Thoughts on Sheffield University/city?

[seekinguniadvice]

DD is currently planning to firm Sheffield, offer of AAB for Psychology. She will be attending an offer holder day to gain further insight into Sheffield before she enters her final choices into UCAS but was looking for any thoughts or experience of the uni or city, even if purely anecdotal?

Her only worry with Sheffield (she liked it a lot on the open day still) is that it may be slightly boring. DD is very into live music and going out and worries that the nightlife may not compare with other unis like Manchester and Leeds. From what I can gather there is still plenty to do in Sheffield and it seems like a city that would really suit her - very friendly and down to earth - but of course it is a big decision and one she would like to get right. Any feedback would be fantastic, thank you!

P.S. Liverpool will be her insurance, if anyone has thoughts on that...

[pooopypants]

Friendly, tonnes of nightlife and shit loads of student accommodation. We're amazing!

[Tempnamelady]

My son is at Hallam. He’s had an amazing 3 years, Sheffield is great for student nightlife and relatively safe. People are nice.Ive been to a number of gigs at the leadmill with my son.

Liverpool also great though one of my favourite cities!

[Nutkin123]

Sheffield is such a nice city! Not only is it the greenest city in the UK, it's got great nightlife, is very friendly and has some beautiful areas! Would definitely recommend Sheffield!

[seekinguniadvice]

Thank you @pooopypants and @tempnamelady that's really good to know - plenty of clubs/bars/music venues then? Student satisfaction is fab which is a strong sign.

[Tempnamelady]

I saw Jorja Smith at the Leadmill a couple of years back, bet I won’t get to see her for 15 quid again 🤣 . There’s tons of bars, clubs and it’s a nice cheap place to live. The bits round Uni of Sheffield are very pretty, some other areas less so, but yes I’d be happy to live there myself.Its teeming with students having two unis. My son has friends at both and they all mingle nicely.

He is in his last year now ( gone so bloody fast!) and he said he couldn’t have had a better time anywhere. He’s made lovely friends and you can’t ask for more than that.

He said

[user1494670108]

I came to sheffield uni n the 80s and have never left. It's friendly, has city, shopping (Meadowhall), countryside and great links to the rest of the country.
The people are fab and we see a lot of live music.
It has the highest student retention rate of any uni, many people stay - that speaks volumes

[ifancyagreencard]

DD's mate is there, fabulous uni with glorious countryside on the doorstep

[Stayawayfromitsmouth]

I wouldn't encourage her to come to Sheffield. She will end up staying for life and you will rarely see her again.
However, it has great music festivals, clubs and gigs. There are theatres, shopping, very sporty city and plenty of parks and green spaces. Not to mention the peak district on the edge of the city. It's a smaller city though and surprisingly close knit and friendly.

[Booboostwo]

Sheffield has Tramlines which is a great event and is a very lively city but with a very friendly, safe atmosphere. Leeds is much larger. Yes the music scene is awesome but this can be a problem for the Uni as a lot of students choose it for the fun and couldn’t care less for their education. I used to teach at Leeds and it was dispiriting to have students tell me they only wanted a third because they came to Leeds for the music. I don’t know about psychology specifically but generally I’d say Sheffield is a better Uni than Leeds. It also has amazing connections with China which might help it weather the coming Brexit caused Armageddon that’s about to hit HE.

[BubblesBuddy]

It’s a shame that student unions don’t do the gigs they used to. DH was there in the early 70s and the music scene was legendary. I think the university web site has info on who they had play there. Leeds was great too.

These days though, Sheffield is still pretty good for music and has venues in the city. It’s got loads of clubs too and it’s very lively for students. A friend’s DS is there and he’s very happy. But it does have a drinking culture. Be aware of this.

[BubblesBuddy]

It’s not better educationally than Leeds. It’s pretty similar. As most people who study Psychology don’t become psychologists, the university matters quite a lot to employers. As will employability. Sheffield isn’t known for high wages and many stay on and work in the public sector there.

