TranquilMind Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Laura Corin, and fellow UK citizens: My daughter would like to apply internationally and is interested in the best programs in the UK for International Relations and/or Politics. She has advanced language classes in Latin and Japanese, at the moment, though would like to become fluent in other languages, and has taken a few years of several. She has particular interest at the moment in University of Bristol, University of Leeds, and King's College of London. She is also applying to St. Andrews, and possibly Edinburgh. There are two universities in the Netherlands that interest her. Can you give us any opinions? Things we should know? Places to avoid? Dangerous places? Best dorms? Help! We would appreciate your opinions at this time. She is working on the UCAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 I will make a quick comment about Leeds in general and then wait for Laura. We shop in Leeds occasionally and park near the University. No problems with the area that I have noticed. Definately a town on the rise. Lots of new construction. Good theatre etc. It has also ended up being the second choice for many friend's children. They were all fortunate and able to go to their first choice school but they seemed to really love their interviews and tours at Leeds. Their time there always moved it to the second slot from much lower. I don't remember their being enthusiastic before the visit. None of them would have been disappointed to have gone there. No international relations majors among them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Both St Andrews and Bristol are good places. St Andrews is a small medieval town with the university campus woven through it. It's about an hour by train from Edinburgh but the night life in St A itself is fairly limited. There are a fair number of concerts, but the local theatre just closed down (not sure if it will reopen). St A has been very successful in attracting overseas students - it's running at about 40%, I believe - which may or may not be what you want. Lots of Americans. Bristol is a full-sized city with arts, culture, food, night-life..... As with all cities, there are better and worse areas. The university is definitely in a better area. I grew up nearby and I really like it: lots of big city life but on a manageable scale. I like Edinburgh as a city, but don't know much about the university. I don't know Leeds. London is a great city but there are pros and cons to going to university there: it's very expensive to live in London and most colleges don't provide much accommodation (check that out for your choice) so you end up fighting with everyone else and the rents are very high. Because of this, students live all over the city, so some people find it less cozy than they would prefer. These are useful pages for looking up which courses are well regarded. Do ask if you have other questions. Calvin is applying to university this year, so this stuff is fresh in my mind. As you have probably worked out, the UK university entrance system is largely based on exams: the UK does not have a transcript system, so all achievements have to be verified by an exam (SAT, SAT subject test or APs, depending on the university). L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Oh - when you are thinking about fees, ask each university if there is any guarantee that about fee increases over the years. UK universities are waking up - under pressure from limited government funding - to the amount of money that can be made from foreign students. I'd be very wary of assuming that current fee levels will increase only a little once your daughter is at university. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeacherZee Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I did my undergraduate at Edinburgh and had several friends who did joint degrees with politics and they were very happy. I loved my time at he university. I loved that we felt like we were a part of the city. The university (especially the humanities) is based just a few minutes walk from Princes Street and the Castle. I found it a very inspiring time. If you or she has specific questions feel free to pm me (I don't check over here that often). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 I did my undergraduate at Edinburgh and had several friends who did joint degrees with politics and they were very happy. I loved my time at he university. I loved that we felt like we were a part of the city. The university (especially the humanities) is based just a few minutes walk from Princes Street and the Castle. I found it a very inspiring time. If you or she has specific questions feel free to pm me (I don't check over here that often). Thanks everyone, so much for the information! This is just a crazy time and there are so many things to decide. It helps having some insider information! More comments welcome if anyone has anything. And yes, Laura, the rising costs do concern me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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