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.

Kent is in difficulties. I'd go to Edinburgh. Fun city, good uni.

At the end of the day it’s her choice but, objectively, yes Edinburgh is the best choice
if she actually wants to do a job that is related to her degree subject. And also - from a completely biased standpoint - Edinburgh is a an amazing city to live and study in.

Is she worried about the snobbery at Edinburgh do you think? If so, she has much less to worry about in a science subject - the Kings Buildings campus has quite a different vibe.

What’s with the “we” haven’t heard yet? It’s her university life and her choice. If she’s not heard back yet from two of them then quite some time before decision time, suggest you take the pressure off her!

Well it’s got to be her decision. Having said that there’s a big gap between the uni’s you’ve mention both in distance and in perceived quality.

If wanting to stay close to home is one of her reqs, it looks like she’s just realised this having gone through the process.. Maybe reapply next year for London unis. UCL, imperial, kings or wherever is good for her chosen course. Take a gap year.

What do you mean she has been accepted by others but not heard back? Either she has offers or is waiting. Edi will be the better ranked course and the structure is flexible so she could dip in and out of other subjects. However living in Kent would be cheaper, closer to home and less of a city based experience. There will be offers holder days and ahe should attend them to compare.

Her future, her choice.

I would take a look at any uni’s annual accounts and see whether they are running at a loss but also what sort of investment they have in their reserves. Edinburgh made a loss last year but is taking steps to address this and has massive reserves. Dundee made a big loss with no reserves. Hence I wouldn’t let me child study at Dundee.

Another consideration is the course they are looking to study. Languages seem to be the first courses ditched when a uni hits a financial crisis.

Uni finances may seem like an odd thing to consider but many unis survived purely on income from overseas students, and since the student visa cuts this income has plummeted and a large ‘correction’ is due in the university sector. A lot of unis will go bust in the near future.

i can understand the concerns over Kent. But the decision is for the DD to make, ideally as informed as possible.

The Kent merger is unlikely to be either smooth or painless.

https://wonkhe.com/blogs/europes-cautionary-merger-tales-through-student-eyes/

To choose Kent over a significantly more prestigious university such as Edinburgh is insanity.

Perhaps another family member/friend can have a go at sitting down with her, showing her the league tables, reports on Kent’s finances, and appeal to her scientific/objective reasoning about what she really thinks is the better choice. Whoever is doing this should make it clear that they will support her decision but that they want her to be aware of all the facts.

Of course being away from home is scary. But some short term pain/anxiety (which will likely resolve very quickly) should not be the reason for throwing away this chance to have a much more impressive CV.

I wonder if you need to present graduate employment statistics.

It seems mad to me to turn down more prestigious institutions for Kent as I would worry about graduate employment.

I realised in my honours year that not all degrees are created equal. I was doing an honour BSc year and went to stay with a friend at a former poly who had flatmates also doing a biological science, also in their last year.

We got talking about dissertations - they were writing from text books. Mine was a human based practical research project quoting journal articles in the write up. I couldn't believe they were going to get on paper the same degree as me and had never pulled a pile of journal articles and dealt with a monstrous photocopying bill that ensued. I remember how excited we were when the library got a copier that would shrink a double page spread to A4 so you only used one copy credit.

YABU not to push for St Andrews.
It's great for astrophysics and it is a truly wonderful and magical place.
I still miss my undergrad days. Best time of my life!

I'm from St A and love it, but it is a huge ball ache to get to.

It certainly won’t be my DH who can’t seem to care less

Sorry that was a typo I meant to say she has applied to Durham and Aberystwyth but hasn’t heard back yet

Has she got a secret Kent BF/GF/crush you don’t know about?

Why did she apply to universities she didn’t want to go to?
I understand your frustration but ultimately it has to be her decision.
Maybe you could visit Edinburgh again (and Durham if she gets accepted) before she makes a final decision?

Toes curling at the use of 'us'. This is your daughter's education, not yours. You are far too heavily involved in her decision here.

It needs to be your DDs decision.
I was pressurised into accepting a place at a university that was 8 hours away from home because that was what my parents wanted/thought would be best.
I actually didn't want to go to university at all (but that wasn't acceptable!) so I went, absolutely hated it because I was so homesick & ended up transferring to a university in my home city. If I'd been allowed to make my own decisions it would have saved a lot of anxiety, depression & stress all round!

I'm assuming your DD is making a choice based on the facilities and faculties rather than prestige which is the right thing for her to do. Lifestyle wise, Edinburgh beats Kent every time, but I knew someone who turned down Cambridge to study astrophysics at Leeds because the faculty was better there. This was decades ago, so things have likely changed, but they doing very well for themself at a famous rocket company now!

Given that the parents generally fund the fees and living expenses (and also presumably care about their kids and have a longer term viewpoint regarding potential job opportunities etc), it’s fair enough to have a view and express it.

If she's been accepted to Durham, Edinburgh, and St. Andrew's, she's mad to be going to Kent. She should be going to one of the other three. I'd say Durham, as it's so high in the league tables.

Just seen that she hasn't heard back from Durham yet.

If she gets in to Durham, would she go?

Forget Aberystwyth and Kent (unless she gets only average grades). They're not in the same league as Edinburgh and Durham.

St. Andrew's is a left-field choice. It's only prestigious because William and Kate went there.

Your DD should be going to either Edinburgh or Durham, if she gets accepted to the latter.

My DD went to Edinburgh. I dropped her off at Kings Cross at the start of her first year.

They do have shops in Edinburgh.

Oh behave yourself - it's Edinburgh, not Longyearben!

@SoftBalletShoes St Andrews scores highly in league tables. Top 10 in most. Durham is ranked 3 for this subject in the Complete University Guide and St Andrews’s 5th. Nothing to do with William and Kate! Edinburgh is ranked 15, Aber 43 and Kent 44. So for a bright dd, the latter two are bizarre choices.

@Girlypops154 What are her career aims? Research? Going into industry? A government scientific role? Whatever it is, the better the university the better the post graduate options should be. Friends nearby are not really in the equation - however she might be too immature to go to university at the moment if friends at home is her priority. Are they all going to Kent too? I don’t agree that university is solely the choice of dc. This choice is so odd it needs challenging.

I think the vast majority of students get student loans.