British Universities reputation in the US

<p>I'm English and applying to university in the UK this year. I would like to go somewhere that has a good international reputation, particularly in the US. The five universities I have applied to are:</p>

<p>Cambridge
LSE (London School of Economics)
Durham
St Andrews
Exeter</p>

<p>Could you let me know if you have heard of these, and if so, what you have heard about them. I presume most people in the US have heard of Cambridge (which is my first choice), but I would like to know if people have heard of the other ones on my list. Also, what order would you rank these in (if you have heard of them)?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>As an American with some British relatives, I can tell that the order in which you ranked them is their order of prestige in Britain. In America, the prestige order would be:
Cambridge
LSE
St Andrews
Durham/Exeter (Nobody will have heard of these two unless they know a lot about England)</p>

<p>
[quote]
The five universities I have applied to are:</p>

<p>Cambridge
LSE (London School of Economics)
Durham
St Andrews
Exeter

[/quote]

I've heard of all of them and would rank them as you did. Durham's a better school than St Andrews, in my opinion, even if it doesn't have as much name recognition.</p>

<p>I've lived in England and gone to school there--albeit decades ago--and I would agree with pinkpineapple's estimation of how they would rank to Americans. I, for example, don't have any idea of the distinction between individual redbrick Us these days. (Many Americans will only have heard of Oxford and Cambridge. Not in academic circles, of course.)</p>

<p>Have heard of Cambridge and LSE. St. Andrews sounds vaguely familiar, do not recognize the other two.</p>

<p>While I have heard of all five -- and I suspect many CCers would say the same -- only Cambridge and, maybe, the London School of Economics, are recognizable to most Americans. I've got no quibble with your rankings.</p>

<p>I'm from the US, and I've only heard of Cambridge and Oxford.</p>

<p>Yes, my rankings were based on the "general" view from the US - 99% of us. Oxbridge at the top, and then LSE. Most Americans would look to St Andrews next because it attracts a fair number of American students especially from boarding schools. Durham I know is considered better, but very few Americans know anything about Durham/Exeter/York/Warwick etc. unless they are British or applying to college in Britain - I would guess that 99% of people do not know anything beyond Oxbridge and LSE, and only a small slice of the privileged know about st andrews.</p>

<p>Americans know Oxbridge and LSE, and wrongly think highly of St. Andrews simply because the future King went, and now many Americans who can't get into top US colleges now head there.</p>

<p>I don't think laymen know LSE. I also don't think most Americans know where Prince William went. St. Andrews? Is that a church?</p>

<p>I guess I should have been more specific in saying American business people and employers with elite jobs.</p>

<p>Its a golf course, the most famous locale for the British Open.</p>

<p>The London School of Economics generally only gets play on the news channels, CNBC and the New York Times. Since most Americans don't watch/read those media outlets most Americans haven't heard of the LSE.</p>

<p>St. Andrews? You mean the Auld Course? (Actually, most Americans don't play or watch golf either, although they've seen Tiger Woods selling Buicks -- albeit no more)</p>

<p>
[quote]
Americans know Oxbridge and LSE, and wrongly think highly of St. Andrews simply because the future King went, and now many Americans who can't get into top US colleges now head there.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While all of that may or may not be true, one cannot deny that Prince William's decision to attend St. Andrews has absolutely placed the school on the international map. For example, Durham may indeed be a much better school than St. Andrews (as one poster asserts) -- but the fact of the matter is, people outside of the UK will have a hard time recognizing Durham (in fact, I've never heard of it either, and I worked in London for a number of years). Frankly, I regard St. Andrews as a top 5 UK institution - and the best in Scotland.</p>

<p>Bottom line: if I'm an international student (read: with aspirations to either work / live outside of the UK later on in life) and I HAD to choose a UK institution, I'd rank them:</p>

<ul>
<li>Oxford</li>
<li>Cambridge</li>
<li>LSE</li>
<li>St. Andrews</li>
</ul>

<p>FYI, the Times 2009 ranking has St. Andrews ranked no. 5 (after Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and LSE). Durham is ranked on. 8 -- so go figure:
University</a> Rankings League Table 2009 | Good University Guide - Times Online</p>

<p>
[quote]
While all of that may or may not be true, one cannot deny that Prince William's decision to attend St. Andrews has absolutely placed the school on the international map.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>For one day perhaps! Maybe some people would vaguely remember he didn't go to OxBridge (which one did he go to again? did he choose not to go or was he rejected?).</p>

<p>
[quote]
For one day perhaps! Maybe some people would vaguely remember he didn't go to OxBridge (which one did he go to again? did he choose not to go or was he rejected?).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sam, it's really unfair to compare any institution's rep / name recognition up against perhaps THE most famous university in history, wouldn't you say? So while I agree that St. Andrews has a long way to go before it starts getting into that kind of territory, Prince William's decision to attend certainly hasn't hurt its reputation -- and I would argue that it has gone from relative obscurity to decent name recognition in a relatively short period (granted due in large part to Prince William).</p>

<p>what about Oxford?</p>

<p>you can only apply to 1 of either cambridge or oxford so that they're not inundated with apps from people - there is a strict interview process and it's too many people to whittle down. and their thinking is, if you were going to get into one you'd get into the other.</p>

<p>
[quote]
For one day perhaps! Maybe some people would vaguely remember he didn't go to OxBridge (which one did he go to again? did he choose not to go or was he rejected?).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The Queen probably thought that William's going to school in Scotland would be a good idea given the growing separatist movement in that country.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Sam, it's really unfair to compare any institution's rep / name recognition up against perhaps THE most famous university in history, wouldn't you say? So while I agree that St. Andrews has a long way to go before it starts getting into that kind of territory, Prince William's decision to attend certainly hasn't hurt its reputation -- and I would argue that it has gone from relative obscurity to decent name recognition in a relatively short period (granted due in large part to Prince William).

[/quote]
To be fair, William didn't score sufficiently well for A-levels to qualify for the (real) top universities in the UK, i.e., Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, LSE, Warwick, UCL, in that order. </p>

<p>I suspect that many Americans who go to St A would be a bit disappointed.</p>