Anonymous wrote:Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

you cannot apply to BOTH Oxford and Cambridge - need to choose one or other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love it that UK people really take satisfaction ratings seriously.

https://thetab.com/2025/07/28/students-at-these-23-uk-unis-get-better-teaching-than-at-russell-group-unis-in-2025

This is much more of a big deal than most parents would like to admit. My son went to LSE and graduated 2 years ago. HE was miserable. He loved London, but he said it was almost like a community college (commuter school) when it comes to socials. A lot of dorms are far, no sense of community whatsoever. He thrived academically and it has been tremendous on his resume. But he discouraged his younger brother from applying.

50% of undergrads at LSE are from overseas, if you count in grads its 70% of the total students.
Most of those are rich and not part of any kind of UK community.
All London universities suffer for lack of an actual campus and commute / expensive locations, but LSE really is the worst of the lot for that.

I would take LSE’s campus over King’s by a mile. Housing is indeed tricky though.

You do realize they are adjacent to each other right? Omg….

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love it that UK people really take satisfaction ratings seriously.

https://thetab.com/2025/07/28/students-at-these-23-uk-unis-get-better-teaching-than-at-russell-group-unis-in-2025

This is much more of a big deal than most parents would like to admit. My son went to LSE and graduated 2 years ago. HE was miserable. He loved London, but he said it was almost like a community college (commuter school) when it comes to socials. A lot of dorms are far, no sense of community whatsoever. He thrived academically and it has been tremendous on his resume. But he discouraged his younger brother from applying.

50% of undergrads at LSE are from overseas, if you count in grads its 70% of the total students.
Most of those are rich and not part of any kind of UK community.
All London universities suffer for lack of an actual campus and commute / expensive locations, but LSE really is the worst of the lot for that.

I would take LSE’s campus over King’s by a mile. Housing is indeed tricky though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love it that UK people really take satisfaction ratings seriously.

https://thetab.com/2025/07/28/students-at-these-23-uk-unis-get-better-teaching-than-at-russell-group-unis-in-2025

This is much more of a big deal than most parents would like to admit. My son went to LSE and graduated 2 years ago. HE was miserable. He loved London, but he said it was almost like a community college (commuter school) when it comes to socials. A lot of dorms are far, no sense of community whatsoever. He thrived academically and it has been tremendous on his resume. But he discouraged his younger brother from applying.

50% of undergrads at LSE are from overseas, if you count in grads its 70% of the total students.
Most of those are rich and not part of any kind of UK community.
All London universities suffer for lack of an actual campus and commute / expensive locations, but LSE really is the worst of the lot for that.

Anonymous wrote:I love it that UK people really take satisfaction ratings seriously.

https://thetab.com/2025/07/28/students-at-these-23-uk-unis-get-better-teaching-than-at-russell-group-unis-in-2025

This is much more of a big deal than most parents would like to admit. My son went to LSE and graduated 2 years ago. HE was miserable. He loved London, but he said it was almost like a community college (commuter school) when it comes to socials. A lot of dorms are far, no sense of community whatsoever. He thrived academically and it has been tremendous on his resume. But he discouraged his younger brother from applying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

Drop St Andrews and you have the consensus view of the 5.

Have you seen the UK league tables?

Did you read the original post on this thread?

I’m from Germany and St Andrews has good prestige here. Not sure how it is elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

Drop St Andrews and you have the consensus view of the 5.

Have you seen the UK league tables?

Did you read the original post on this thread?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

Drop St Andrews and you have the consensus view of the 5.

Have you seen the UK league tables?

Anonymous wrote:Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

Drop St Andrews and you have the consensus view of the 5.

I love it that UK people really take satisfaction ratings seriously.

https://thetab.com/2025/07/28/students-at-these-23-uk-unis-get-better-teaching-than-at-russell-group-unis-in-2025

Cambridge
Oxford
St Andrews
LSE
Imperial
UCL

Oxford released some data points for this incoming undergraduate class. The most difficult course to get admissions to in 2025 was Economics and Management with 19.1 applicants per place. It switched places with Computer Science over the last year.


https://cherwell.org/2025/06/22/oxford-admissions-report-subject-college-disparities/

Anonymous wrote:Any particular agency you’d recommend for ucas personal statement review?

There is a guy in Dallas that is also very very good. His name is Kevin Newton with AnEducationAbroad. My son was accepted to all 5 UK schools he applied to working with Kevin.

Anonymous wrote:Any particular agency you’d recommend for ucas personal statement review?

Yes, speak to William at Oxford Tutors. He has recent and current Oxford students who work as tutors to potential applicants. They guide you through the PS writing process, can help with exam practice and interview practice. You don't have to sign up for all of it - just the things you need. And they don't charge US prices at all, so it's not expensive.

https://oxfordtutors.com/

They worked with my son on his PS. Its absolutely not a case of them writing it for you. They point out what strengths are there and what is missing, they usually advise against throwing in every single EC experience and focusing instead on the ones that are directly relating to the major of choice. And they help you understand what it means to write with insight and analysis rather than just stating the facts.

My DS got into all 5 of the places he applied to. Some responses were only a couple of weeks after submitting the application.

Anonymous wrote:Any particular agency you’d recommend for ucas personal statement review?

Honestly, I’m not sure you need to pay too much money for a review. See what is also available online. I thought my DS’s statement was fairly average but he got 4 conditional offers from Russell Group universities.