University or Course ?

Discussion and advice on University Education

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Owass
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:51 am
Location: North London

University or Course ?

Post by Owass »

My dear son is torn between choosing the university he likes and the courses offered to him. His teachers have stated that it is often possible to change courses (if it is within the same department, subject to the student's A level results). This choices based on his preference are (block capitals denote the preferred course, and lower case is the offer on the table):

1. The University of Manchester (PPE, politics & philosophy)
2. University of Nottingham (POLITICS & ECONOMICS, politics & international relations)
2. The University of Sheffield (POLITICS & ECONOMICS, politics & economics)
4. Lancaster University (PPE, ppe)
5. East Anglia (PPE, ppe)

I'm told that it is possible to change courses (within reason) once a student has started first year. My son is undecided in terms of career choices but has mentioned finance, compliance or possibly law (financial regulation).

Many thanks.
Daogroupie
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Location: Herts

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Daogroupie »

At Manchester you can choose to do modules from other departments as part of your course so they seem to be very flexible.

Is Manchester his first choice? DG
kenyancowgirl
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Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: University or Course ?

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Teachers often say you can change course when you get to the university - unfortunately in my experience this is less and less likely - the reason a university offers an alternate course is that they do not think the candidate meets their requirements for the original course but that they have spaces on a less popular (or new) course. I would urge caution if that is his plan as it is far from guaranteed.
Owass
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:51 am
Location: North London

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Owass »

Daogroupie wrote:At Manchester you can choose to do modules from other departments as part of your course so they seem to be very flexible.

Is Manchester his first choice? DG
Yes, it is.
Owass
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:51 am
Location: North London

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Owass »

kenyancowgirl wrote:Teachers often say you can change course when you get to the university - unfortunately in my experience this is less and less likely - the reason a university offers an alternate course is that they do not think the candidate meets their requirements for the original course but that they have spaces on a less popular (or new) course. I would urge caution if that is his plan as it is far from guaranteed.
Many thanks for your response.
hermanmunster
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Re: University or Course ?

Post by hermanmunster »

Interested the Nottingham have offered Pol and IR - IR is often oversubscribed at Unis - used to be a great Politics dept when I worked at the Uni!
Just wondering - it looks like he has lost out on economics at 2 places - is he predicted a good enough maths grade?
Owass
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:51 am
Location: North London

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Owass »

hermanmunster wrote:Interested the Nottingham have offered Pol and IR - IR is often oversubscribed at Unis - used to be a great Politics dept when I worked at the Uni!
Just wondering - it looks like he has lost out on economics at 2 places - is he predicted a good enough maths grade?
He's studying Economics, English and Spanish (predicted AAB), and opted for Universities where A level maths is not a pre-requisite for joint Econs programmes. But it is possible that not having A level maths could be the reason.

Many thanks for your opinion.
Reading Mum
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Location: Reading

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Reading Mum »

way, way back many centuries ago I switched course after the first term but I didn't go with that intention - I just wasn't enjoying the course.

The daughter of a friend switched course after 1 year at Liverpool - from psychology to marine biology. She is still there so it is a recent example.

In both cases we had the right/normal A levels for the course we switched to.
I guess it would be harder if he applied for a certain course but they didn't feel they could accept him on it, hence the alternative offer. It sounds like a risky strategy on that basis.
Owass
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:51 am
Location: North London

Re: University or Course ?

Post by Owass »

Thanks for the insight, and taking the time to respond.

We may go with his preferred university rather than the course as DS's suggested career paths don't require specific degrees unlike say engineering or pharmacy.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: University or Course ?

Post by ToadMum »

Owass wrote:Thanks for the insight, and taking the time to respond.

We may go with his preferred university rather than the course as DS's suggested career paths don't require specific degrees unlike say engineering or pharmacy.
When you say, we...

It is your DS who is going, isn't it? Or have you both / all applied?

However, even if a particular subject isn't required for an intended career path, as even degrees with the same name can differ - and can be very different - between institutions, he really does need to make sure that both course and university are a good fit for him personally.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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