LSE is more about prestige and its near universal (at least in Europe) superiority in Economics and Political Science.

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Added on September 3, 2012, 7:20 pmBecause ranking-wise (globally) it isn't very up high, neither is Warwick.

Within the UK of course LSE and Warwick come close to the top, but then it's not that hard to get into LSE or Warwick or the rest of them in that bracket (UCL, Imperial).

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Sep 3 2012, 07:20 PM

Overall ranking wise, internationally and domestically, you can't beat Manchester University. Its original component universities are old and quite established. Its ranking internationally/nationally should be superior to Leicester & Liverpool. In the UK itself while it isn't a top tier target (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, KCL), it will be just below those. So out of those 3 you can't do better.

However for the individual subject that is Law, I don't know if Leicester or Liverpool are better. I would go for Manchester nonetheless... even if Leicester or Liverpool had a better LLB programme (course structure, teaching faculty, research facilities, opportunities), the LLB has to be quite standardised and in some cases a more prestigious university is preferable. Also Manchester is a big city.

Yes. What you do with a UK university has no affect on your arrangements with other schools. But it will be awkward if you decline the place later on, only to reapply in the future.

1. Yes, duh. The GCE A Level (most popular) remains a British qualification. Those A Levels particular to their own countries (Hong Kong A Level, for example) have British origins. Most people still use the A Level for tertiary study admission.

2. US colleges typically have a liberal system, that is they emphasise breadth. I don't say liberal arts because they have schools which are liberal arts specialists. Liberal means you don't have to study Literature and Languages all day but you can mix that with Computer Science, Economics, Sociology, Statistics, Maths, Psychology, Biology, Philosophy, Engineering, Business etc. You can do a wide range of subjects if you're interested/eligible. You use majors and minors to determine what disciplines you specialise in/concentrate on. Bear in mind there are also specialist schools (eg the Wharton School) for undergrads, but those are more rare. Then they use presentations, labs, assignments and stuff more frequently, with efforts graded.

UK universities are traditionally more linear. Less options and flexibility (depending on the degree or subject). More emphasis on final exams. Australian schools are somewhere in between, because they can come with a lot of flexibility but they can also be fairly restricted with huge exams.

5. Not really. But depends. If you're applying for something design oriented (say Fashion, Gaming) or performance oriented (say Goldsmiths) then yeah. US colleges also sometimes pay attention to ethnic and financial backgrounds.