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 ?

Tariffs are all about attracting students. Not how difficult the course is at these unis. Bluntly there’s over supply of politics and IR and some difficulty arises getting jobs in the field afterwards. A casual approach often won’t work. Networking and who you know will. Unfortunately even grads from RG unis snd a masters don’t always get great jobs and have to tone what they want just to get something. Speaking another language helps I think in IR. Gives an extra dimension. Bristol is also a targeted university. Also Oxford doesn’t offer Politics or IR at undergrad level.

A bird in the hand is worth two in a bush.

Does your child like Nottingham and York? If they do they should firm their offers and sort accommodation. These are good unis and the other Russell Group unis outside of Oxbridge won't be an upgrade and the London Unis will not be in clearing apart from maybe the odd place that there is no guarantee your child will get.

There will be plenty of students at York and Nottingham with top grades.

Last year was a really odd year and courses came up in clearing that never normally do. There is no guarantee that this will happen again. Your child could end up going to an institution lower down the league tables and with no accommodation too.

If your child is happy with their choices they should firm, sort accommodation, carry on with revision and look forward. If they are not happy with their choices - then take action.

@dreamingbohemianso internships are available during term time? Is that what you mean by year round?

If you mean during the Christmas and Easter break, I would class those as work experience - they can only be 3/4 weeks long max surely

DC needs to look way beyond the university years and ahead to the world of work.

The undergraduate course he does is not what will get him a job. That will depend on whether he has been able to secure related work experience, either via internships paid and unpaid, research assistant roles in the university, or working part time for a company or agency in a field related to the ultimate career objective.

In fact, to demonstrate what a great go-getter and fantastic prospect he is, he should be able to combine internship/ research role/ work with his studies, and achieve an excellent grade in his degree.

The days of spending three years in a city whose university you chose because you liked the vibe, showing up to lectures and tutorials, handing in your work, having a jolly old time of it, and starting to cast around for a job you'll simply fall into at the tail end of your final year are long gone.

Nearly everyone setting out on the Pols and IR route (and there are thousands every year) has an idea in their head that potential employers will automatically recognise their superiority and potential. It's one of those degree combinations that attracts a certain type of person, usually clever, usually committed to improving the world, usually convinced they're the person to make the difference. Employers are faced with thousands of applications from these graduates and need some way to separate the people deeply in love with themselves and their mission from those who have their feet firmly on the ground who have had the corners knocked off them and have a realistic contribution to make. One way is to favour graduates of certain universities. Another way is to only hire those with a first. Another way is to only hire those with a first and who also have demonstrated experience in the field.

Your son needs to take more than just the university environment and the university experience into account, in other words. He needs to make his mark well before he graduates, and the best place to get that done is London.

These days, internships are year round, as are research assistant roles in universities, and part time work has always been year round.

London is the place par excellence for all of these opportunities, as outlined by @dreamingbohemian

Speaking of RA roles do people ever do them unpaid become they want the experience?

@mathanxiety Which discipline/sector has year round internships, i.e. that run concurrently/overlap with university terms ?

I think it's a bit late to even talk about LSE/UCL. Yes the requirements are AAA, but they are sure competitive and OP's DC might not have even gotten an offer. Predictors should usually be above the grade requirements

Also with clearing there is no guarantee of housing for many universities. If they liked their 1sr choice and they got in then they can go there and excel possibly.
If they are really very academic then a Masters at maybe a higher ranked university would be a good idea.

yes I agree – maybe LSE or similar would have been a good idea esp for IR, I can see that. But @Mouseinthehouseeattingcheese's DS has offers from some good unis. It's vanishingly unlikely that IR at LSE will be in clearing.

So he either needs to make a choice between his current, very good options and, as I and others have said, look at choosing accommodation asap; or he could get his best results, take a gap year and apply (maybe to LSE or Bristol or wherever) in the autumn. I would do the former option.

@Candlesandmatches The problem with some masters is that it’s yet more study in a field awash with grads and you don’t stand out very much.

A DS we know wanted a transport policy job. Never had an internship but worked for a bit in a LA where both his parents worked - so not much effort made. Did a masters abroad (taught in English and cheap) and then took a year to get a job - not related to transport. He’s not that bright but is very pleasant and had a great time at both universities. As @mathanxiety says, dc need more as it’s a very crowded market. Others we know have also really struggled and do fairly low level jobs for charities. It’s a buyers market.

The days of spending three years in a city whose university you chose because you liked the vibe, showing up to lectures and tutorials, handing in your work, having a jolly old time of it, and starting to cast around for a job you'll simply fall into at the tail end of your final year are long gone.

This, absolutely

Yes, definitely, though I would always tell young people to only do very short term unpaid work as otherwise it's exploitative

More common is things like editing a student-run blog or helping organise a student-led conference, these are both great on a CV

I think politics and IR needs a passion. My ds heavily into Model United Nations; has been since sixth form. He has carried this on at university. A friends daughter at KCL and about to drop out of politics as not really into it and everyone rather surprised she chose it. She had excellent A level grades and chose Kings for its reputation. Her brother is at York doing history and loving it.

@DizzyDandilion That’s interesting as Kings has loads of societies including a student think tank society. DDs school friend was Editor of it some years back. Plus did loads of other volunteering but she’s multilingual and was fully engaged with MFLs too. Also was an intern at Houses of Parliament followed by a being an intern in a global communications agency. This after the Masters in International Conflict (War studies) at KCL. I do think the average student doesn’t get very far. The other young person I quoted earlier simply didn’t have the skills or get up and go to do it.

@DearoverOff topic but which IR masters is your daughter doing please?

In case it has not been said upthread, LSE never enters clearing. The same may well be true of other highly competitive courses.

Gap year spent learning a language?

If the DC gets 3As* a gap year would allow them a chance to get into a better uni

Have you thought about Sheffield? I know someone graduating this year in Politics and international relations. He’s loved it. I know a few other students there (engineers) and all are v positive.

I'll PM you

However good a university/ course is if student lacks motivation it won't work. KCL undoubtedly offers loads politics wise but my friend's daughter just not that interested it seems. My ds at Bath and accessing all he can.

What do you mean with motivation at university? Like the drive to get involved with extra curriculars

I suppose I do mean that with politics. I maybe wrong though. I went to university in the 80s and very different times and expectations...I was not a dynamo at all.
Ds lives and breathes world politics and I wonder if it is a subject where that is important.

@DizzyDandilion Well that was my point. If dc are interested and intend to be successful, they do everything they can to facilitate that.

Sheffield is a fun university. Not sure it brings anything extra to the table for politics and IR.

@FfrdvddStudents need to be actively involved in relevant societies. Preferably running them. They need internships and preferably high powered ones. Just doing the university work doesn’t set you apart. Students need more and need to plan their career. Doing a masters anywhere because they don’t have a career plan is not a good idea. Doing a very good one that’s recognised in a field of work they really want is useful, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. There needs to be more intent. Getting an internship is a way for a company to look at you. Getting more skills gets you noticed. Doing a degree and having a great time doesn’t.