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

Also, how would he be 'wasting his talent' doing IR at a university that (as a pp said) effectively invented the discipline?

A well-established University with an international reputation for his chosen subject(s), set in beautiful surroundings, with very high student satisfaction scores. I honestly cannot see an issue here, beyond the clichéd forelock-tugging that always arises whenever an RG institution is in the mix.

Forget about league tables and rankings.. look at what career exposure their grads get. Looks like Aber has it covered
https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/courses/3d689ef0-e92f-44f7-9dd4-9bdc4efa9652?SearchText=

Regardless of how good the actual department is I suppose people avoid it because of the 'brand name'. If you're studying a subject like International Relations you're unlikely to get a job in the field and recruiters for 'generic' grad schemes are unlikely to keep track of what every university specialises in for every possible combination of subjects.

Nevertheless, it is still a traditional academic subject in which the content cannot be diluted (unlike, say business, or computer science). Marking may be more lenient, and questions more shallow for the 'lower ranked' but you cannot avoid the academic work at a fundamental level.

I wouldn't worry.

My son got a first class degree from a lower ranking uni. He loved it there. It didn’t stop him getting a distinction in his Astrophysics masters from one of the best unis in the country for its subject. Why does he want to go to Aber? Is it that the course has the content which he likes? Is it the setting? I know you think he’s wasting his talents but maybe he has had enough of always striving to be the best and wants a more nurturing setting.

I think if parents are paying £1000s they actually do get a say in whether it’s a good investment.

YABU.

Aber is very highly regarded for IR and 8th in the Guardian League tables for MFL, if that means anything.

I've barely heard of the uni and no doubt it will be the same for many employers.

This says a LOT more about you than the University, in truth.

Sounds like sound reasoning to me (sorry!). . I had a swatch at Aberystwyth campus online and it looks beautiful.

What's the uni's reputation like for that course?

😂 definitely wrong!

OP is it the distance from London to Aber which is a driving factor in your viewpoint?

Aberystwyth is renoun and very well respected for international relations (and politics)

My did went to a 'high achieving' university but left as the quality of teaching was so bad. She went to a non RG university and it has been so much better.

I hear of so many people who have had great experiences at Aber. I think that you should let your son decide.

If he’s going to a B uni but has A grades then surely it’s going to be a bit easier for him to access the course Material and he’ll be happier

AAA unis expect AAA effort. Perhaps he’s wanting a more rounded Uni experience hence the BBB uni instead and having worked his arse off to get those As realises he’d rather have other things going on than just study.

I know what I would choose. B and a life over A and high stress.

Aber is the birthplace of IR as a discipline!!! It is a really well regarded for its subject and a great place to study. I absolutely get why he'd go there, instead of Leeds. I like certain bits of Exeter's IR and Durham has the rep beyond the degree... Really if you want to do IR -Lse, Warwick, Aber, Oxford and Edinburgh are the places to go. I have been teaching IR for a couple of decades.

What’s more important, his happiness or your bragging rights? It will be hard to brag if he goes where you force him to and then drops out because he hates it.

Op I have a relative at Aberystwyth, he loves it. He is trying to stay there as long as possible. 3 years is a long time to be in a city if you want to be somewhere quieter.

I went to a non red brick uni. With bonus I earn 165k. I got a 1st class degree which got me on a graduate scheme. It has crossed my mind that had I gone red brick, maybe I wouldn't have got the 1st class! So there are advantages.

And those of us who actually work in a university and deal with stressed-out, miserable undergrads day in, day out would never underestimate the importance (academically, emotionally, physically) of students feeling happy, 'at home' and enjoying their uni experience.

All you can do is ensure he’s making an informed decision.

It depends what his reasoning is and what the course is tbh.

If he just doesn't like the other (city) universities then that is fair enough, especially if he is outdoorsy and wants good access to coast and countryside. Aber is a beautiful place and has a great reputation in a number of areas.

Much rather my child went to a uni they wanted to go to and come out with a so called pointless degree then go to a posh university they didn’t want to and completely flunk it but of course I forgot anyone who went to a so called mediocre university is a failure aren’t they. Also FYI there are a number of graduates from the type of university you seem to love that have minimum wage jobs or aren’t working just like there’s so called mediocre university graduates who are excelling in their fields.)

*bugger all!

I'm not going to worked up about this, because this was me when I was going to uni, and in all honesty, this probably will be me when my DC are old enough. But seeing how companies like mine recruit, I know which uni would make bigger all difference to success of a job application.

The age old tropes of being a sports captain, volunteering, time management and so on are what will get someone a job. A degree is just to get over the screening hurdle and as pp have said, in many cases now it's blind screening.

Just because someone got Bs for A level, does not mean that's all they are capable of. I got pretty poor grades, am a member of MENSA, got a distinction for my MSc and got a pass with no revisions (hard to get) for my doctorate.

A levels are often based on memory mainly. Plus, some 17&18 year olds aren't ready to learn yet. University is a whole different thing! And people have grown up a bit by then!

On my doctorate course the few that struggled were the few with straight As at A level. They had studied v hard for the A levels, learnt to memorise well, but struggled with a higher workload and abstract thinking required if doctoral level study. (That's not to say people with straight As can't do well. I'm sure many can! Just don't disregard the others!)

I’d have thought Exeter was more rural than Aber, but I’m probably wrong. I also know it’s a nightmare getting accommodation at Exeter.
I’m curious though - did he not have holidays in the countryside and by the sea?

Hey OP, I don't think you're wrong to express your opinion but ultimately it's your son's choice. The Guardian university rankings for International Relations from this year and Swansea isn't far behind Leeds and is higher on the list than Bristol, Aberystwyth is high in terms of modern languages. There's also Student Satisfaction rankings to consider as how well he does will surely be influenced by how happy he is with his university/ setting etc. Aberystwyth actually comes in third and Swansea also comes in ahead of the others.

In all honesty if I had to live somewhere for 3 years I'd chose Swansea or Aberystwyth over Durham and Leeds and living near a beach really does have a good impact on your mental well-being.

Don't know about now but when mine was looking at unis. He looked at job prospects on completing the degree . The higher unis had worse jub prospects then so-called higher unis. So might be worth looking at .I would have thought him being happy was the most important part

Aber is well known for its international politics dept which I believe was one of the very first in the UK.

But yeah, 'mediocre university, pointless degree'... if you say so.

This place is so depressing sometimes.