Picking the less prestigious uni as first choice

[RecycleThie]

DD has offers from Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow and KCL. She wants to accept Glasgow as first choice- it’s the lowest offer (AAA whereas the rest all want one A star) so she wouldn’t have a second choice.

DH thinks she should go for Edinburgh or Bristol as being more prestigious to employers or if she wants to do further study (her course is psychology so she’ll need to if she pursues this career). I think she should go with her gut- she loved Glasgow when she visited and was a bit meh about the rest.

Obviously it’s her choice but she’s asked for some guidance. What would you say? I’d see DH’s position more if there were a bigger gap between the unis but as far as I’m aware they are all good.

I think Glasgow is so underrated - in the shadow of RG and Edinburgh especially. I don’t know about this course specifically but for sure if your dd liked it and the uni then she will do better there.

Slight caveat: Scottish unis have a lot of Scotland based students who will have a much lower loan burden. I don’t know how much of a factor that is but my dc had it as a concern (everyone Scottish will be freer with money etc. Also it will be a four year course, so even higher debt. Are you far from Scotland? Or Bristol? This is a factor too imho.

But overall she should go with her gut! I went to Bristol btw so have no prejudice against it!

She should go with her gut.
Also factor in things like availability of accommodation, and cost of it - thinking Bristol particularly - I know less about Edinburgh.
They are also a long way from each other. If you need to be somewhere for a specific course, then you need to be at that place, but I wouldn't travel the length of the UK to study a subject that is available at every University.

Glasgow is a great choice - my friend’s daughter has just graduated from there, she had a fabulous experience. It’s hardly a rubbish alternative so I think she should 100% go with her gut feeling.
In my opinion it would be a much cooler city to live in too

Laughing at the ' everyone Scottish will be freer with their money.' They really won't.

Ok then that’s good. My DC took it into account tho; if you are at uni and most of your friends will graduate with £40k less debt than you, they thought it might cause some resentment.

Obvs not an issue if you don’t expect to repay your debt.

I was at Edinburgh and am so glad I went there, its an amazing city to study and live in. Glasgow as a city is very run down these days and yet its still very expensive.

Has she visited the unis and what does she think of them? DH (okay this was about 20 years ago now) turned down Cambridge in favour of Manchester but that was mostly because he felt the labs were a lot better at Manchester, plus he didn't like the vibe in Cambridge ("snobby" - he's from a northern town, brought up by a single mother). Science degree though so the labs were important. I don't think it's harmed his career in any case. He also turned down Newcastle because they told him they'd let him skip the first year and he felt that didn't say much good about their course. I'd look at the overall feel etc rather than just at what offer they've given her.

Is there any advantage to her firming Glasgow? Does she get preferential accommodation for example?
If not, what would be the issue with picking another as first choice and having Glasgow as insurance and then deciding on results day? This is what I did when I was applying to uni, although that was many years ago. My first choice was the lower offer but that didn't allow me to have a second choice so I put my real first choice as second choice and deferred the decision making!
is she still waiting for her 5th offer?

Well as a Scot I’d say Glasgow is a very prestigious uni and I’d have put it above Bristol tbh. And it is actually older than Edinburgh.

She has to go with her gut rather than what her dad thinks. It’s not up to him!

Glasgow is an amazing city for students, she def won’t regret it.

Much to my grandfathers horror I turned down St Andrews back in the day. During a visit everyone I met had been snobby and dismissive and I wasn’t going to put up with that.

loved where I went so I did very well. You have to go with your gut.

I expect there’ll be other life decisions at some point her dad doesn’t agree with!

I chose the more prestigious one. Bad decision. Chose a culture where she can thrive.

a factor to consider is the cost of 4 years over 3? Potentially another £20 k for course + accom?

My DC is making noises about choosing UCL over Imperial if it comes to it. He has a UCL offer and waiting on an Imperial offer so maybe he’s just prepping against disappointment.

He also has an Edinburgh offer and we can’t justify the cost of the extra year; but are jealous of the Scot’s with their low tuition and extra year.

I turned Durham down for Leeds - never regretted it and I’m still here!

A lot of the snobbery around unis is totally unjustified. Blue chip employers take on graduates from the top non RG Unis too. It's usually out of touch teachers and sixth form heads who bang on about how you "have to" go to a RG Uni. Employers have moved on. Just look at subject league tables and see how many non RG Unis are in the top 20/top 30! By rights, there should be none at all if RG Unis are the best!

My son has offers from York, Leicester, Loughborough and Lincoln. Lincoln is the lowest offer and least prestigious, but he fell in love with the town and campus and loves the course and the department. He’ll be going there - I just want him to be happy.

Only outside Scotland are St Andrews and Edinburgh afforded this special status.

Ah I didn’t realise you couldn’t this- I thought you had to take your first choice if you got your grades. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone for your views. She’s v keen on Glasgow so I’ll continue to support her with that. It is RG, I think, although I agree that’s not the most important thing.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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

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