<p>I have applied to, and been accepted by, St Andrews, York, and Bath for international relations (at St.A it is joint honors with Art History). I've visited all of the universities and have formed my own opinions of each and in my decision process I would love to include what UK nationals think of these universities. Without living over there I obviously don't truly know the culture surrounding these institutions and would love some input. Thank you!</p>
<p>All of those institutions are, overall, on a par with each other in the minds of most, and I really don’t think that you will go wrong with any of them reputation-wise. A word of warning though - if you were to try asking this same question on The Student Room, you’ll find a lot of sixth formers trying to pick apart minute differences that won’t actually make any difference in the real world of employment. What will make a much bigger difference are your grades and your work experience. </p>
<p>Whilst St Andrews does have a good reputation for IR, the British do not fawn over it in the same way that Americans tend to (that seemed to start when Prince William went there. Royals tend to have a reputation for being a bit thick, so his presence was rather less likely to impress us!). Bath has a reputation for being quite sporty - if you’ve visited, I’m sure you’ve seen the sports facilities there, which are rather good. </p>
<p>The most important thing to think about is the course, because the opportunities for changing are so limited. Firstly, do you want to spend half your time studying History of Art? If so, go to St A, if not, don’t. Beyond that, have a look at the modules that are on offer. These will vary enormously from uni to uni, and will be the difference between loving your course and being so miserable that you drop out
St Andrews (also have a look at the History of Art modules).
<a href=“http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/firstlevelmodules/”>http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/firstlevelmodules/</a>
<a href=“http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/secondlevelmodules/”>http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/secondlevelmodules/</a>
<a href=“http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/honoursmodules/”>http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/honoursmodules/</a> </p>
<p>Bath: <a href=“Programme & Unit Catalogues - University of Bath”>http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2013-2014/pl/UHPL-AFB30.html</a> </p>
<p>York: <a href=“Politics with International Relations (BA) - Undergraduate, University of York”>Politics with International Relations (BA) - Undergraduate, University of York; </p>
<p>Also consider things like
- what sports and societies are on offer (though I have to admit that the cheerleading is unlikely to be up to your standards!)
- whether or not you want a lot of other Americans to be attending (St Andrews is full of them)
- if you want to be able to travel easily on weekends and holidays (St Andrews is very isolated, to the point that weekends away outside of Scotland could become a big hassle, whereas York and Bath are both fairly well connected).
- can your family afford the extra year of study at St Andrews, and would this money be better spent doing a masters instead? Before you ask, a Scottish MA is an undergraduate degree, not an undergrad and postgrad all rolled into one. </p>
<p>In the UK, St. Andrews has a significantly better general reputation than the other two (which are nevertheless decent universities), certainly among older people (=employers?). Amongst other reasons, university reputation in the UK is highly correlated with age - York and Bath were both made universities within living memory.</p>
<p>No it doesn’t TheCrookedOne - the majority of people don’t even know its a university. Boomting said everything that needed to be said.</p>
<p>As for uni reputation being correlated with age, that is evidently not the case or Aberdeen would be more prestigious than Durham or UCL.</p>
<p>boomting: Thank you very much for your thought out response. I’ve used the links you provided and found them very useful. So many thanks again!</p>
<p>TheCrookedOne: Thank you for your response. If you don’t think it forward, I’d love to inquire where you are from when holding this opinion and if you are speaking as an employer yourself. Thank you!</p>
<p>nordicblue: all you have done by commenting in this thread is start a disagreement with someone stating their opinion and bash St Andrews, as you do in every board related to the subject. Nevertheless, I thank you for your time in responding as well and would look forward to reading some constructive critism, or an opinion on either of the other two listed institutions.</p>
<p>Thank you again!</p>
<p>Cheerleader4 I didn’t post for your benefit, other people may read this thread and they deserve to know the truth, which is why I contradicted TheCrookedOne - he is wrong. </p>
<p>I don’t know why you have a problem with my post or why you think I’m bashing St Andrews. I suppose it is in your interest to think I’m lying or making trouble as you clearly want to go there, but nothing I have said here or in other posts is untrue.</p>
<p>I actually agree that St Andrews is not that well known in the UK outside of locally in Scotland. Most people thing it’s a golf course. Americans are very impressed because Prince William went there. British people think that’s a black mark against the place because the Royal Family are not known for being blessed with brains. Also, St Andrews needs your money and massively markets to US students. That in itself puts me off.</p>
<p>I did a masters a York and I hated it! A money making exercise to get money out of foreign students. </p>
<p>So out of those I’d choose Bath because it is a lovely place (though like York, the university is on a modern campus outside of the old city). I was accepted there for undergraduate but chose Cambridge instead.</p>