History UsefulNotes / BritishUnis

Strictly the undergraduate Master's degree is a four year course, subject to adequate academic performance in year three, otherwise the student is made to leave with a Bachelors degree instead. This is a default route in most engineering disciplines and an increasing number of sciences. Award levels for this tend to vary between universities, but it's generally either just a "Pass," or a "Distinction" for those that are uber-awesome.
There is also the postgraduate masters degree, typically done over two years, for those who already have one degree. Typically covering more specialised parts of a field the student has already studied as an undergraduate.

To become a medical doctor requires a five or six year undergraduate degree, with the hands on part increasing as you go. This is technically a Bachelors Degree ([=BMed=], [=BSurg=]), but earns the courtesy title 'Doctor' ... which is why someone who then takes a Surgeon's course (A master's degree - [=MSurg=]) suddenly becomes 'Mr' (or as appropriate) again.

Note also that in the UK, dental surgeons are NOT awarded the courtesy title 'Doctor'. The same was true for veterinary surgeons until 2015, when the country's veterinary association allowed vets to use the title, mainly to match with international practice.[[note]]In North America and continental Europe, the veterinary degree is a professional doctorate. In Australia, the veterinary degree is an extended undergraduate programme as in the UK, but vets are nonetheless called "Doctor".[[/note]]

There have been increasing complaints in the media about what are perceived as comedy courses, degrees for the sake of it (the Government is trying to get 50% of school-leavers to do a degree, a proposal that has been widely considered an attempt to keep unemployment figures artificially low, keep kids off the streets and raised fears of grade inflation).[[note]]It's actually impossible to achieve without grade inflation, because 50% of school leavers qualify to take A-levels, of which you need three passes to get into uni. In other words, not only would everyone who qualifies for A-levels have to take them but they'd have to pass them all.[[/note]] These include things like Surf Science (even though this degree was desperately needed in the watersport's industry as most of the degree is in fact Oceanography with the surf aspect on top to allow better understanding of the issues it faces) and the oft-complained about Psychology (or, worse, Sociology - frequently lampooned in telly like ''Series/TwoPintsOfLagerAndAPacketOfCrisps'') degrees. There are allegedly far more university places to take Media Studies than there are annual jobs in the media industry (Website/TheOtherWiki claims a factor of 43) -- although in actual fact it's relatively easy to spot which media degrees are useful for getting jobs in the industry and which ones aren't (basically, if it's one that's 90% theory with the option of shooting a five minute film on an old VHS camcorder in your final year, move along).

British Universities used to be free to go to. This referred to both tuition and the provision of an annual grant for cost of living and textbooks. The grant was means-tested to some extent, so some cost did fall on the parents of students from more affluent households, but at the low income end, it was possible for students from very poor backgrounds to get through a prestigious university at no cost. They also used to be rather hard to get into. Under the Blair Government, a fee of about £1,000 was introduced to be paid up-front, though this was quite often waived depending on how much a student's parents earned. In 2003, a £3,000 fee was introduced, to be paid after graduation. These were dubbed, accurately or not, "top-up fees". It was highly controversial, with the Labour Government widely being felt to have breached its 2001 Manifesto promise ("We will not introduce top-up fees and in fact have legislated to prevent them"). With a student loan on top of that, you're talking debts on graduation of at least £10,000 (Though realistically speaking, a student can expect to graduate with a debt of £20,000 upwards). As of 2012, tuition fees rose to £9,000 per year, which upset more than a few people - especially as the Liberal Democrats (who'd become the junior party in the coalition government that took office in 2010) had all personally signed pledges not to increase fees during the election campaign. At present (March 2021), the maximum fee than an institution may charge (which most do) stands at £9,250 per year.

Scotland does things differently. There, students used to pay a £2,000 flat fee. The Lib Dems and Labour claimed that they'd abolished fees, but in usual politician style they promised to abolish "up-front fees", and you still got a bill after you graduated. Then in 2007, the new SNP government allowed the Student Awards Agency to pay these ones for you as well. This only applied to Scottish people though - everyone else still had to pay the fees as they are charged, although Scots still have the student loan to contend with. There was a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights by English students. Because of Scottish law, English students (and Welsh and Northern Irish students), despite all being from the same nation as the Scots, paid ''more'' than EU students who are not. It was alleged that this was discrimination, which it probably was -- but the scheme was upheld in 2013 ... although following a change in Scottish law four years later, students from the other Home Nations are now on the same footing as their Scottish contemporaries.

