Dilemma about Uni Halls but in home town -

[Spoilt4choice]

Ds has offers from 5 Unis, 2 in London plus Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. We live in Manchester . He loves Manchester. He likes the course at Manchester. If he opts for Manchester he will get a place in Uni halls. His dilemma is that if he chooses Manchester he won't get the same experience of getting away from home as he would if he chose London/ Sheffield/Leeds .even though he wont be living at home, home will only be a short tram ride away so he says it's not the same. And all his friends will be leaving Manchester and moving away so home won't be the same either ! He's going round and round in circles and I don't know what to suggest!

[Spoilt4choice]

Just been reading the London uni thread, interesting, was telling DS about it.

[tribpot]

It does sound like it could be the worst of both worlds - staying at home but all his mates leave. Does he prefer the course at Manchester over Leeds or Sheffield?

He seems to be making the choice based on which is his favourite city, but having never lived in any of the others he really ought to give one a try, unless the Manchester course is head and shoulders above the others.

[senua]

I'm a big believer in going away for University. It takes you out of your comfort zone, it forces you to find new friends, to discover a new way of living (whether that's the underground or barm cakes or surfing or ...).
It's one of the nebulous benefits of University, it broadens your horizons in a way that kicking around your home town never does.

[Spoilt4choice]

Thanks for the replies. Agree with what you're saying. All the courses are similar, so he is basing his choice on location.Trouble is, he didnt like Leeds, so that's out of the running, leaving only Sheffield or London as alternatives to Manchester. Sheffield seems to offer a good student life, but he thinks Sheffield might be a smaller ('crapper ' sorry, Sheffield, his description!) version of Manchester! London, of course, is a different thing again. If he is considering London he says it has to be his firm choice or he won't get Uni accomm, so that might force his hand- but it seems crazy to put Llndon first for that reason!!

[Balletgirlmum]

Is he sure he will get a place in halls in Manchester? When I was at uni only students who lived more than 40-50 miles away got halls places (& I accepted an unconditional offer as I took a year out)

[user7755]

Sheffield apparently has the highest number of students who stay in the city after their course has finished because they like it so much.

[Spoilt4choice]

FWIW he knows lots of people/ family who have come to Manchester uni from other cities and loved it . It is a big student city with great nightlife, a big consideration for him . Hes not convinced Sheffield is going to cut it in comparison!

[Summerblush1982]

I moved away to uni not knowing anyone. It was the best thing ever. Moving away, making new friends and going on a journey together. Most of my school friends all went their separate ways. It just builds your confidence a lot more, you learn to socialise better getting to know strangers. I would go to London... There's so much going on. Also, right in the capital for job opportunities after. Good luck :-)

[Spoilt4choice]

Balletgirl, yes he would definitely get uni accomm in Manchester - it was the first thing he asked at the open day , in fact he queued up to ask two different people on case the first one was mistaken

[Spoilt4choice]

User77 that's interesting, where did you get that info from?

[Spoilt4choice]

Thanks Summer! I tend to agree with you about London .. But he might do the opposite for that very reason!

[TheMightyMing]

My son is doing first yr of a levels. We live in Manchester, quite close to Uni. He seems set on Sheffield, I believe it's an amazing place to be a student, vibrant, compact and cheap social life.

I personally would have preferred him to stay in Manchester , I was prepared for him to live in halls for year 1 and maybe come home for the rest. The main reason being cost ( it scares me to death but we will manage somehow) but also he's my only one, not terribly streetwise and I'm not sure how I'm going to cope!

Sheffield open day is coming up in June, we are doing that one plus Liverpool , Lancaster and Manchester initially.

[IDismyname]

User77 maybe we went to the same open day at Sheffield?? I remember someone telling me that bit of info as well!
Going back this Thursday with DS for an "informal chat" which I'm assuming is a gentle interview??

