Best uni for politics and international relations, think my dc is going to exceed what’s needed for York or Nottingham

[Mouseinthehouseeattingcheese]

so entry requirements for York Nottingham Southampton
abb
following on from getting a good epq result

predicted grades have been aaa

bur course work and mocks been coming in at a stars
so I wouldn’t be suprised if this dc achieves 3 a stars

so what unis should we be looking at to upgrade to during clearing if this is a the case

dc not interested in Warwick or oxbridge

so would places like Edinburgh, Leeds etc have places in clearing or will they all be full already ?
what else is worth looking at through clearing ?
any other unis this dc should be looking at during clearing time ?

UCL, LSE, Kings, Manchester

They can always decline their offers, get a job and reapply for next year if no places in clearing

Thank you for the reply, I should have said dc not so keen on London, as we live less than an hour away. And feels a lot of other students will also commute and it wouldn’t be the same
so dc also not keen on London
but perhaps will reconsider after a proper chat

I think it’s worth another conversation about London though

Have you looked at the complete university guide for the subject? I’d look at the top ten/twenty and see if those universities were in clearing in the last few years.
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/business-and-management-studies

I can’t seem to find politics and IR on there only politics

also I don’t know how to find out what units were in clearing last year
I’ve tired to google but not really come up with anything that seems legit

This dc will be first generation so we can’t give benefit of our experience as we have none

Respectfully you're overthinking this. There's no universe where York, Southampton or Nottingham are not "good enough" for a top grade student with no interest in Oxbridge. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush, so I'd stick with your current offers (that your DC presumably chose after careful consideration) instead of binning them off in the hope of getting a "better" uni in clearing for the exact course he wants to do.

Yeh I agree with this.

If Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick are off the table (O and C never in clearing anyway and Warwick rarely IME) then I wouldn’t worry. Presumably the DC liked the unis they have offers from? Leeds is not intrinsically “better” than York in this context and if they liked Leeds would they not have listed it?

Let them concentrate on getting great grades and also look at accommodation. Some unis allow firm candidates to apply now so it might be worth making a decision sooner rather than later.

Totally agree with this, I've actually got that exact degree from Southampton, albeit a really long time ago :) If the interest is in the International Relations side of the degree then the "best" academic universities were Aberystwyth, Southampton and LSE at that point, with Leeds having a strong and well established focus on US politics and policy development.

In all honesty I would focus on the actual content of the course and the academic staff within the department. York, Southampton & Nottingham are all fantastic choices, especially if London and Oxbridge don't appeal.

Yes probably am really over thinking it, said to dh this am, really it’s going to come down to choosing from this good uni to this good uni

only other unis dc expressed interest in is Edinburgh and Leeds
but do these unis ever even come up in clearing

only reason we didn’t visit is because Edinburgh is so far and we couldn’t visit them all
but I do think perhaps we should have visited Leeds

How can I find out if Leeds
Edinburgh had clearing places in politics and IR last year ?

I also agree.

If now London and Oxbridge are off the table the rest are much of a muchness. You’re swapping one top 20 for another.

I do agree with that too, but I would just like to find out that info from last year

My DD is predicted 3 x astar and has firmed York at ABB for a humanities course. She got an offer from Edinburgh but decided too far and she fell I. Love with York. I am sure there will be plenty of people there with the same grades as her.

You are overthinking this. He has good choices already. Also the content of the courses will differ so no point in thinking you are getting into a better uni if the course content is not what you are interested in. He obviously has already Done this research so I would leave it, definitely not the right time to consider other options, do that if needed after exams. You can google what courses were in clearing last year.

Why don't they want to go to York or Nottingham?

Entry grades doesn't tell you very much. If dc wants to get onto a grad scheme after uni, then Nottingham is the second or third most targeted university by big firms, so it's an excellent choice.

I'd be wary of relying what comes up in clearing based on previous years. I agree with PP that if London/oxbridge off the table then I'd stick with the choice made

Fwiw my friends DC is going to York with a predicted 3 x A star and has a AAB offer from York

This. York is brilliant in this area. There will be other students on the course with top grades.

Don’t assume higher offer = better course. The universities make a strategic decision as to where to pitch the offers, sometimes because they are trying to create an impression of a high quality course.

oh, I totally agree we are over thinking
hands up guilty
but would like to try n find the info

Why would you be wary of that ?

Because last year's clearing is not much of a guide to this year's.

DD's choice of cousre was in clearing at Loughborough with BBB the year she did A levels; two years later Lboro had nothing in clearing. The course DD actually did had a clearing offer of BCC; the following year it was CCC.

So even if you find that the course in question was in clearing at Leeds for AAA last year, that tells you not very much about this year tbh.

Ok, I hear what your saying
thank you all for your advice and time

Because in smaller courses the numbers can vary quite a lot year in year and will also depend on grade boundaries (remember up until a few years ago we had the Covid effect).

Ok, thank you
thanks for advising