Many Universities are referenced in groups depending on what they were founded. The oldest are the Ancient Universities which were all founded between the 12th and 16th Century. There were several founded after that, but before the 'Red Bricks' (London, Wales and Durham). Then there were six 'Red Brick' Unis founded at the turned of the twentieth century before the start of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Unis chartered in the 1960s are plate glass universities, and finally there are the new Unis that were founded in the 1990s onwards from polytechnics or higher education colleges.

See that entry. The "old college tie" may not help you as much as it did, but it's still a good thing to have. Usual offers are A*A*A/A*AA, (Scottish students may get away with AAB or even AAC because their school system is different) with many subjects like Maths requiring extra entrance exams.

** London School of Economics (LSE). It also does other stuff, but mostly social sciences and humanities where it is second only to Harvard. Has a reputation for being somewhat aloof but is possessed of a very strong academic reputation. Has many famous alumni and is perhaps unique in producing Prime Ministers of every country aside from its home nation. In fiction however, it did produce [[Series/YesMinister James Hacker]] (PlayedForLaughs in his dealings with Oxonians Sir Humphrey and Bernard, where it is a running joke that the largely Oxford-dominated civil service look down on the LSE) and [[Series/TheWestWing Jed Bartlet]].

* The University of Birmingham: The original 'Red Brick' University. Has the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Chamberlain_Memorial_Clock_Tower tallest clocktower in the world]], though no one seems to be quite sure HOW tall.

* Prifysgol Aberystwyth University[[note]]i.e. Prifysgol Aberystwyth/ Aberystwyth University, 'prifysgol' being the Welsh word for 'university'[[/note]]: one of the older universities in Wales (The oldest being Lampeter University which was founded in 1822), it also pioneered the study of International Politics (the department was founded in 1919 with the object of preventing something like UsefulNotes/WorldWarI from ever happening again - well done, everyone). Known colloquially as 'Aber' (pronounced the same way as 'ABBA'). Also the only uni to ever be banned from ''Series/UniversityChallenge'' for five years after the Aber team started a fight with Manchester.

** PGW has since earned brownie points by buying out, and keeping afloat, the perpetually struggling Wrexham football club, whose Racecourse Ground is slap bang next door to the former tech college campus. This earns the PGW the prestige of hosting Wales' international fixtures on its premises, drawing in football fans from all over the world to pay its admission prices, eat its food, and drink in its bars. Although some locals see dark and sinister intent in the local tech (''nobody'' in Wrexham calls it a "university" - to locals it is still NEWI[[note]]Pron. ''NOW-ee''[[/note]], or just "the tech") buying up a prime building site just next door which currently, inconveniently, has a football club as tenants. Bets are out as to how long the football club will last.

* Upper Second class honours, usually written as 2:1 (and called a "Two-One"). Needed for the bigger graduate schemes, and most Master's level qualifications. For people who actually care about the course they're doing, this is at the least what you want to aim for. Americans should think "3.5" or something like that. Nicknamed an 'UsefulNotes/AtillaTheHun' (Two-one).

* Upper Second class honours, usually written as 2:1 (and called a "Two-One"). Needed for the bigger graduate schemes, and most Master's level qualifications. For people who actually care about the course they're doing, this is at the least what you want to aim for. Americans should think "3.5" or something like that. Nicknamed an 'Atilla the Hun' (Two-one).

* Third. AKA a "Drinker's Degree". In essence, you've just wasted three years and about twenty-five grand. Unless you got it from [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford or Cambridge]], in which case it's definitely not an ideal result, but still workable (just ask [[Series/{{Countdown}} Carol Vorderman]] or [[Series/TheArmstrongAndMillerShow Alexander Armstrong]]). 2.5, ish. For nicknames, take your pick between "Thora" and "Douglas", respectively rhyming slang with the actress Thora Hird and the politician Douglas Hurd. (Ironically, Douglas Hurd was the only one of the four to attend a British university for his undergraduate education[[note]]Neither Geoff Hurst nor Thora Hird attended university. Archbishop Tutu did go to King's College London, but to that was for a graduate program in theology; he did his undergraduate work in South Africa.[[/note]]—and he got a First in History at Cambridge.)

* SU elections often turn into something of a circus, with joke candidates outnumbering real ones, low turnouts due to extreme apathy on the part of most students (unless there's a high-profile local or national issue affecting students - and sometimes ''not even then'', as the SU's power to influence such matters invariably tends to be limited) and the threat of re-opening nominations if enough people vote for the mandatory "re-open nominations" ballot option. "RON" often has its own campaign, which sometimes personifies the concept as a real or fictional person, an animal or [[EverythingsBetterWithPlushies a cuddly toy.]]

