To think my DD should go to Edinburgh Uni instead of Kent?

[Girlypops154]

My DD has been accepted to Edinburgh to study Astrophysics and she has also been accepted to Kent University. We live outside of London and she says wants to be closer to home but I say she should go to Scotland because it’s a better university (she has also been accepted to St Andrews but we prefer Edinburgh). We are in a blessed position that we can afford the extra year up there. How do I get to change her mind as she has her mind now set on Kent but I really think going to an RG would be far better. She’s now getting annoyed at me because I keep insisting on Edinburgh. She has also been accepted to Durham and Aberystwyth but neither of them have got back to us yet. Any advice or am I being unreasonable? Thank you.

I’ve been following this with interest. My DS started at Edinburgh in September, 5 hours drive away. He’d only been before for open day and a weekend….. but he’d see his heart on going there. He got into his other choices, and only found out he’d got into Edinburgh so late that he’d given up hope. UCL was also rated high for his course, but we’d moved from London and didn’t want to go back there. He is loving it. He’s made a tight group of new friends in his Halls, and in classes. He’s also joined up with his sporting hobbies , which has helped meeting people. It doesn’t feel so far away, unless you sit and think about it. I think there it is wholly natural to live a little vicariously. You clearly only have your DD interests at heart. I really hope she has the most amazing time at Edinburgh and she is so happy she made the choice to go. Sometimes being that little bit further away, means our DC learn to be a little bit more independent. I wish you both the very best for future.

@thing47 I know she wasn’t but I’m assuming no place was equal to Durham or St A and you have confirmed this. Although for the OP’s subject, Manchester is ranked 4.

Why do you say this? What is your evidence?
Kent is certainly in financial difficulties, but so are MANY other UK universities. Some are more open/secretive about it than others. Kent is the first to announce its merger with Greenwich, but that doesn’t mean other universities aren’t considering mergers, they almost definitely are.

However Kent has announced so is known to be merging with all the chaos and job losses/course losses that will result. When do academic mergers ever run without job and departmental losses alongside chaos and low morale? The two tenured faculty I know at Kent are both looking elsewhere (from STEM departments so more mobile than their arts faculty colleagues). They were both approached by headhunters, the successful staff all will be.

I disagree with the premise that Kent is a poor university - historically its been a mid ranker overall and in some STEM subjects its quite strong, especially with good links to industry. However I wouldn’t consider it for astrophysics and right now I wouldn’t want my DC investing tens of thousands on courses where staff are looking elsewhere.

As others have said, Scotland/Durham are not the only good options in this space. Manchester is in between, Imperial/London has a good history in the subject and Southampton/Surrey have strong industry links (especially Surrey) in this area if that is the preference.

Its not ridiculous to want to be less than a day’s journey away from home but that leaves many options with an actual track record in the subject and more stability in staffing.

There is chaos, including job and department losses and course closures, right across the HE sector. Many academic staff are looking for alternative jobs. Prospective students and their parents should not assume if they don’t know any bad news about a particular university that there isn’t any. Most universities are very guarded about their financial situation for the obvious reason that it impacts their reputation, fewer students then apply and a downward spiral ensues. As is evident in this very thread.

• there are better choices than Kent for the subject without going to Scotland
• given the choice between confirmed chaos and the possibility of future chaos most people would choose ”possibility” as lower risk

Announced mergers/closures result in large numbers of staff looking to move, more so than possibly closures.

I would discourage any child of mine from starting out at a university which is guaranteed the merger chaos and lacks any strong track record in the subject when better options are available.

Or look to see if your target uni is on the list: https://qmucu.org/qmul-transformation/uk-he-shrinking/

If it is - do you avoid and go somewhere not listed?

Or apply, knowing that they recognise their financial problems and are actively trying to resolve them - perhaps those not listed are burying their heads in the sand?

@titchyThe finances of unis are public info. I’d worry about Kent because it’s merging but probably more will! Life is too short to work out which ones.

Yes I am very well aware the finances are public - I’ve linked to them on many occasions (including to you in your old name), but most people don’t know what the metrics mean, let alone the best one to use.

The point remains, most unis are now running at a deficit - including the RG. Some will be trying to manage that, either through redundancy programmes or mergers or other plans. It’s worth bearing in mind that perhaps if the uni your dc is targeting hasn’t been subject to such plans - it’s because it is being appallingly managed.

(As it goes now that Kent is being taken over by a much better managed uni it’s future looks a lot better.)

She's the one going to university, not you. "We" like Edinburgh has bog all to do with it.

That aside, Kent is local to us too and our children all chose RG universities further away. A friend of youngest dd has just finished at Durham studying astrophysics and he enjoyed it. It's close to the big dark sky area (Kielder??) and is a good university in a small city, albeit with a lot of hills!

Also, I love London and did my undergrad at King's but accommodation is often so far away. Even if yours isn't, your friends may well be at the other end of a big city. DD1 did her MSc at King's too and London is just so different to live in as a student now.

Dd2 was at Newcastle - really not that far on the train (the stop past Durham).

But two organisations merging is always a difficult time, causes confusion, uncertainty, low morale and lack of predictability.

I would agree with you on gathering info on other universities and that plenty of institutions have financial difficulties but it makes no sense to choose a middling university without a strong track record in her subject, knowing the place is going into a merger when other options are available near to hand.

The staff I know actively moving are not worried about redundancy or their own departments - they don’t want to spend the next couple of years plus in the middle of the chaos and inevitable political games.

Yeah I said earlier that given her predicted grades she should aim higher. And yes the merger will cause a myriad of uncertainties (though other mergers have happened recently and I doubt the students have noticed anything except a new logo!).

But these things are not unique to Kent by any stretch. Ask any Language applicant/student/staff member!

I don’t think I’m disagreeing with you btw - just pointing out pretty the whole sector is currently drifting up shit creek seeking paddles.

OP, I'm glad your DD has made a decision, "after careful consideration". That is key. Going away from home to study is always a leap of faith, but if she has the right attitude she'll be just fine.
Do prospective students still use Student Room to meet others starting uni, or are there other channels/platforms nowadays? My DD found it helpful. Also, if your DD has existing sporty or musical or other interests (debating? drama? politics?) she'll find the relevant societies a good way to get to know people once she's there. Good luck to her with her studies and student life.

She’ll love it.

Only on MN would I read such shit. Meanwhile in the real world most parents with Uni age children give a shit about where they go.

OP, just look forward to those lovely weekends visiting Edinburgh!

@titchy Yes but Greenwich is not like being taken over by Imperial is it. It’s probably lower on the university ranking pool. Good for them that they are well run but not all debt is bad either. It depends why there is debt.

I couldn't disagree more. As a former academic research scientist, I obviously was once an undergraduate! Big, active research departments involved in cutting edge research very much influence delivery of the undergraduate programme. Students do benefit from being in proximity. Staff are involved in delivering courses which will inevitably flavoured by the research activities of the department. It is exciting and inspirational. It is common for students stay at the same university to do a PhD (most aspirational physicists will be studying for a four year integrated masters) and having a large and well-funded department involved in a range of physics areas gives more options.

Which very often don't even cover the accommodation costs.