Top Unis - am I missing something?

Are you always so sure you're right?

One thing I will say is that employers don't want 'swots', they want rounded individuals with evidence of all-round achievements.

For example, investment banks have zillions of Oxbridge applicants and the deciding factor when recruiting is what they have done apart from getting a degree.

It's irrelevant to me now as my DCs are actually the ones recruiting and some of the worst applicants are Oxbridge as they have very narrow experiences.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Exeter. The wellbeing department is brilliant and the scope for academic 'stretching' has been amazing in dcs experience. Expensive to rent there though :-(

Not sure why you think this as it's not the experience of friends whose DCs applied there.

From experience of DC who applied there, not second hand.

Because you've misunderstood your friends or your friends have misunderstood the system - they want evidence the applicant is obsessed with their subject, not that they're in the choir, play grade 8 piano , rugby for the county etc, Ask on the Oxbridge thread where this is discussed all the time

Exeter could be a good option. I'm not a particular fan of the university due to them advertising high grade requirements but often having courses in clearing or happily dropping 2 grades on results day. However, I know someone there and it's clear they have an excellent careers department and a big focus on employability. I think you'd feel like less of a number there.

Bath also feels student-focused. It's very STEM -based and they appear to work the students very hard but that does mean it rubs off on all the students, so those with lower contact hours e.g. International Relations, won't be living with a lot of students with loads of free time on their hands and won't have FOMO if they actually want to do the hours of independent reading they're supposed to do!

Not sure why you think this as it's not the experience of friends whose DCs applied there.

When you factor in traffic at peak times, full buses etc the average journey time is 30 mins.
If you are looking for a campus experience, LU may disappoint. It's great for the first year but when you live off campus it I harder to participate in campus based activities as it means regular bus journeys or very long days with a lot of hanging around. Also at Lancaster there is no contact time during the third term so no need to be on campus, therefore it can feel quite isolated. Housing on campus is also much more expensive than in town.

The philosophy, politics and religion (PPR) department it is sorely lacking.

Stand corrected. Oxford regards 8s as equivalent to 9s, and the admission tests may be more important than the GCSE grades.

I kind of know what you mean. My kid got all a stars and went to Bristol. It has been pretty disappointing. Their friends have also been saying how they feel like numbers in the institution and nobody knows them. My Oxbridge kid is having a far better experience, they also got all a stars.

For humanity subjects, there seems to be a big gulf between Oxbridge and the rest. Sciences seem to be much better taught at lots of universities, as do the professions like law and medicine.

I would not put Bristol down as a choice, as my child is doing similar subjects and it is not great

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/politics

Not that the OP will focus on anything but Cambridge and Oxford but the Politics rankings are quite surprising to me.

Lots of unis have lots of the student accommodation including private houses for second and third years within walking distance (5-20 mins walk)

I work at a different university which is also campus based and ranks slightly higher than Lancaster (but also top ten). The facilities (and social scene) are worlds apart. I have been to a significant number of UK universities including all RG universities and there is no other where the combination of buildings, accommodation, social facilities, libraries and other amenities are as good as Lancaster. It’s an outstanding university on a beautiful campus and shouldn’t be dismissed just because people have outdated notions of what it’s like.

Or any university. When DD moved out of halls she used to get the metro in from her second and third year accommodation.

Well that’s the case with most campus universities and it actually takes 15 minutes to get into the centre of the city.

I would strongly advise against Lancaster to study politics at present.

Most students leave the campus after the first year and live in town which is a 30 bus journey away.

Agree, 5 hours makes getting home for a weekend more expensive and difficult. If she’s closer it doesn’t mean that she will be home all the time but at least it’s easier when she wants.
being closer means that parents can collect/drop off often at the holidays when you often have lots of stuff

Five hours travel is tricky for students without much money. My daughter often struggled to find the train fare home and I could never help her out. So yes it is a consideration.

A level grades aren't just to get into uni. Lots of people don't go to uni after a levels.

I work in a university and I think the metrics by which what's 'top' are measured, are tricksy. As a headline, the four you listed are all Russell Group institutions apart from Bath (and Bath still ranks very highly), meaning they would be attractive names to a great deal of employers. So it really comes down to: which specific course will she thrive in most, and how can the Careers dept support her as she moves into the workplace?

RG institutions' funding and reputation is built on research, not teaching quality: teaching can be viewed as a hassle distracting from 'real' work and teaching-focused staff are often seen as 'lesser' academics as a result. So if she's passionate about the subject and wants inspiring teaching, I'd suggest using forums like Unibuddy to speak to students at each institution she's considering and getting a feel for the department and course as they can vary hugely. Beyond that, it's worth speaking to the Careers team and getting a sense of how proactive they are, how good their contacts are, and the kind of roles alumni have gone on to do.

Lovely post.

Great post @lawyer12

Hey!

So I'm going to address a few points generally and hope to make you feel better.

1. Aged 17 I did a spreadsheet on train times, drive times and average train ticket costs from all universities I liked the idea of. Being from Durham, I chose no further than Manchester. It didn't make me immature as some suggest, but realistic that I didn't want London/abroad until after university as I liked the idea of popping home and having Sunday lunch if I was REALLY stressed from studying.

2. as a Law student walking through Newcastle campus I came across a week 1 SE young fresher SOBBING because she had to audition for a musical, was told she couldn't drop French (it was more advanced than she thought and the uni had you take random minor subjects, she didn't study French overall) and she missed home. Her parents were distraught 3-4 hours away. I sat with her for about 2 hour, gave her a cuddle and sent her to her audition. She texted thanking me, that she'd got the part and based on my advice as a third year, they let her drop French. Do not underestimate if she says she recognises she's not ready to be 300 miles away, maybe when she's graduated she will get the distance bug, it's ok if she doesn't!

3. her A-level grades will see her top of the pile on graduate/internships. My having a 1st class honours and AAA has seen my application top of the pile AND I've been involved in hiring trainees and paralegals/trainees when in-house. Law isn't politics, but while she may be over achieving for her uni choice, she will be glad she did for an over competitive graduate decision.

Overall, getting the "vibe" (eg campus), distance and her being able to continue to absorb her studies so well is key to her staying happy, getting good grades and therefore getting the most from university. I don't see the issue.

I do agree with some comments I've seen you post yourself that she should use her choices wisely. If she has 5 choices and 1 is Cambridge, 1 should be another "high level" uni close to home, another perhaps city uni then 2 "real" choices she already likes. She's then got a good spread and might be happy she has done this by decision time? She should re-visit all of them as open days (even weather etc!) can change your view of a uni and meeting lecturers/current students on different days and different people etc.

Good luck in her decision!

If your DD changes her mind about the distance issue, I believe St Andrews feels more like a campus due to the small size of the city. They also have a top International Relations degree if that is of interest. We went to the subject talk at the open day and were impressed with what they had to say.

I’m aware of all this, having DC who went to.