[Spoilt4choice]

Mighty, Sheffield open day was the first one DS went to & he really loved it, liked the course and tutors . It was his first choice for months! But now he keeps changing his mind

[user7755]

It's quite a well known thing in the city, it is also a statistic they produce at the induction for the Uni

There are some not so good areas but as Mighty says, it is very vibrant, pretty diverse, lots going on. It has quite a 'young' feel to it.

[Spoilt4choice]

User how come youre going back? Was your DS invited back? Has he got an offer?

[Leeds2]

I too have heard (read on MN?) that student satisfaction is greatest in Sheffield and Brighton.

We live near London. DD didn't apply to London, although realised that the cities she did apply to probably wouldn't have as much "buzz". She is going to the US .....
I would probably recommend moving away from your home town/city, unless living at home makes it an affordable option.

[MadisonAvenue]

My son is just coming to the end of his first year at our local university, he's just under 10 miles away. He's lived in halls though and I really don't think that being so close to home has diluted the experience for him. I don't actually think we see any more of him than we would if he was at a university 200 miles away. He occasionally drops in for coffee and a sandwich on his way to his weekend job (handily, going to a local university meant he was able to continue working) but even when he had two weeks off for Easter he went back after the first week to spend time with the friends he's made there. The change in him has been incredible, he's so much more confident and independent now and living away - albeit close to home - has done him the world of good.

[Spoilt4choice]

Yeah I've learnt a lot about Sheffield recently, never gave it a thought before! Some very rough areas, but thats the same everywhere. It does seem poorer/ more deprived than Manchester somehow though

[Spoilt4choice]

So good to discuss it with you all, it's been driving us all barmy at home, going round in circles. Thank goodness a decision has to be made before too long!

[Spoilt4choice]

Madison, that's encouraging to hear if Manchester wins out !

[Decorhate]

I would just point out that in many other countries it is perfectly normal to go to your local uni. It doesn't necessarily mean you don't "get the full uni experience".

My dd was definitely very keen on going to a biggish vibrant city. Although London has lots to offer in general, I would say the student experience there is very different to more compact cities. Dd's friend told her that Tues night is student night out in many places in London. Dd was as it's student night every night where she is.

Personally I'd only chose London to be a student in if the course was much better than elsewhere. (And I absolutely love London)

[SellFridges]

I would have gone to uni in Sheffield (many moons ago) but I lived about 8 miles outside so would t have got in halls and didn't want the opportunity to go running home all the time.

I would have LOVED to have gone to Manchester but my family wouldn't let me consider it as the bombs had just gone off and my daft cousin had just got himself beaten up there.

[BikeRunSki]

My first job after graduating was in Sheffield. I lived there for 2 years and a lot of my friends were mature/post grad students. I don't live very far away now. 15 years later it's still my "go to" city over Leeds or Manchester. I would not describe Sheffield as a poor relation of Manchester at all! It is a fabulous city with it's own character, good shops, great nightlife, pubs, restaurants, museums, libraries, sports facilities and all the other amenities you'd expect. The
University sports facilities are great. (I grew up in Central London, so my yardstick for cities is pretty high). And fabulously easy access to the Peak District if that's his sort of thing. Of course it's has its less salubrious parts, but so do all cities. It has some very nice areas too!!

I've worked in Leeds for 15 years. I'd really not like to live there. Many of my colleagues are Shefgield graduates who've stayed, and commute to Leeds every day.

Another Sheffield fact - outside London, it has the least and worst socially deprived areas in Europe.

[whatwouldrondo]

My DD did not want to go to a London uni for all the reasons people have put forward for not staying near home but the course was much better than her offers elsewhere. However none of those issues materialised. She was in a lively self catered block, made lots of friends and had a great time discovering the city from a different perspective. She lived out for the whole three years and was so busy between work and friends we saw less of her than our other DD at a distant uni, who sometimes misses the London buzz and comes back for a fix of sport or theatre etc.

For the first year there were a few friends still around for gap years and even after that her local friends would often be back from distant unis for weekends etc and their flats were a handy crash pad in town so that now her uni and home circle of friends have merged. Especially as they have all ended up in London for work.