SpawnofDescartes

I would probably say in terms of the prestige of the universities in the UK

Oxford- History & Politics
LSE- History & International Relations/ pure History.
St Andrews- History
Warwick- History & Politics
Durham- History
York- History & Politics.

Feel free to ask for any more guidance, native american studying in the UK!

avba2013

Hi I'm a junior as well, applying to LSE in the fall. I hope to double major in economics and political science, and hopefully a minor in Chinese language, if possible. What do I need to know about the application? I know absolutely nothing so far. Also, are there any tests I need to take and how to AP's and grades translate over in the UK? if there are any other schools that seem to fit my area of interest, please let me know. Thank you

SpawnofDescartes

I'm studying Law at LSE so hopefully I can help. You sadly won't be able to do the minor in chinese language, sadly, the vast majority of top UK universities don't offer 'minors' in the ways that they are offered in the US, however you can take modules from other subjects, but as you will know LSE is a specialist college and don't offer chinese. You won't need to take any additional tests for LSE just do as well as possible on your AP's. If you check the LSE site, they will show the requirements for US students.

For your area of interests, and if you're quite comitted to studying in the UK, I would say that..

Oxford (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) This all hinges on you having at least a mild interest in Philosophy. You would need to take the TSA (Thinking Skills Assessment for Oxford)

LSE- Government and Economics

Warwick- Economics, Politics and International Studies.

Just to put it in perspective. Oxford and Cambridge are the top two in the UK, followed by LSE and Imperial and then UCL and Warwick.


There are a few other top schools in the UK for your course, but neither St Andrews or UCL offer your specified course, with UCL only offering Philosophy and Economics. The three schools I listed (Oxford, LSE and Warwick) are very strong in your chosen field, you may not have heard of Warwick though,despite its growing reputation, it's still largely an unknown quality outside the UK.

Outside of these choices, I'd say you're better of staying in the US!

avba2013

Would doing a BSc Government and Economics at LSE along with the Chinese module be worth my time, or should I stay in the US?

SpawnofDescartes

That sounds like a pretty good degree, go for it!

cupcake

My advice would be if you think there is any chance you will change your mind, the UK may not be for you.

TheRealKEVP

There's always a CHANCE that someone will change their mind! If that held us back, none of us would ever do anything!

Weigh the pros and cons. It may just not be possible for you to minor in Chinese at a good British university. Are you willing to give up Chinese for the sake of Britain? I'm also wondering, if you are so interested in Chinese, why don't you become a student in China? Why are you thinking about Britain in particular?

KEVP

MJay1220

Hello, my name is Mireya and I'm from California USA. I am graduating in 2016 (might be to far I know), but I was wondering if any of you know what Uni has the best creative writing in the UK, I really love British literature. I plan on studying over there in the future, but I just can't figure out which one is the best. I've been looking at Birkbeck University of London and it seems to be one of the best. I would like to recieve some info, from anyone in the UK, most likely because you know all the regulations and everything. It would mean a alot to hear from someone. xx

cupcake

University of East Anglia is well known for Creative Writing. There is a parent on this board called "gloworm" whose daughter studied there. However, it seems from the above you may actually be looking for a literature course (studying exisiting literature rather than writing it yourself)?

I am not sure what you mean about "regulations". If you mean student visas, best to address that in 2016 as it will change between now and then.

boomting

Birkbeck is part of the University of London that is aimed at mature students who are working, but still want to study for a degree. For that reason, almost all of its courses are taught in the evening. You won't get the normal 'student experience' there either, simply because of the demographics of the student population.

I agree that you sound like you might like English Literature i.e. studying existing literature, rather than writing it. English Literature also tends to be more of a respected subject than Creative Writing. There are some courses out there that combine both Lit and CW, which might be worth investigating.

Are you planning on applying for a Bachelors or Masters programme?

TheRealKEVP

English Literature is basically reading books (and then writing about them), Creative Writing is writing your own works. Think about which you would rather do.

Many professional authors do not have Creative Writing degrees. Are the British writers you admire modern? You may want to study their lives and see where they went to college and what they majored in (if they went to college at all!). (If the writers you admire lived a long time ago, things will have changed so much that their lives will not be good models for you living today in the modern world).

Don't worry about your student visa, whatever. If you get admitted to a full-time program in a UK college or university, you will definitely be able to get a student visa. There might just be a bit of paperwork, and your college or uni should be able to give you some help with that. (Do you know that with a student visa you will be eligible for the UK's National Health Service, so you won't need any health insurance?)

Remember that in the eyes of most British people, rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that the older a college or uni is, the "better" it is. Older colleges and universities are perceived as being more "prestigious".

It sounds to me that you are hoping to live in the UK to get some inspiration for your writing work!!!

KEVP

MJay1220

Well I first need to study a Bachelor's don't I? I really aprreciate the help. Thank you so much.

MJay1220

I would like to do both actually. I'd like to write, and publish my own writing too. People have certain hopes about me because they say I'm very talented. I've been reading about the student visas, and some colleges are saying if I want a degree, I'll most likely need to take a full time study, but I can't seem to find any who do full-time Creative Writing to do. I really do wish I could find a college or uni over there in the UK because here in the US, they won't really teach it well. Most authors that I know of have studied in the UK and are very successful and are also working over there.

TheRealKEVP

I don't know if you want to share with us the names of these authors that you admire.

Have you studied their lives to find out where they went to college and what they majored in, or whether they went to college at all?

In Britain there is a real cultural divide between those who are college educated and those who are not. If the writers you read are not "college people", then going to college in Britain isn't going to put you in touch with the Britain you are looking for. Most of my favorite British writers did NOT go to college.

I think that is your next step. Research those authors you admire. If you find that a couple of them went to the same college/university, and/or majored in ("read" as they say in the UK) the same subject, then make that your goal.

If these people did not go to college or uni, then maybe you should just try to go to Britain and find work. Yes that makes a whole lot of more complications with visas and so on. But there is also the option of being an illegal immigrant.

KEVP

boomting

Having had a look on UCAS course search, there are a limited number of universities that offer joint honours English Lit & Creative Writing. However, the best of the ones that do offer it are
- Aberystwyth
- Birmingham
- Kent
- Lancaster
- Manchester
- Royal Holloway
- Surrey
- Warwick

Beware of the different between Eng Lit and Creative Writing and Eng Lit with Creative Writing. The former is a 50/50 split between the two subjects, whereas the latter is a 66/33 or 75/25 split.