Which University?

expiiplus1

Well, I'm lucky enough to have got (attainable) offers from from four British universities.
So here I are my options:
Take a gap year and reapply to Cambridge for maths (the option I'm leaning toward. I know it's irrational but I've become obsessed with this uni since my rejection. I don't think I could forgive myself if I failed to give it another go)
Go to Trinity for maths and get Schols (The cheapest option but I'm not sure how well Trinity fares on the global stage)
Go to St Andrew's for maths.
Go to Warwick (I'd never heard of this uni before applying, but it's supposed to be good)
Go to Imperial College London for maths.
Go to LSE for maths with economics (as a subject my second choice on the CAO)
Since this is such an important life decision, I'm keen to hear as many opinions as possible. Thanks guys!

Angelo.J197

I have one friend in Warwick atm! And another guy who's hoping to go to imperial! IMO I think you should pick trinners tbh. As you said cheapest option and overall a good uni!

expiiplus1

If I failed to get Schols, I think St Andrew's would work out cheaper. For one thing, the fees are lower, and also given how provincial the town SA is in looks, I assume accommodation will be less expensive. Thanks for your input, though

oswinoswald

expiiplus1 wrote: »

Well, I'm lucky enough to have got (attainable) offers from from four British universities.
So here I are my options:
Take a gap year and reapply to Cambridge for maths (the option I'm leaning toward. I know it's irrational but I've become obsessed with this uni since my rejection. I don't think I could forgive myself if I failed to give it another go)
Go to Trinity for maths and get Schols (The cheapest option but I'm not sure how well Trinity fares on the global stage)
Go to St Andrew's for maths.
Go to Warwick (I'd never heard of this uni before applying, but it's supposed to be good)
Go to Imperial College London for maths.
Go to LSE for maths with economics (as a subject my second choice on the CAO)
Since this is such an important life decision, I'm keen to hear as many opinions as possible. Thanks guys!

If you really want Cambridge (As you say you became obsessed with it) I would completely go for it and reapply. Otherwise all of these unis are brilliant, getting offers from any of them is a big achievement. Financially, St Andrews is going to be cheaper, the fees are only around £2000 a year. It was one of the colleges on my list last year and the town and the campus has a really great atmosphere.
Also, Trinity is ranked 15th for maths in the QS rankings which indicated it fares quite well on the world stage.

Tweej

Unfortunately that 15th is a little bit outdated, but the course is good.

Also, you sound confident in yourself, but don't just say 'you'll get schols'. Many people go for this, and not everyone who is deserving gets it.

Furthermore, if you're still planning on going to Cambridge, you could totally go to college for a year in Ireland whilst reapplying for Cambridge?

spurious

Or go to Cambridge for post-grad.

Raspberry Fileds

Repeating and elaborating, the expectation of Schol success isn't wise. Trinity has quite a lot of bright people (one third get 550+) yet only around 4% are awarded it, which is distorted by there (usually) being about ten medicine scholars per year. Single honours Maths usually has two or three. Your challenge, basically, is to be near the very top of your year that will likely be primarily filled with people who were the best in their school years, some of whom may have done maths olympiad, etc. Plus, as was said, many deserving people are unsuccessful. A new component being introduced from next year will add some uncertainty, too: a general paper that asks questions outside of the curriculum will form 25% of the exams, at least one intention of which is to reduce the number awarded. I admit that I've been somewhat selective in my stats. A more encouraging one is that, last year, fifteen students sat for Maths Schol and three were successful - a far more encouraging success-rate! But of those fifteen, only four got above 60%. By all means have aspirations for Schol. But be conscious of the fact that a huge number of first years intend to go for it at the beginning of the year, with that number having dropped substantially once they have been chastened by the complexity of university material and have discovered the myriad of college activities competing for their time.

It seems Trinity's showing in the QS survey that ranked it 13th for Maths was an aberration. I don't think it's even mentioned in the most recent Maths ranking.

First, Oxbridge don't accept applications from those in first year of another university, presumably because the top cohort of the likes of Bristol, Warwick, etc, would be plundered annually. Also, those students will have had half a year of university maths. I presume you were called for interview. Can you identify a particular reason why you failed? Did you sit the STEP exams?

Correction: I suppose you wouldn't be applying for a transfer, so what I said about applications not being accepted is irrelevant.

expiiplus1

Thanks for your advice. I know that, when it comes to exams, complacency is usually a very bad idea. Nonetheless, I think that being past IMO competitor is a good omen for success in Schols.
The main reason Cambridge rejected me was due to an exceptionally bad interview. And no, I haven't done STEP, though two of the UK universities specify a 2 in any STEP as part of their offer.
Spurious, the main reason that I liked Cambridge is that I preferred their collegiate system to the large, souless degree-factories that characterize most other universities. Hence why I wish to do a bachelor's there.

DarraghF197

I'd love to be in your position now! I am also going down the maths and Economics route but have never thought about it until the start of January. So I'm choosing between Maths and Economics TSM in Trinity or Financial maths and Economics in the local NUIG.

I'll probably end up with NUI, but it would be really good to go to a high-up uni. If I were you, I'd go to the London School of Economics. But, I know a fraction of what you know about your situations, and would only be able to comment on Trinity.

expiiplus1

For LSE, you might want to think twice before you envy £9000 fees, £12000 living costs and the fact that you have to be granted special dispensation to leave London. Not great

DarraghF197

expiiplus1 wrote: »

For LSE, you might want to think twice before you envy £9000 fees, £12000 living costs and the fact that you have to be granted special dispensation to leave London. Not great

Oh yeah, completely forgot about that!

I haven't heard of Warwick or St Andrews before, and Cambridge... You could end up wasting a year if they decline again. Maybe it may suit if you're in no rush.

Trinity is always a solid option. It's cheap, has a familiar environment, great quality maths lecturers. With whatever employment you are looking for, having Trinity on your CV is still very impressive.

It's possible I might see you there!

Raspberry Fileds

expiiplus1 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice. I know that, when it comes to exams, complacency is usually a very bad idea. Nonetheless, I think that being past IMO competitor is a good omen for success in Schols.
The main reason Cambridge rejected me was due to an exceptionally bad interview. And no, I haven't done STEP, though two of the UK universities specify a 2 in any STEP as part of their offer.
Spurious, the main reason that I liked Cambridge is that I preferred their collegiate system to the large, souless degree-factories that characterize most other universities. Hence why I wish to do a bachelor's there.

Obviously, that then implies a far greater chance of success. I'm not warning against exam-complacency, though. Schols are just a particular type of exam that it is not wise to firmly expect to be successful in. Unlike some who've posted on Boards, I'm not inflating the difficulty of Schols - if you're more than averagely bright and work hard, you stand a very good chance. But the papers can be unpredictable and the marking opaque, which, combined with stress, etc, could (and does) lead to worthy students missing out. One of the new regulations that's being introduced is that one's score on each of the papers must have been above 65%. A Scholar friend of mine, who was also an IMO, would not have been successful were that currently in place. Choosing your university based on prospective success in Schols, especially considering you'll likely still be dismayed about not getting Cambridge, is not advisable, in my opinion.

It's a while since I looked at it, but I remember the typical Cambridge offer being a grade 1 in each of two STEPs (with STEP III being expected of soneone who'd done Further Maths A Level).

I hope it works out for you. I was utterly despondent when I didn't get into Oxford. But time's a great healer and I'm now pretty content in Trinity (with some reservations!).