Considering I’m planning on submitting my UCAS within the next month, I was just curious as to whether any of you had any strong suggestions about excellent UK unis for English or any criticisms of my current choices. As of now, they are:
Oxford University
University College London
King’s College London
Queen Mary University of London
University of Edinburgh
At first, I was less willing to being outside of a large city, but if anyone believes that they know a school with a strong English department, social scene, and a nice location without a total lack of things to do, I’m all ears.
Ultimately, it kind of sucks there isn’t an equivalent to the Fiske’s guide for UK unis 
I’m assuming that Queen Mary is just there b/c you wanted another London? Bristol & Nottingham are both city-centre & considerably higher ranked than QM. Exeter and York are also well ranked, and not in nothing-to-do territory. St Andrews also ranks highly, but is pretty isolated. Durham is ranked #1 for English Lit in the UK on 2 of the rankings (in the top 5 on the other 2) but it’s not in a large city. Mind you, neither is Oxford…
My thoughts in choosing QM was as a safety, so if I didn’t get into my UK or stateside matches, it would be a reasonable choice. Maybe it isn’t necessary to have a UK safety though. How difficult would you imagine Bristol/Nottingham/Exeter/York are to get into as a yank, cause I know they’re all excellent schools?
UK unis (except Oxbridge & LSE) are pretty straightforward for US applicants: if you meet the stated offer, and your PS & rec are strong you are pretty likely to get an offer. I don’t recall your stats exactly, but iirc you are borderline for Oxford- which would mean that you should be pretty solid for the others.
Another university you might want to consider if you are an English Lit major is Durham University. It is very well respected for English Lit. It is not in a capital city but it has a beautiful campus.To be honest I don’t know much about it’s social atmosphere but do know its reputation for English. Although I have a daughter studying English Lit at the University of St Andrews and really loves it there but if you’re looking for a larger city then it won’t be a match for you. It does have a very strong social scene and a beautiful location on the sea and while it is fairly remotely located the students don’t struggle to find something to do. I also have a son about to begin (business) at the Uni of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a fantastic city and has a great reputation for Eng Lit as well. In fact it boasts of having the oldest English Lit department in the world!! Certainly very strong socially and plenty to do in the city. Best of luck to you.