* Nottingham Trent ("NTU" or "Notts Trent" for short). An amalgamation of several HE colleges in the Nottingham area which became Trent Polytechnic in the 1970s and a uni in the 1990s. Has "one of the best employability records of any university in England and Wales", according to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} the other Wiki]].

* Upper Second class honours, usually written as 2:1 (and called a "Two-One"). Needed for the bigger graduate schemes, and most Master's level qualifications. For people who actually care about the course they're doing, this is at the least what you want to aim for. Americans should think "3.5" or something like that. The only grade of degree without a nickname.

* Lower Second, or 2:2 ("Two-Two"). AKA a "Drinker's First". If you didn't really put much effort into your course, this is about as good as you can hope for. If you ''did'' try your hardest though, it's a soul-crushing affirmation that you weren't really as good as you thought you were. Roughly equivalent to a 3.0 or a 2.5, depending. Usually nicknamed a "Desmond", after the South African Anglican Archbishop and anti-[[UsefulNotes/TheAparheidEra apartheid]] campaigner UsefulNotes/DesmondTutu.

* Lower Second, or 2:2 ("Two-Two"). AKA a "Drinker's First". If you didn't really put much effort into your course, this is about as good as you can hope for. If you ''did'' try your hardest though, it's a soul-crushing affirmation that you weren't really as good as you thought you were. Roughly equivalent to a 3.0 or a 2.5, depending. Usually nicknamed a "Desmond", after Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

There have been increasing complaints in the media about what are perceived as comedy courses, degrees for the sake of it (the Government is trying to get 50% of school-leavers to do a degree, a proposal that has been widely considered an attempt to keep unemployment figures artificially low, keep kids off the streets and raised fears of grade inflation).[[note]]It's actually impossible to achieve without grade inflation, because 50% of school leavers qualify to take A-levels, of which you need three passes to get into uni. In other words, not only would everyone who qualifies for A-levels have to take them but they'd have to pass them all.[[/note]] These include things like Surf Science (even though this degree was desperately needed in the watersport's industry as most of the degree is in fact Oceanography with the surf aspect on top to allow better understanding of the issues it faces) and the oft-complained about Psychology (or, worse, Sociology - frequently lampooned in telly like ''Series/TwoPintsOfLagerAndAPacketOfCrisps'') degrees. There are allegedly far more university places to take Media Studies than there are annual jobs in the media industry (Wiki/TheOtherWiki claims a factor of 43) -- although in actual fact it's relatively easy to spot which media degrees are useful for getting jobs in the industry and which ones aren't (basically, if it's one that's 90% theory with the option of shooting a five minute film on an old VHS camcorder in your final year, move along).

There have been increasing complaints in the media about what are perceived as comedy courses, degrees for the sake of it (the Government is trying to get 50% of school-leavers to do a degree, a proposal that has been widely considered an attempt to keep unemployment figures artificially low, keep kids off the streets and raised fears of grade inflation).[[note]]It's actually impossible to achieve without grade inflation, because 50% of school leavers qualify to take A-levels, of which you need three passes to get into uni. In other words, not only would everyone who qualifies for A-levels have to take them but they'd have to pass them all.[[/note]] These include things like Surf Science (even though this degree was desperately needed in the watersport's industry as most of the degree is infact Oceanography with the surf aspect on top to allow better understanding of the issues it faces) and the oft-complained about Psychology (or, worse, Sociology - frequently lampooned in telly like ''Series/TwoPintsOfLagerAndAPacketOfCrisps'') degrees. There are allegedly far more university places to take Media Studies than there are annual jobs in the media industry (Wiki/TheOtherWiki claims a factor of 43) -- although in actual fact it's relatively easy to spot which media degrees are useful for getting jobs in the industry and which ones aren't (basically, if it's one that's 90% theory with the option of shooting a five minute film on an old VHS camcorder in your final year, move along).

