Don’t think that reading English or History at an English uni (and you likely would have to choose) would set you up well for entering a PhD program in psychology. TCD does have an Arts degree that allows you to study 2 subjects:
https://www.tcd.ie/TSM/about-tsm/
The Scottish unis also offer some Combined Honours.
Don’t underestimate the benefits of flexibility.
Lots of unis in big cities in the US as well. BU, UCLA, Emory, UMTC, etc., etc.
If you want big city and flexibility, then Edinburgh and Glasgow are the way to go.
The “arts” degrees in Ireland may be of interest.
For a bit close knit, Durham (also tops for English). Add QM Belfast as well as your top choice and you’re set.
King’s is much better than Queen Mary London. Qmu’s equivalent may be Hunter?
KCL actually has slightly more undergrads than QMUL.
I’m not sure either Edinburgh or KCL are all that close-knit.
Durham isn’t exactly a big city.
That leaves TCD.
And a ton of potential options in the US, including LACs & LAC-ish unis in big cities. Macalester and Tufts come to mind. Also Reed which you already have.
I get the sense TCD is as well regarded academically as KCL or Edinburgh, and socially it would probably be the best school of the three. The hardest choice ultimately (if I get offers from all three) is choosing the city. London would be amazing but the combination of such a major city in a new country might be overwhelming in a way Dublin and Edinburgh wouldn’t be. Being a Chicagoan, I imagine Dublin and Edinburgh would be like British equivalents of Chi, great and international “second” cities. Are they all equally selective (KCL, TCD, Edinburgh)?
KCL also doesn’t really have a campus. It’s like continential European unis in that regard, with buildings scattered all over. TCD seems to have the least requirements, but just apply to all.
If you are undecided/want flexibility, the Scottish unis would offer them (and Glasgow and Aberdeen are cities, though Aberdeen is smaller). And personally, I’d send off an app to Manchester rather than QMUL.
Also look in to the University Colleges in the Netherlands.
In regards to Durham and Warwick, it’s obvious that Durham isn’t much of a location, but do people tend to like Coventry?
Also, I read somewhere that Durham’s students are more conservative than others in the UK. As someone who’s very liberal and probably fulfills most of the stereotypes about the average American small liberal arts college student, would the people at Durham and Warwick be less appealing to me?
Uni students tend to be pretty liberal compared to others in the UK as well as the US and the average Brit is a bit more liberal than the average American, IMHO (though obviously you can find wide variations on both sides of the pond), so keep that in mind. Not to mention that not everything can be mapped on a left-right scale. For instance, is Brexit liberal or conservative? Also, I don’t know why you’d think Durham being slightly more conservative should reflect on Warwick. I’d say that you’d find all sorts. Outside of a few unis (like maybe SOAS or St. A’s), British unis are publics that attract all sorts.
Don’t write Durham b/c of location- it’s a lovely town, and the collegiate environment is really good fun. Also, as @PurpleTitan noted, liberal and conservative map differently in the UK than in the US. Conservatism in the UK is more about economics than sex or religion. It might be more accurate to say that Durham is more traditional than Warwick- if only in the narrow sense of having things such as ‘formal dinners’.
If you a re thinking English/History in London, then I wouldn’t pick Queen Mary due location. If not UCL or Kings then consider Royal Holloway. Outside of London city Bristol, large town Durham. Small rural and coastal town St Andrews.
PS. I dont know much about Irish universities, and for the English/Scottish ones I mentioned the entry standards will be quite stiff as English/History are quite popular choices, I think to be certain of an offer think 5,5,5 at AP in relevant subjects, you might get lucky and see a lower offer if your Personal statement is outstanding.
PPS I think UCL look for 5 x AP’s
I’m not sure that the people setting standards understand American tests that well, though. For instance, I see SAT II equivalents that seem more easily achievable than the AP score.
BTW, as for Warwick, it’s on it’s own self-contained campus, not in the center of town. Though you’ll be forced to live off-campus after your first year (in Conventry/Leamington Spa, Warwick, or somewhere between there).
As for Coventry, it’s a formerly bombed out industrial town.
UCL does not consider sat2s for admission, unfortunately.
In regards to your questions about Durham and Warwick, I will address the location issues and types of students you will find in both.
Durham
+ves
The location is not that bad. It is a campus and collegiate environment, in a university with nice historic architecture. Outside the campus, there will not be much to do in Durham town[-stroke-village] itself, but you will have easy access by train and bus to the bigger Newcastle.
