Final UK undergrad ranking is out as if last night (The Times)

[Anonymous]

Politics and International Relations.
He transferred to IR and added Economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Econ w Mgmt at Durham, Econ with IR at St Andrews.

Tough choice. If he doesnt care about the extra year, you really cant go wrong with any. I think St Andrews is better ranked on both subjects in all 3 UK league Tables.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but not by much. The differentiator really is 3 vs 4 yrs. For some, graduating faster and spending less in beneficial. For others, the extra yr affords you the flexibility to change your mind as it relates to your preferred course and this can be invaluable for some.

[Anonymous]

How is Edinburgh not on these lists ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is Edinburgh not on these lists ?

Edinburgh is a great uni. It does make the top 10 league tables. I think the main thing is that the 3 major UK league tables are focused on undergraduate rankings, so things like research output or quality of graduate education are variables that just do not count in any of the 3 major UK league tables. From a research perspective Edinburgh does well. Just look at QS or other uni rankings that account for research output.

But even in the 3 major UK league tables, certain courses from Edinburgh are highly ranked. They have faced some difficulties lately with budget, letting people go, etc and their student experience scores have collapsed in the last 5 years. But regardless, it is a great university that depending on the course should be on most people’s top 5 lists for UCAS applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At St Andrews it wasnt a fair comparison. We got lucky with sunny weather and the dorms were not official tours. But we a friend of ours introduced us to a couple whose kid is finishing up his 1st year and he was kind enough to show us his shared room at McIntosh and his friend’s room at St Salvator’s. Incredibly enough both were in their 3rd or 4th floors and they were both facing the ocean..….And what a view that was. Incredible. Hard to beat that view.

In the end he liked the collegiate system better at Durham, but liked the two dorms at St Andrews the best given their locations. But again, he has not decided yet and at both places, there are no guarantees of what College or accommodation halls you will end up at.

So is it between Durham and St Andrews? Has he given up Exeter and Manchester?

yes, he has just a few weeks to make a decision. It is between Durham and St Andrews. he likes the Collegiate system at Durham, but worried he wont get the two colleges he wants since he is taking a while to make a decision. But he likes the extra yr at St Andrews that gives him the flexibility to change his mind on a course and do something else. Tough decision. We are ok with either one. I’m partially (secretly) bias towards St Andrews simply because we Golf and we love the excuse of going to Edinburgh when we visit as we fell in love with that city. But we are letting him decide.

Has he decided yet? Both great options.

[Anonymous]

Not yet. He is leaning St Andrews. He has to make a call in a few days. Anyone else here with any insight between Durham and St Andrews on these subjects?

[Anonymous]

I think it is a tough choice, because both are good academically.

St Andrews town is smaller, so easier to meet other students living in town, but there is no collegiate system and some upper-class university housing is a 20 minute bus ride away. St Andrews does not have a train station in town, but the LNER mainline is a short bus ride away. Nearest major airport is Edinburgh (EDI). United flies there non-stop 2x daily from EWR. I don't think American or Delta fly there non-stop from the US.

Durham has the collegiate system which some prefer because it helps with housing, meals, and social life. Durham has a train station in the city, which also is on the LNER main line. Airport options are Manchester or London. American, Delta, and United all fly non-stop to London. BA or Virgin fly to US from Manchester and from London.

[Anonymous]

To add the PP. Manchester to Durham is not as close as Edinburgh to St Andrews. Plus there are many more flights from US to Edinburgh than to Manchester. And Yes, American does fly from the US to Edinburgh from both NY and Philly. Delta flies from Boston, NY and Boston. United flies directly from Washington, Chicago and NY. So there are TONS of more flights from the US to Edinburgh which is 1 hour away from St Andrews. PLUS you can fly from Dundee to London Logan air if you prefer. Quite frankly the conectivity to get to St Andrews are more plentiful than to Durham if you are simply looking at it from an American’s lens and nothing else.

Both are amazing unis and your child cant go wrong with either.