Note also that in the UK, dental surgeons are NOT awarded the courtesy title 'Doctor'. The same was true for veterinary surgeons until 2015, when the country's veterinary association allowed vets to use the title, mainly to match with international practise.[[note]]In North America and continental Europe, the veterinary degree is a professional doctorate. In Australia, the veterinary degree is an extended undergraduate programme as in the UK, but vets are nonetheless called "Doctor".[[/note]]

* Third. AKA a "Drinker's Degree". In essence, you've just wasted three years and about twenty-five grand. Unless you got it from [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford or Cambridge]], in which case it's definitely not an ideal result, but still workable (just ask [[Series/{{Countdown}} Carol Vorderman]] or [[Series/TheArmstrongAndMillerShow Alexander Armstrong]]). 2.5, ish. For nicknames, take your pick between "Thora" and "Douglas", respectively rhyming slang with the actress Thora Hird and the politician Douglas Hurd. (Ironically, Douglas Hurd was the only one of the four to attend a British university for his undergraduate education[[note]]Neither Geoff Hurst nor Thora Hird attended university. Archbishop Tutu did go to King's College London, but to that was for a graduate program Theology; he did his undergraduate work in South Africa.[[/note]]—and he got a First in History at Cambridge.)

* Third. AKA a "Drinker's Degree". In essence, you've just wasted three years and about twenty-five grand. Unless you got it from [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford or Cambridge]], in which case it's definitely not an ideal result, but still workable (just ask [[Series/{{Countdown}} Carol Vorderman]] or [[Series/TheArmstrongAndMillerShow Alexander Armstrong]]). 2.5, ish. For nicknames, take your pick between "Thora" and "Douglas", respectively rhyming slang with the actress Thora Hird and the politician Douglas Hurd. (Ironically, Douglas Hurd was the only one of the four to attend a British university for his undergraduate education[[note]]Neither Geoff Hurst nor Thora Hird attended university. Reverend Tutu did go to King's College London, but to complete a graduate program in Theology; he did his undergraduate work in South Africa.[[/note]]—and he got a First in History at Cambridge.)

* Third. AKA a "Drinker's Degree". In essence, you've just wasted three years and about twenty-five grand. Unless you got it from [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford or Cambridge]], in which case it's definitely not an ideal result, but still workable (just ask [[Series/{{Countdown}} Carol Vorderman]] or [[Series/TheArmstrongAndMillerShow Alexander Armstrong]]). 2.5, ish. For nicknames, take your pick between "Thora" and "Douglas" (respectively rhyming slang with the actress Thora Hird and the politician Douglas Hurd).

A considerable number of non-UK students come to the UK to study. They're dubbed "International Students", but are in fact in two fee categories -- those from UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion and those who are not (the latter pay much more).

Sororities and Fraternities are next to non-existent, and hazing is nowhere near to the scale of the US. What hazing does occur is generally restricted to public-school-based drinking societies (which in any case tend not to exist outside Oxbridge and the Red Bricks) and the odd particularly loutish sports team (and not just the men's teams in terms of the latter), especially when they go 'on tour'. Whilst societal drinking is technically banned on campuses, it's hard to enforce.

'''What You Do And How Much It Costs'''

* Higher National Diploma (HND), a two-year course usually only found in business-related subjects. Cruelly but predictably, the initials are said to stand for ‘Has No Degree’.
* Undergraduate Diploma ([=UGDip=]) ... also known as 'Get Off My Course!' for those who fail to complete. These days it often means you ran out of money.

Scotland does things differently. There, students used to pay a £2,000 flat fee. The Lib Dems and Labour claimed that they'd abolished fees, but in usual politician style they promised to abolish "up-front fees", and you still got a bill after you graduated. Then in 2007, the new SNP government allowed the Student Awards Agency to pay these ones for you as well. This only applied to Scottish people though - everyone else still had to pay the fees as they are charged, although Scots still have the student loan to contend with. There was a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights by English students. Because of Scottish law, English students (and Welsh and Northern Irish students), despite all being from the same nation as the Scots, paid ''more'' than EU students who are not. It was alleged that this is discrimination, which it probably is—but the scheme was upheld in 2013. Since 2017, a change in Scottish law now puts students from the rest of the UK on the same footing as native Scots.

Many Universities are referenced in groups depending on what they were founded. The oldest are the Ancient Universities which were all founded between the 12th and 16th Century. There were several founded after that, but before the 'Red Bricks' (London, Wales and Durham). Then there were six 'Red Brick' Unis founded at the turned of the twentieth century before the start of world war I. Unis chartered in the 1960s are plate glass universities and finally the new Unis were founded in the 1990s onwards from polytechnics or higher education colleges.

The Open University was established in 1968. It is a distance learning institution.