The students there would be bright and polished. I am not aware of them being overtly conservative.
-ves
Newcastle is really your only hope of fun outside campus. There are really no other cities close by to write home about. Leeds is a bit far away. It is also located in the most Northern of North East, which are areas of low income and low academic achievements. Your night outs might involve mixing with far less enlightened and polished people, if it is not a university students-only venue. Some late night issues are soughted out with the fists under the influence of a lot of alcohol and boredom (more than other regions of the UK). The police are good though and always in the vicinity, so should not be too much of a problem.
Durham students perfectly exemplify what is called the “rah-rah” kids more than any other university outside Oxbridge.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rah-rah
Rah-rah kids are not necessarily, and are not usually, part of the aristocracy. They are mostly kids of the aspirational upper middleclass parents and people with wealth started less then 2 generations earlier.
Don’t be surprised to find some cliques of students who know each other from their private high school and are not as open to those outside their clique (especially those who might not be private-school educated). Their self-assurance (and maybe pretentiousness) might come off as “snobbish”.
Warwick
+ves
Warwick is another campus university in a much bigger city and it is not collegiate. Coventry is more interesting than Durham and almost a twin city to Birmingham (which itself is far more interesting than Newcastle). You will have much easier, quicker and frequent access to transportation to Birmingham than from Durham to Newcastle.
Better still, you are closer to London and at least another 2 cities (Leicester and Nottingham, maybe you can even add Milton Keynes).
You will also have an opportunity to mix with more students from other universities. Birmingham alone has over 4 universities and Coventry has University of Coventry. So a bigger mix of student population to mix with, which can only be rivalled in the UK by a university in London.
The students at Warwick will also be bright and polished. Also far less rah-rah than Durham.
-ves
Warwick’s architecture is contemporary and modern. (If you are the type to see this as a negative)
Many of the kids there can be quite insecure. They might have just found out [too late] that the reputation of Warwick might not be what they were sold when they were applying to university and you will see many trying to convince themselves that they are the next tier to Oxbridge despite the university not having sufficient history, recognition and achievements to lay claim to such.
Opinions are subjective, though I will note that I haven’t seen this so-called insecurity among Warwick students. Also that it’s an objective fact that Warwick places better in to the City than any other UK uni besides Oxbridge, LSE, and UCL, so I can see why it’s highly regarded. Finally, the Brits I know don’t seem to care so much about the history of a uni (rather, its current state).
Mind you, I have no connection to any British uni though I do know Brits outside of message boards.
Opinions are indeed subjective…and so are people’s expectations about what they want from their college experience. The OP initially said that s/he wanted an ‘exciting, cosmopolitan experience’, but has since expanded that view.
I don’t know what @LutherVan’s own college experience is/was- I can only say what I have seen for myself as a student, a parent and teaching at a university- and that is that most students do not go very far from campus / the college town during term time unless they have a particular reason/need to do so. A weekend or two is about it. So, imo, access to more or fewer cities is really not a good metric for choosing which college to attend.
If the OP wants to get a sense of the personalities/experience of the UK unis the Virgin Guide to UK Universities (2012, out of print but available & cheap online) is worth a look
Most people don’t know the current state of any university. The minute they know it, it becomes history. So history is what matters.
The past performance of a university is how most knowledgeable people judge a university. It is how we judge the prestige of universities.
Whether one uses old or recent history to assess Warwick, one would conclude it is a well regarded university but by no means the top/strongest competitor for the next tier after Oxbridge. It would be outside the top 6 university to compete for the next tier.
Warwick is prestigious in 3 areas: access to IB, requiring reasonably high grades and with kids on TSR (where their knowledge of this prestige is based on what is being said and they read on TSR - self-backing “facts”).
It has a very narrow prestige. Overall, it is still not in the Top 8 but it is in the Top 12.
It can’t compete with the Top 8, in the broader sense, in regards to research, alumni, history, funding/finance, achievements, reputation with government/academics/employers/adults/foreigners etc.
What would people say in a comparison town/school-wise between Bristol and Manchester?
Also, does Royal Hollaway attend to attract a certain type of student? I’m conflicted between Royal Hollaway vs. Queen Mary in that, from all I know, both are academically good, Queen Mary has a better location, Hollaway has prettier/older buildings, and that Queen Mary is very commuter-based.
Bristol: better university.
Manchester: better city.
No difference in type of students going to Royal Holloway and Queen Mary.
In my opinion, Queen Mary is a better university in regards to prestige (despite it being not high).