Universities to do English Lit for quiet/shy DD

[Kimmerer]

Would love some recommendations please. I am trying to encourage her to take a Gap year as she's a summer born and could do with growing up a bit in terms of her confidence, but I'd also like to start looking at unis and would love to hear some recommendations for universities that might suit a very shy girl, going into Y13 in sept. Thanks so much.

So do you want a quiet (not party) type of university? Or somewhere that'll bring her out of her shell?

I went to Bristol and it was great for this shy girl 🤣

However a campus university might suit better? What are her expected grades?

Also ask for this to be moved into 'Higher Education' as you may get more replies there!

Nearly all unused for English so some idea of ability might help?

Unis!

Thank you all. She's likely to get an A in English Lit, and Bs in the other 2 subjects.
She's not a party girl.

OK, so I'd suggest UEA maybe. Birmingham at a push. Lovely campus. Lincoln is great for quieter types but maybe less aspirational. Its good for English though.

Depending on where you are, Aberystwyth is quite close knit and community spirited but hard to get home from if she's a home body.

I was going to suggest Durham as the collegiate system is great for those who might find a big city uni daunting but I don't think she'd get in with ABB.

What bits of English does she like? With a subject so popular it’s about mapping the modules to see a degree she’d enjoy ultimately.

Might be helpful to pull together a general area (so does she want to be away from home? If so how far?) and have a flick through unis that broadly fit it so she can see what piques her interest, then you can start identifying other things that she wants from her uni (campus, city, music scene, work placements etc) and then you’ve got a decent set of criteria to work through.

Lincoln is so out of the way- a real pain to get to...unless you live that way.
Exeter? Plymouth? Southampton

I think University of Kent would fit the brief. The student I know who has thrived there doing English Lit, had dropped out of Leeds the previous year. She is having a very good experience in Canterbury.

Leeds is good for English and it's a lovely, friendly, creative city that has plenty going on beyond it's admittedly great party scene. There's a great theatre scene and plenty of museums and galleries. The Brotherton library (as well as Leeds Central library in the city centre) is one of my favourite places in the world, have many fond memories of writing essays on the long trestles in the Parkinson Hall. I was that shy teenager studying an adjacent subject there with a minor in medieval studies in the mid-noughties and found that although I never partied as such, I did come out of my shell a lot and made some lovely friends (including future DH!) despite remaining the quiet and studious type😉I still live a short bus ride away (have in fact just got in from a day out at the Armouries with the kids). I absolutely love it here, then as now.

Second that!

I did English Lit at Kent in another life before retraining in nursing. Loved it. We had some very quiet, shy people on the course but everyone rubbed along together beautifully.

Royal Holloway is a lovely campus and environment if your DD is interested in creative writing or combining English with Media?

Maybe Exeter? I think their typical offer is AAB, do you think DD could achieve that? She should have at least one 'reach' option out of the five on her UCAS. Leicester as well, but it might be too busy for her. Cardiff? Surrey might also be a good option!

My very lovely shy DD has just finished English Lit at Reading Uni, where she was very supported and encouraged all the way.

I have noticed shy DC do turn a corner at uni. As long as you speak to flatmates and course mates, it’s unlikely DD would find no one to be friends with.

English is seeing a drop in applicants. At most unis there will always be a mix of students from very quiet to very loud. It’s perfectly possible to let the loud ones enjoy what they do and a more retiring personality find their tribe. I would therefore sift by reputation above anything else but make sure course is ok too. I’d also look at what grads do afterwards. If you are spending lots, this matters to some people. Employers will care about skills gained but not what literature you have read.

Exeter is hard to get into for English. Most students have above ABB. Lovely place though.

I would have said Kent but they are shutting down depts all over the place and my friend's DD just dropped out of an English degree there.

Shout out for my local uni, Worcester. Nice small city, lots of societies and nice campuses. English course is pretty good from what I know of it. At least I know one of the staff and some of the modules sound great.

Oh are they! I studied there 13 years ago so can imagine it’s probably very different now.

That rather depends! High speed trains from London now, close to A1, easy from eg Nottingham. Totally depends on where OP is!

See, for us, Exeter, Plymouth and Southampton would be really hard to get to...

Yes, sadly. It used to be brilliant for English.

I think a small town uni - somewhere like Chichester or Uni of Kent at Canterbury would be lovely. Or Lancaster. Or Lincoln.