'''The Pecking Order'''

There's ''definitely'' a pecking order when it comes to British Universities, with people trying to get their children into the more desirable ones. Unis will compete to get as high up the published newspaper league tables as possible and acquire high teaching and research scores, and students choose 5 unis from the list based on their subject and expected grades. This scale is overall reputation, many universities punch above their weight in specific fields, usually those related to local industry (eg Sheffield - Metallurgy, Nottingham - Chemistry, Staffordshire - Ceramics). Similarly, some degrees have only local application - law in Scotland, for instance, means you will be taught ''Scots'' law, not the English law taught at Oxbridge, and so Glasgow and Edinburgh share that particular title. Finally, Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin are called the "ancient" universities, because they are the oldest. This means that they get to appoint "Regius" Professors - "Royal" Professors - who hold appointments created by British monarchs. A Regius professor gets a nice title, and being one is a source of bragging rights among academics. Glasgow currently has the highest number of Regius chairs, at 13.

Students' Unions often have night clubs and will bring along people to perform. These tend to be people you've either never heard of or are long past their prime. Chesney Hawkes is ''still'' popular on the UK student circuit [[note]] even though students nowadays weren't even born when "I Am The One And Only" got to number one in the charts[[/note]], along with Aussie soap actors and people from ''Series/BigBrother''. There are often theme nights. Retro 70s/80s nights, foam parties and "School Disco" nights (think an entire collective of female students - and some male ones as well - dressing up as [[SexySchoolwoman Britney Spears in "Baby One More Time"]] and you're heading in very much the right direction) are common as well. Strippers, however, are right out due to Student Unions having what are called "Safe and Comfortable" policies.

!!''UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}}''

!!''3rd Place Universities''

In most subjects, Oxford and Cambridge will sit firmly in first and second place for most years, but many subjects have universities that regularly come third in those subjects and are usually considered especially prestigious in those areas. Examples include Manchester for Physics, Warwick/Imperial for Maths, and Edinburgh for Medicine. Imperial College London and UCL are perennial 3rd-placers in a larger number of subjects than any others, and occasionally beat their way into 2nd or 1st place some years. Usually similar entry requirements to Oxbridge in these subjects.

''Top Scottish Unis'':

''Other Top Universities, including the Six 'Red Brick' Universities''

''Concrete/Plate Glass Universities''

''The Former Polytechnics''

''Clearing Universities''

''The Open University''

''The Agricultural Universities''

'''Students' Unions and Societies'''

Sports teams are common, although their situation is ''very'' different to the USA. For a start, cheerleaders are very rare. This isn't surprising when you consider that, with some very limited exceptions (see below), uni sports in Britain get attendances of effectively zero - maybe the players' partners if they're lucky, plus possibly a reporter from the SU paper who wants to be a real sports reporter later in life. This doesn't stop the participants being very serious about them, but no-one else cares; there aren't any scholarships, there's no money and the real prospects usually turn professional at 16 or 17 and so never go to uni in the first place. That said, by tradition there are never lectures, seminars or exams on a Wednesday afternoon at any British university, to provide a time for fixtures that allows all the players not to miss anything important.

'''In Fiction'''

''UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}}''

''3rd Place Universities''

In most subjects, Oxford and Cambridge will sit firmly in 1st and 2nd place for most years, but many subjects have universities that regularly come third in those subjects and are usually considered especially prestigious in those areas. Examples include Manchester for Physics, Warwick/Imperial for Maths, and Edinburgh for Medicine. Imperial College London and UCL are perennial 3rd-placers in a larger number of subjects than any others, and occasionally beat their way into 2nd or 1st place some years. Usually similar entry requirements to Oxbridge in these subjects.

* Hull. Actually falls between this category and the red brick one, having been founded in the 1920s as an external University of London college before becoming a uni in its own right in the 1950s. It’s sometimes classified as a 'white tile university'. Creator/PhilipLarkin used to work in the library there.

* Coventry (formerly Coventry Polytechnic), or "Cov" for short. One of Britain's fastest-growing unis, and actually the fourth largest outside London; much bigger than the University of Warwick which is also in Coventry (don't ask). Actually has a campus in London which focuses on business courses.

* University of St Andrews:[[note]]Please don't be tempted to spell it ''St. Andrew's''; for some reason it's written without any punctuation.[[/note]] Located in the small town of St Andrews, Fife. A RunningJoke in the university is that nobody actually knows when it was founded.[[note]]It's complicated. There's evidence of teaching as early as 1410, but it wasn't officially founded until 1413 by Papal decree, but then UsefulNotes/ThePope in question is retrospectively considered illegitimate, although James I of Scotland ([[UsefulNotes/JamesVIAndI not to be confused]]) upheld the University charter following the healing of the Papal Schism.[[/note]] Just to be on the safe side, the University is sticking with 1413 -- possibly to avoid celebrating the 600th anniversary early. In any case, it's the oldest non-Oxbridge uni in the Anglosphere. The ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Times]]'' currently ranks it as the best university in the UK.