[Anonymous]

Didnt realize there was a Logan Air to/from London from Dundee…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At St Andrews it wasnt a fair comparison. We got lucky with sunny weather and the dorms were not official tours. But we a friend of ours introduced us to a couple whose kid is finishing up his 1st year and he was kind enough to show us his shared room at McIntosh and his friend’s room at St Salvator’s. Incredibly enough both were in their 3rd or 4th floors and they were both facing the ocean..….And what a view that was. Incredible. Hard to beat that view.

In the end he liked the collegiate system better at Durham, but liked the two dorms at St Andrews the best given their locations. But again, he has not decided yet and at both places, there are no guarantees of what College or accommodation halls you will end up at.

So is it between Durham and St Andrews? Has he given up Exeter and Manchester?

yes, he has just a few weeks to make a decision. It is between Durham and St Andrews. he likes the Collegiate system at Durham, but worried he wont get the two colleges he wants since he is taking a while to make a decision. But he likes the extra yr at St Andrews that gives him the flexibility to change his mind on a course and do something else. Tough decision. We are ok with either one. I’m partially (secretly) bias towards St Andrews simply because we Golf and we love the excuse of going to Edinburgh when we visit as we fell in love with that city. But we are letting him decide.

Has he decided yet? Both great options.

he made the call today and selected St Andrews. It was a really difficult call. Part of his decision had to do with the bigger St Andrews network in the US. He spoke to several St Andrews grads that are back in the US. Yes, he doesnt like the extra year vs Durham, but he does like the ability to explore a 3rd subject. He is going for Joint Honours IR with Econ. They are both strong programs and he will likely take Modern History too. I think the ability to pivot and potentially change or drop a course was paramount in his decision here. Now here we go….we weren’t ready for him to go school abroad, and this is now finally becoming a reality and I’m already freaking out…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At St Andrews it wasnt a fair comparison. We got lucky with sunny weather and the dorms were not official tours. But we a friend of ours introduced us to a couple whose kid is finishing up his 1st year and he was kind enough to show us his shared room at McIntosh and his friend’s room at St Salvator’s. Incredibly enough both were in their 3rd or 4th floors and they were both facing the ocean..….And what a view that was. Incredible. Hard to beat that view.

In the end he liked the collegiate system better at Durham, but liked the two dorms at St Andrews the best given their locations. But again, he has not decided yet and at both places, there are no guarantees of what College or accommodation halls you will end up at.

So is it between Durham and St Andrews? Has he given up Exeter and Manchester?

yes, he has just a few weeks to make a decision. It is between Durham and St Andrews. he likes the Collegiate system at Durham, but worried he wont get the two colleges he wants since he is taking a while to make a decision. But he likes the extra yr at St Andrews that gives him the flexibility to change his mind on a course and do something else. Tough decision. We are ok with either one. I’m partially (secretly) bias towards St Andrews simply because we Golf and we love the excuse of going to Edinburgh when we visit as we fell in love with that city. But we are letting him decide.

Has he decided yet? Both great options.

he made the call today and selected St Andrews. It was a really difficult call. Part of his decision had to do with the bigger St Andrews network in the US. He spoke to several St Andrews grads that are back in the US. Yes, he doesnt like the extra year vs Durham, but he does like the ability to explore a 3rd subject. He is going for Joint Honours IR with Econ. They are both strong programs and he will likely take Modern History too. I think the ability to pivot and potentially change or drop a course was paramount in his decision here. Now here we go….we weren’t ready for him to go school abroad, and this is now finally becoming a reality and I’m already freaking out…..

Have 2 DC graduates of St Andrews. One IR and the other Econ. Both enjoyed their time there. Word of advice for Econ, strong math skills are needed, much more so than at many US Econ programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At St Andrews it wasnt a fair comparison. We got lucky with sunny weather and the dorms were not official tours. But we a friend of ours introduced us to a couple whose kid is finishing up his 1st year and he was kind enough to show us his shared room at McIntosh and his friend’s room at St Salvator’s. Incredibly enough both were in their 3rd or 4th floors and they were both facing the ocean..….And what a view that was. Incredible. Hard to beat that view.

