Picking the less prestigious uni as first choice

It's her choice and she should go where she thinks she'd be happy.

They are all excellent universities and choosing one over another is not going to make the slightest bit of difference to her options when she graduates. Employers /postgrad courses really will not care which of those she goes to. It’s what she does while she’s at uni that’s important - the degree but also the clubs, societies, volunteering, work experience, placement, jobs - all that stuff is what employers want to see.

Glasgow is an excellent university and the city is a great place to be a student.

Your DH needs to keep out of it.

Not true of the university area. The city centre has definitely taken a hit in the last few years but the west end is thriving.

Two of my cousins are at Glasgow at the moment and having a blast.

If she wants a career in psychology, work experience is more important than the uni she goes to.

She should pick the one she likes the best! Glasgow is an excellent uni and it having a slightly lower offer can only be an advantage. I was bricking it because my firm was Oxford and my “insurance” was Durham with the same grades, so it would just have been a case of “hope Durham will be more willing to take me if I mess it up”. And I didn’t even like Durham but my mother wouldn’t let me put Edinburgh as insurance even though I preferred it.

What is going on with psychology? Pretty much all dds female friends are doing it and most of my friends dds too.

The RG thing is a very English obsession I would say. I’ve never ever heard a Scot talk about the Russell Group unis.

I worked in England for a good few years and I never heard anyone talk about RG unis then either. So I’m not sure if it really matters in the ‘real world’. Work experience is the most important thing when applying for jobs after uni IMO.

@Delphigirl But as far as the costs go, doing 4 years and not 3 costs more. There’s no advantage in doing this. In fact many reasons not to.

I beg Glasgow’s pardon, it was me that suggested it wasn’t RG. That’s how much RG is in my radar (kids went to Leicester and Loughborough- neither one in RG, the horror!).

I also didn’t realise you only pay three years of fees. That makes a difference.

I still would consider how far it is - obvs @RecycleThie may live north of Newcastle and it’s not far. But imho distance, cost of trains, convenience can really come into it. Ds2 is maybe a bit too close lol! But he has been glad enough of it more than once.

Nobody said it was a free year

Somewhat bemused to open this thread and discover that the "less prestigious" uni in question is Glasgow.

If she's going for psychology, prestige of institution is irrelevant - what matters is that her degree is BPS accredited.

Depending on her plans afterwards, the statistics content may also matter (eg clinical psychology doctorate at Southampton requires the first psychology degree to have a high stats load).

Why do you think prestige matters?

In fact in the Complete University guide for Psychology, it’s ranked 8. Higher than any other uni listed by the OP. So this thread makes little sense to me. Have you read the rankings @RecycleThie

Currently you don't get charged tuition for the fourth year but of course there's still accommodation costs. It is NOT a masters in the England sense - it is an undergraduate degree it just says MA. You cannot automatically go in to Y2 @Delphigirl - it depends very much on what course you did at A level.
Glasgow itself is excellent and you should look at the particular course at the university when deciding. Some very prestigious universities will rank lower than others on a particular course.

And yes you do take your firm if you make the grades. If she decided not to she would have to decline the place and go in to clearing. Once the grades are received by the universities, which is before results day, the firm takes them and the insurance is dropped and the place offered to someone else. It's not there 'in reserve' should an applicant change their mind!

@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy It’s because the OP said it was less prestigious and people then assume it’s not RG. It is and hardly “less prestigious” for many.

People seem to be assuming that Glasgow isn’t a Russell Group uni, but it is. The only caveat I have is that lots of the students will be local and going home to mum and dad in the evening - some English students find that a bit hard.

It’s an undergrad masters isn’t it? Plus you still have accommodation to pay for. It’s not a “free” year for maintenance and parental costs. Not sure if dd here is planning to join in y2. I don’t think the Scottish degrees get you any further forward towards being a psychologist but the costs can definitely be more.

And they come out with a masters not a BA. Extra time to do placements and internships - lots of reasons why it is attractive

Glasgow only charge English students 3 years fees tizer
the extra year is a great thing. The English can also go into year 2 if they don’t want 4 years

I don't think you pay fees for the fourth year though? I think the fees are capped at three years.

Glasgow is a great city to be a student in and this is the time for your DD to make her own decisions and shape her own life. I'd be supportive and positive of her decision, wherever she goes, as who would want the knowledge their parents weren't happy with their choice? That would be really unfair.

I don’t see the advantage of a 4 year course in Scotland over 3 years in England if you are English. It’s a very expensive choice for no academic advantage. Even if you pay more rent in London or Bristol it’s still way cheaper than 4 years. All those unis are RG. Anyone wanting to study further is basically wasting a year when they could be working for relevant psychology work experience or doing necessary further qualifications. I cannot see the advantage of going to Scotland over Bristol and KCL. I’m surprised she’s not applied for Bath.

You can’t automatically pick your second choice if you get the grades for your first in the day. The first will accept you and your place at the second will be withdrawn. You may be able to get the first to release you IF the second still has a space for you but it’s certainly not guaranteed. I know someone who suffered with this last year as they thought you could do it and he couldn’t as the second had released his place.

My strong advice is to go where she wants, she is far more likely to thrive there than one she is less keen on.

I'd be going with the best rated psychology course/ department personally, and the one with modules that suited my needs - they're all good universities

Neither Edinburgh or Bristol are more prestigious in any sensible employers’ eyes than Glasgow. It is an ancient and excellent university and I have never understood why the English underrate it. Americans don’t, it has a very good international reputation. I’d put it top 10 with UCL, Edinburgh, Manchester, as most of the international tables do (Bristol top 25 and Durham nowhere to be found)

it is also a better run and happier place than Edinburgh at the moment and the West End is a brilliant place to spend 4 years. Let her make her own choices.