[LadyMonicaBaddingham]

Sheffield has a fantastic music scene, brilliant bar/club life and frankly amazing public transport. It's a great choice for students in those terms. If the course suits, then go for it 100%

[seekinguniadvice]

Am so pleased to hear all of these good stories - DD is heavily leaning towards it, but we don't have any friends with DC there, unlike most other universities, so it seems a little unknown in that sense. An offer holder day will hopefully give more insight.

@BubblesBuddy am I right in interpreting that you think Sheffield is a less desirable uni for employers? Am not disagreeing as am clueless with employability - that's just useful info to have.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I think Sheffield city has the highest rate of students who never leave the city after graduating. I used to live and work in Sheffield and loved it. My favourite city. Had to move away with work and miss it.

[MarchingFrogs]

many stay on and work in the public sector there.

There are some of us who fail to see that as a mark against Sheffield. Or any university, for that matter...

[Tempnamelady]

I know lots of v successful professional people in my profession ( think financial services actuarial /investment - who went to Sheffield Uni.

[missminimum]

My son studied at Sheffield uni and loved it. Great city, not too big and easy access to the Peaks. My other son went to Liverpool and was happy, but I think it was a less personal and friendly environment.

[Fishlegs]

My brother went to uni there 15 years ago and never left (manufacturing/engineering, not public sector).

[Ginfordinner]

Sheffield has loads going on. I mean just how many bars/music venues does your daughter need? Does she intend to do any work at university or just go to gigs every night of the week?

Besides, Leeds is easy to get to from Sheffield anyway.

[seekinguniadvice]

@MarchingFrogs I don't in any way see it as a mark against Sheffield - I picked up on 'the uni matters a lot to employers' and then 'Sheffield isn't known for high wages' to infer that employability prospects might not be great - I accept I may well have misunderstood

[BubblesBuddy]

No. I think it’s fine for employability. However I do know lots of undergrads stay there but earnings in the city are not the highest in some areas of employment - as you would expect.

Psychology is one of those degrees where most students market themselves outside the subject. They don’t become psychologists. Therefore s student has to think about their cv and what they do want as a career and where. It’s the same for most psychology grads and their earnings after 5 years are not up there with medics or economists. So it’s a case of thinking about that cv and career whilst at university.

[BubblesBuddy]

Housing is cheap in Sheffield too and they also makes it an attractive place to stay on a less than stellar salary. If you are a medic and marry a medic you will do very well there in terms of wages vs living costs.

[PandaG]

Came here 30 years ago and never left. Friendly city, so green, excellent nightlife - good bars, clubs and live music, and theatres - there is a live for 5 deal where 16-20 something's can go to the theatre for a fiver, easy access to the peaks. Love the city. We know lots of students from both universities as we are part of the student team at our church - the students we know are really happy with the city, and huge numbers stay on.

[Nat6999]

Sheffield is brilliant for students, you would be surprised how many arrive as students & never return home again. There are some great live music venues, the FlyDSA Arena, O2 Top Rank, The Leadmill, Tramlines in the summer which is a 3 day outdoor music festival, The Octagon at Sheffield University students union. There is no end of student accommodation, Sheffield University, Sheffield Hallam University, it is only 15 minutes from the city centre to the peak district, great transport links, the Supertram, most of the larger student accommodation is no more than 10 minutes walk from the university sites. Both universities have a good reputation & links with many industries such as Boeing or Formula 1, massive STEM industries, a first class medical school, there are no end of pubs, clubs, places to eat & drink.

[Xmasbaby11]

I've worked at Sheffield Uni for 10 years. Moved here for the job and love it. Great for students and the student union is extremely successful. It's cheaper than bigger cities and also easier to get around, plus you can live near uni. People I know here are very happy with Sheffield. I do really rate the uni. I've only worked in one dept but I have links with many others.

I do love Manchester too and went to uni there. That would be a great option too. For me Sheffield being cheaper would be a selling point but it may not matter to you.