argue about this for hours. I go to Bath and as it is number 9 in the UK overall, I would have to put it in Tier 2... but then, like I said, we could argue forever.

However... a lot of Americans go to St. Andrews and love it. You get to go to a top ten university, built into a real castle, near some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. Plus you can play Golf and.. like all top 15 UK unis (including Bath ;) job prospects are fantastic.

Naturally, if you can get into our Cambridge and Oxford, it says a lot on the Resume. Not for everyone though as the work is tough.
 
Conrgatulations on getting your place at Manchester - I'm sure you'll enjoy it, it's a fantastic city to live and study in. I went there myself and now 4 years after graduating I'm still here!

Similar here. I went to Manchester to study Computer Science (they have a very well respected computer science department). I am still loving Manchester two years after graduating. It is a lively city with lots to do, you are going to enjoy it!
 
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