In the end he liked the collegiate system better at Durham, but liked the two dorms at St Andrews the best given their locations. But again, he has not decided yet and at both places, there are no guarantees of what College or accommodation halls you will end up at.

So is it between Durham and St Andrews? Has he given up Exeter and Manchester?

yes, he has just a few weeks to make a decision. It is between Durham and St Andrews. he likes the Collegiate system at Durham, but worried he wont get the two colleges he wants since he is taking a while to make a decision. But he likes the extra yr at St Andrews that gives him the flexibility to change his mind on a course and do something else. Tough decision. We are ok with either one. I’m partially (secretly) bias towards St Andrews simply because we Golf and we love the excuse of going to Edinburgh when we visit as we fell in love with that city. But we are letting him decide.

Has he decided yet? Both great options.

he made the call today and selected St Andrews. It was a really difficult call. Part of his decision had to do with the bigger St Andrews network in the US. He spoke to several St Andrews grads that are back in the US. Yes, he doesnt like the extra year vs Durham, but he does like the ability to explore a 3rd subject. He is going for Joint Honours IR with Econ. They are both strong programs and he will likely take Modern History too. I think the ability to pivot and potentially change or drop a course was paramount in his decision here. Now here we go….we weren’t ready for him to go school abroad, and this is now finally becoming a reality and I’m already freaking out…..

Yayyy!! The right choice! IR and Econ is a fantastic combination and the IR building at StA is beautiful. Love StA and congrats to your kid!

[Anonymous]

Sounds great! Hope it goes well.

Maybe take some layers of outer garments, LL Bean gumshoes, and wool socks for the winter slush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At St Andrews it wasnt a fair comparison. We got lucky with sunny weather and the dorms were not official tours. But we a friend of ours introduced us to a couple whose kid is finishing up his 1st year and he was kind enough to show us his shared room at McIntosh and his friend’s room at St Salvator’s. Incredibly enough both were in their 3rd or 4th floors and they were both facing the ocean..….And what a view that was. Incredible. Hard to beat that view.

In the end he liked the collegiate system better at Durham, but liked the two dorms at St Andrews the best given their locations. But again, he has not decided yet and at both places, there are no guarantees of what College or accommodation halls you will end up at.

So is it between Durham and St Andrews? Has he given up Exeter and Manchester?

yes, he has just a few weeks to make a decision. It is between Durham and St Andrews. he likes the Collegiate system at Durham, but worried he wont get the two colleges he wants since he is taking a while to make a decision. But he likes the extra yr at St Andrews that gives him the flexibility to change his mind on a course and do something else. Tough decision. We are ok with either one. I’m partially (secretly) bias towards St Andrews simply because we Golf and we love the excuse of going to Edinburgh when we visit as we fell in love with that city. But we are letting him decide.

Has he decided yet? Both great options.

he made the call today and selected St Andrews. It was a really difficult call. Part of his decision had to do with the bigger St Andrews network in the US. He spoke to several St Andrews grads that are back in the US. Yes, he doesnt like the extra year vs Durham, but he does like the ability to explore a 3rd subject. He is going for Joint Honours IR with Econ. They are both strong programs and he will likely take Modern History too. I think the ability to pivot and potentially change or drop a course was paramount in his decision here. Now here we go….we weren’t ready for him to go school abroad, and this is now finally becoming a reality and I’m already freaking out…..

Have 2 DC graduates of St Andrews. One IR and the other Econ. Both enjoyed their time there. Word of advice for Econ, strong math skills are needed, much more so than at many US Econ programs.

Thank you and the others for the nice comments. He is thrilled. He cant wait to get started. I/m just now freaking out with the reality of your kid going to school abroad. I’m excited for him and super nervous for me. . Is this normal?

And yes, we are fully aware of the math. The good thing is that before he decided that IR and Econ were his preferred courses, he was originally planning on studying Math. He is a math kid. He maxed out the Math curriculum at his HS as a JR with BC Calc and took two math classes at the local college as a senior (Multivariate Calc and Abstract Alg.). He should be ok math wise.