Which is the best option?

[OliStryder]

My son now has his offers in for uni.
He is not an A* student, he is dyslexic, but he knows what he is talking about.
His options are:
Goldsmiths, PPE
City, Politics
Reading, Philosophy & Politics
Southampton, Philosophy & Politics
Exeter, Philosophy & Politics

I understand that Exeter and Southampton are Russell Group unis. He is aiming for the Civil Service Fast Track when he finishes uni.

Would you say that there was an advantage to going to one of these unis over the other and why?

Thanks

Surely they don’t all want the same grades?
Exeter & Southampton would be deemed ‘better’ universities than than the other 3. I don’t know how the courses compare though. Do the civil service specify what degree they want? If not, I’d go for Exeter & Southampton.

Depending on what grades they want I would probably go for Exeter as firm and Southampton as insurance.

Or either of those two and Reading as insurance.

If he has a hankering to live in London then obviously City or Goldsmiths.

A lot will depend on the grades requested though.

Not Goldsmiths or City, if he wants Fast Track Civil Service. Although I suppose if he wants a First, he could to somewhere that takes a lower A Level intake (like City). But it would be worth him looking at the curricula of each of the degree courses, to see each focuses on - no degree courses are the same.

That might help him choose.

Then - where does he want to spend 3 years? What does he know about each city, and the locale of the university?

Exeter as it is a nice city

So he is leaning towards Reading as he likes the course content, it is far enough away from home to not want to rely on us and near enough that he could come home for the weekend and play Cricket - his other passion.

Reading want BCC
City want BBB
Exeter want BBB
Goldsmiths want BBB
Southampton want BBB

He would need a 2.2 to apply for the fast track but is a 2.2 at Reading the same as a 2.2 at Exeter?

Given that Reading, Exeter & Southampton are all Politics & Philosophy, what do the Reading modules cover that Exeter & Southampton don’t? Has he had an opportunity to visit any of them? Do the civil service ‘target’ particular universities? If he’s very very keen on Reading over the rest, maybe that should be his insurance. Then if grades aren’t the best on the day then he’ll be far from disappointed.
I don’t know Southampton at all. Exeter is a lovely city and there’s a thread on here all about Exeter and posters thoughts of the university. I visited Reading with DD1 and it’s a really nice town, with both the Thames and another river running through it. Close to London for internships, which may be useful too.

A Level requirements generally indicate the level of ability & skill required to do well in the degree programme. So if he can only get to BCC, he may find Exeter a bit of a push.

Hi @OliStryder!

Firstly, congratulations to your son on his offers.

I would go to the place and the course I am likely to enjoy the most. This will help the academic achievement.

Nowadays, being on track for a First when he applies for his Internships and his first job will count more than which Uni he is at.

Finally, my daughter did a Civil Service 'fast Track' type Internship. Her cohort included undergraduates from many UK Unis.

Thank you

You have all helped greatly in getting me to chill out about a Russell Group uni and confirmed what I thought, that choosing the right fit was better than focusing on the Uni.

The Civil Service now expunge any information about university from their application process so the university is less relevant. I would be more interested to know where is your DC most likely to get a top class degree. However, if career plans change to say law, then university does become more important. Also most graduates joining the Civil Service Fast Track seem now to have had some previous work experience for a couple of years before getting a place.