Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oxford is #1.

No surprise.

Yup

I don't see why it's obvious that Oxford would be Cambridge

Anonymous wrote:Oxford is #1.

No surprise.

Yup

Anonymous wrote:I wish more US universities had a Durham-style collegiate system.

UCSD

Anonymous wrote:I wish more US universities had a Durham-style collegiate system.

Do you mean the lecture / tutorial system? I appreciate the UK approach to this, where weekly small group tutorials are focused on students developing and defending positions on the content, and even leading the group discussion, etc. You cannot show up to a tutorial without thoroughly understanding the material (unless you don't mind being completely embarrassed).

Or do you mean the deep subject matter focus, where your three years at uni basically takes you into US Masters level knowledge - in exchange for less liberal arts?

Another nice aspect of the UK/Durham-style system is everyone in your class is being evaluated for entry by the same standards. Your classmates are all on the same academic level.

I personally like the Scottish system, which to me is the best of both worlds. It uses the lecture / tutorial approach, but adding a fourth year of uni allows for exploration of multiple subjects, switching majors, etc. US universities were built off the Scottish model.

Anonymous wrote:I wish more US universities had a Durham-style collegiate system.

That is pretty nice. Nothing like it in the US. The closest thing would be Notre Dame with their lack of Greek System and socials based on the dorms they live…

I wish more US universities had a Durham-style collegiate system.

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?

Commercial rentals in StA town are preferred hy many students. They also are MUCH more expensive than university housing. I am told that Fife in general has a housing shortage.

If one wants university housing as an upperclass student, then need to stay on top of application deadlines (which are long before end of 2nd semester). Also, some university housing reportedly is not in the town - instead is a 20 minute bus ride away. For in-town university housing, keep in mind that the early bird gets the worm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least at StA, possibly also elsewhere, university housing is somewhat limited and rentals are pricey. So any student going there needs to focus early on lining up the next year's university housing.

I don't understand the specifics of the process, but UK unis do not remind students about administrative deadlines for matters like housing.

The reality is different. Unless you are applying as a second or third or 4th year to stay in uni housing, you will likely not get any rentals in town until the summer. There is no planning ahead. Those units only become available in the summer as students move out….I don’t like it. But that is how it is.

This. VERY COMMON for kids to not have housing lined up by the end of 2nd semester. Many will only finalize over the summer when things open up. Not awesome, but fact of life.

It seems like a fascinating time to study subjects, such as international relations and economics, with a highly international student body and from a different vantage.

UK and Ireland are the least likely European countries to be invaded by Russia. The Channel and the Irish Sea help protect them.

Ukraine, Poland, Baltic countries, and Norway (up north) are the front line -- and they all know it. NATO met the 2% of GDP spent on defense metric for the first time ever, although there was creative accounting in a few places.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do overseas school for 18 year olds. Covid and war type things are scary.

Had a 19 year old at St Andrews when Covid hit in 2020. Not any harder to get him home than it would have been from a US college. He went back in fall of 2020 and was a better experience there than he would have had in the US.

Only challenge was getting up early for online morning classes in the UK. 9AM classes meant 4AM here on the east coast.

Meant to say “far”and not fair above…

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do overseas school for 18 year olds. Covid and war type things are scary.

This has to be the most small minded American thinking ever…..well…I guess it is pretty common for Americans to blindly believe their gun infested cities are safer than anywhere in the UK or Europe…..

Believe me, you child will be MUCH MUCH safer ANYWHERE in those small UK towns being discussed here (Exeter, Durham, St Andrews etc) than ANYWHERE in America…..Drop the COVID BS….What a ridiculous way to live life….might as well just admit you don’t want your kid fair for selfish over protective reasons. But dont pretend it has anything to do with safety or war….

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do overseas school for 18 year olds. Covid and war type things are scary.

It is not for the weak.