reputations?

International Students
2

<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/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/secondlevelmodules/”>http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/secondlevelmodules/&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/honoursmodules/”>http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/intrel/ug/honoursmodules/&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>Bath: <a href=“Programme & Unit Catalogues - University of Bath”>http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2013-2014/pl/UHPL-AFB30.html&lt;/a&gt; </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>