To want my son to go to a higher achieving Uni?

@Namingchangeagain that's PJM Pentre Jane Morgan great accommodation 2 bathrooms shared between 6 and a huge kitchen space

Ahhh, Pentre Jane Morgan is lovely; I lived there in my 3rd year when it was first built.

Good for you, OP. Honestly, it's a fantastic place. You won't regret supporting him, and I hope he has a wonderful time.

Next is his halls decision!

The catered accommodation you had to remove your stuff at Xmas and Easter so he might want the self catering and you can get a food card if he's a terrible cook!

I loved living in PJM halls as it was little houses rather then flats and lots of green space to sit out on.

Aber is a really decent uni. It just won two coveted awards at the 2023 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCA).

Aberystwyth picked up awards for Lecturers and Teaching Quality and Student Life. They also came in third overall in the University of the Year category, the highest placed Welsh university.

“Notional” 😂 Are you this pedantic in real life?

Oh, I see he's chosen. Good lad.

I was waiting for the subject. He knows his onions. Aberystwyth for IR.

Maybe try and unpick what it is that is influencing his decision, list pros and cons together.

did you say the rural idyll was a part of it and that Exeter was also an option? That might be a happy compromise in los of ways.

@Mirabai Aberystwyth University doesn't interview candidates.
You might as well be imagining a conversation with a Unicorn.

Thinking about it though LSE is a bit of a special case in that it has a lot of alumni in desirable roles. Who are not only willing, but able to come and give talks etc because it's based in London. Which also allows you to do things like part-time work with a lot of employers in a 'subsidiary' role and meet people actually in the business. As opposed to those chosen as 'ambassadors' in outreach talks or whatever.

Internationally it has an excellent reputation. I went straight to the final round of interviews (such as investment bank and other financial institutions) for internships (and jobs) in my home country and a couple of others. From speaking to my peers this doesn't really happen for anybody else except for Oxbridge and Imperial (if we're talking British universities).

Of course there is also the case that it has a lot of well-connected people..

This thread isn't about LSE, and the OP has updated us as to the very happy outcome. But university choice is very interesting.

There are so many variables as to someone's personality, academic ability, type of role etc that it is impossible to give blanket advice. It's not true that 'RG' is the best (in fact can anybody name all 24 members?). It's also not true that the university has no impact on your future career.

Ultimately I think choosing with an understanding of your personality, and goals is important.

@Namingchangeagain your update post made me cry!

What a wonderful mum you sound. Took all the opinions onboard, reflected and agreed with your son.

You should be tremendously proud of your son and of yourself for bringing up an intelligent independent young man.

Here's to the update in 3 years time saying he's graduated!

But at the end of the day...its his choice

with one of my dc they were unsure which to choose.. so i did a list with them and suggested they mark each university for what they considered was important --- aka course, accommodation, cost, etc get him to look up how the university is marked for the respective course by student feedback
Some redbrick universities are renown for certain subjects. Oceanography at Aber and geography too if I remember rightly amongst others. Accountancy too.

🤣🤣 angry .
You are quite amusing . You obviously don't cope well with other people's opinions, resorting to petty put downs . Your opinion isn't any more valid than than other people's you know.

Wow you are getting more angry, maybe have a cup of tea and calm down

Why would I have had a nerve hit? I'm not the one posting sad faces because my son has a different opinion on unis to me

He's not a child, he's 19. Maybe he knows his own mind! Why should his mum had the final stamp of approval?

Op hasn't said he is being held back by fear you're projecting there!

Dd went to Aber, loved it (She had threeA* and an A. She is still friends with lecturers and students she was with. She has an extremely good, well paid job.
It’s a good uni with excellent pastoral care (yes I’ve seen the papers but we found it good). It’s a pleasant living environment too.

Yes that was I was thinking. The people who are driven and want to earn loads choose LSE. Instead of LSE creating people who have the earning power. (Though I assume LSE helps a bit)

Well because the sort of people who choose LSE economics are the sort who are after the money.
Of course, there are other factors like being in London etc but the reputation of a university makes the cohort select themselves.
When I was there it was full of spring week applications before Fresher's week had even started!

No, it's you who's had a nerve hit by the OP.
All she has said was she thinks her son is 'aiming lower'.
There's a lot of room between leaving it completely up to them and having the final stamp of approval.

Trust parents to know their own child. As much as there are people going 'I went to an RG and hated it' there are also many who held back for fear of not being good enough, and later wish they had gone for it.

Are these graduate roles?

Aberystwyth:

Small town
Great scenery
Beach and mountains within east reach
Good reputation for IR
One of the few places in the UK where you can live in a bi-lingual setting.
Lots of international students
Students around all week. (No empty halls at weekends)
Beautiful train journey to get there.
Town and campus all within walking distance
Small enough to ensure personal attention.

There are so many positives about Aber which explains why student satisfaction is so high.