* University of St Andrews:[[note]]Please don't be tempted to spell it ''St. Andrew's''; for some reason it's written without any punctuation.[[/note]] Located in the small town of St Andrews, Fife. A RunningJoke in the university is that nobody actually knows when it was founded.[[note]]It's complicated. There's evidence of teaching as early as 1410, but it wasn't officially founded until 1413 by Papal decree, but then UsefulNotes/ThePope in question is retrospectively considered illegitimate, although James I of Scotland upheld the University charter following the healing of the Papal Schism.[[/note]] Just to be on the safe side, the University is sticking with 1413 -- possibly to avoid celebrating the 600th anniversary early. In any case, it's the oldest non-Oxbridge uni in the Anglosphere. The ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Times]]'' currently ranks it as the best university in the UK.

* University of St Andrews:[[note]]Please don't be tempted to spell it ''St. Andrew's''; for some reason it's written without any punctuation.[[/note]] Officially founded in 1413 by Papal decree, although there is evidence of teaching as early as 1410, and UsefulNotes/ThePope in question is retrospectively considered illegitimate. A RunningJoke in the university is that nobody actually knows when the University itself was founded. Just to be on the safe side, the University is sticking with 1413 -- possibly to avoid celebrating the 600th anniversary early. Either way, it's the oldest university in the English-speaking world after Oxbridge, and the oldest in Scotland. The ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Times]]'' currently ranks it as the best university in the UK.

* Middlesex University (formerly Middlesex Polytechnic). Widely regarded as the top ''modern'' university in London. Was once spread across several campuses in North London - indicative of its past as several colleges which merged to form the poly - but is now mostly based at Hendon. It counts Creator/HelenMirren as an alumnus - she went to the New College of Speech and Drama, one of several HE institutions which were merged into the current uni.

For most universities small amounts of marks are awarded for each unit a student sits (which are usually possible to re-sit), and the best combination of these (from second and third year) is selected in order to determine your result. This is supposedly to prevent one bad result in a final year unit from completely torpedoing your degree, although some more cynical types have suggested it's part of the "grade inflation" culture (more on that later). You can resit any year if you want to better your result or if you failed more than half of your units, but since the student loan people will not fund any whole-year resits except for in the most exceptional circumstances (basically, a serious illness or injury during the course of the year), you have to find the money to do so yourself. Otherwise, it's bye-bye for you.

* University of St Andrews:[[note]]Please don't be tempted to spell it ''St. Andrew's''; for some reason it's written without any punctuation.[[/note]] Officially founded in 1413 by Papal decree, although there is evidence of teaching as early as 1410. It has a small college system like Oxbridge. A RunningJoke in the university is that nobody actually knows when the University itself was founded. Just to be on the safe side, the University is sticking with 1413 -- possibly to avoid celebrating the 600th anniversary early. Either way, it's the oldest university in the English-speaking world after Oxbridge, and the oldest in Scotland. The ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Times]]'' currently ranks it as the best university in the UK.

* University of St Andrews:[[note]]You might be tempted to spell it ''St. Andrew's''. If so, please refrain. For some reason it's written without any punctuation.[[/note]] Officially founded in 1413 by Papal decree, although there is evidence of teaching as early as 1410. It has a small college system like Oxbridge. A RunningJoke in the university is that nobody actually knows when the University itself was founded. Just to be on the safe side, the University is sticking with 1413 -- possibly to avoid celebrating the 600th anniversary early. Either way, it's the oldest university in the English-speaking world after Oxbridge, and the oldest in Scotland. The ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Times]]'' currently ranks it as the best university in the UK.

** Imperial College, London — officially the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. Located in South Kensington and poorly signposted inside. Notable for its focus on the sciences and an ''almost'' complete lack of a humanities department (it has a business school), and the resulting skewed gender ratio. And being the sort of place where people discuss theoretical physics while drinking in the pub. While most London unis clamour to be included as part of the federal University of London or suffer the stigma of being considered unworthy, Imperial decided to actually ''secede'' from the University of London and become independent for its centenary in 2007, which goes to show how prestigious Imperial is, since being subsumed by the University of London was cramping its style.