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 ?

I did this course at York, following excellent a levels. It’s a great place and I wouldn’t consider anywhere an upgrade! I’m a barrister now … don’t discount York! Plus, it’s such a lovely nice university x

OP what does your DC want to focus on within the subject, what is he most interested in? Are they more politics or IR? Do they know what they might want to do after?

If for example they are most interested in foreign policy and want to work for the Foreign Office then you should give London another look, simply because the networking and careers development options will be more substantial

The big thing is what does your ds want? Not what "we" want.

I've noticed with the uni stuff it's becoming more and more about "we" rather than "they". It's their life, let them decide.

And unless they're desperate for an offer from another place, then I suggest that they will be far happier accepting the offer, getting the result and going and celebrating on results day than spending the day phoning up, with the stress that will have, possibly not getting anywhere and then feeling disappointed rather than exultant that they have what they needed.

Cardinal sin, not RTFT, cooker is beeping…

OP on the ucas website you can add a filter to see if the uni/course still has available places. It’s a reasonable indicator the course will go into clearing.

I didn't get in through clearing, but they're very into accessibility generally (I got in via an access course as a mature student as did several friends, and there were definitely a lot of people there via clearing too!)

No advice really OP but came to say Nottingham is a great uni and has really good employability rates post degree. The campus is really beautiful too!

Not to try to derail but this varies across the UK. In Scotland we apply after sitting the Highers.

But returning to the topic, I think with good universities in mind it’s more important at this point for your DC to think about where they’d like to live rather than trying to optimise something that there is no optimum for. And they should do the research on that for themselves.

DD studied PPE at Oxford. Now she's doing a niche IR masters at York. Why do you think it's not good enough for your DS? Beautiful city, lovely campus, excellent reputation, lots of accommodation.

You need to look at London.

It's very important for students to secure meaningful internships during their undergrad years in the area they wish to target for employment, and frankly, London is the place to find these. It would even be possible for someone living in commuting distance to accept an unpaid internship.

SOAS offers politics and international relations, and your student should also look at the other leading London universities mentioned upthread.

So leave it
you’ve already said you don’t know anything about universities

Agreed

The kinds of work experience and connections you can make in London can make it much easier to get a great job after. University is so expensive, not sure why you want to prioritise the social side.

Yes I agree, but daft to exclude London, would probably also work out cheaper to live at home and commute than live away
but dc wants that live away 3 year lifestyle

you have all certainly given us food for thought and info I wasn’t looking, like how employers target Nottingham as one of the top places and connections and things

i do feel confident, if dc goes to any of these places they will get a good education.
so thanks for all your thoughts and input it has been helpful.

Just to add, LSE and UCL etc are not going to have places in Clearing. Oxford and Cambridge never do.

Remember that there's plenty of 1st year students going to places like York, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh for courses where ABB is required and they have the full 3x A Stars to show for themselves. This is because a lot of them apply to Oxford and Cambridge and don't necessarily get offered a place.

@dreamingbohemian@mathanxiety- why do you think going to a Londom university is beneficial in attaining an internship/placement in London ?

Aside from not having to travel to an assessment centre - if you're lucky enough to reach thay stage

see, I wouldn’t know that these places never come up in clearing

LSE, UCL and kings wouldn't be in clearing so no point

There's a lot of uncertainty in student numbers now so I wouldn't make assumptions about clearing (beyond Oxbridge)

KCL was in clearing for IR last year

Many reasons! Internships and PT work can be done year round, there are so many opportunities in London if you live here. There's a constant flow of important guest speakers to network with. Academics tend to do a lot of work with government or consultancies, they can refer you to opportunities that aren't publicised, or let you work on their projects. Especially if the interest is more IR than politics, there are so many relevant NGOs, embassies, conferences, etc.

OP I understand your DC wants to live away and obviously those are also good universities, but it's such an expensive investment these days that personally I think it makes sense to maximise your chances of securing a job. It's not like the old days, today you have so many applicants for jobs in this field and you need every advantage you can get.

My mistake.

The parents live in commuting distance of London, this is the important factor - undergrad internships are usually during the vacations

I feel the value add especially for LSE in pol&ir is great.

The genuine exposure you have to the world of politics and global affairs is unparalleled.

I had a DC at Nottingham and another DC. at LSE. The DC at LSE was treated to world leaders, head of global organisations and nobel prize winners.

Best my DC at Nottingham got was Vince Cable missing his train and coming late to an event.

Not necessarily these days, at least in London, there are opportunities year round. And a lot of terrific internships are offered within those universities in the summer but only to their own students.

Yes this sums it up well!
I would not make such a strong case for London unis for other subjects but for politics/IR there really is a significant difference.

Yes, I certainly hear what your saying
living in London maybe be unaffordable tho
and dc doesn’t want to commute
but I totally get what you’re saying

Which is why I think the U.K. system isn’t that good, a post results application process would be so much better and fairer
just like in the rest of Europe

@Mouseinthehouseeattingcheese this was looked into in some detail only a few years back

UCAS Reimagining UK Admissions