Which uni?

[Moominmammacat]

Anyone have an opinion on music at York, Leeds, Bristol and Edinburgh? My DS has identical offers from all four and doesn't have a clue which he prefers ...

They are all good, so it will need to be a personal decision. Get him to break it down to things like:

Course content
Course related opportunities
Graduate employment record
Cost (eg halls, travel etc)
Student societies/night-life

I don't know anything much about music degrees but they are all excellent unis. Congrats to your ds on the offers. I went to Edinburgh and I think it's a gorgeous city and a lovely place to live as a student, so I would have no hesitations recommending it. I was really happy there.

Bristol is the best-respected for music and has the most 'traditional' course of those four. All are good though but very different universities!

Compare using the new govt website called unistats..useful and based on the student survey rather than mktg people's opinions

Where do you live? Those are pretty spread out.

Have you got him to do a comparison list ?

Has he really, really studied the different modules/options?

I love York (the City)

Thank you for sensible advice, esp. unistats. At the moment he's thinking pin in the map the evening before decision day. He really doesn't mind which is either wonderfully laid back or utterly stupid. Says they'll all "be fun".

Hi I'm watching with interest as my Ds is going to make a similar application later this year. He is currently researching Unis and has been given a suggested list by his school Music department. Teacher was very positive about York and Bristol. Edinburgh was also very high on the list though I'm not sure Leeds was there. My Ds is more interested in Composition than Performance in the long term so I'm not sure if that affected the list. Also interesting that all four made identical offers!! I would love to know what the offer is if you are willing to share that information.

Son is weirdo who didn't do A level music (didn't like the syllabus) so they are asking for a performance diploma + Grade 8 theory. Most offers tend to be around the AAB, I think.

Costs of living at Bristol and Edinburgh are much higher than at York and Leeds if that affects things at all?

Has he visited them? Often after visiting a university, you find that it just feels "right" (or not) for reasons that you can't quite place your finger on. Similarly, a visit can often throw up issues that you never realised existed.

I went with my gut feeling, and a university that just felt "right" on the open day, and I have never regretted my decision.

Thank you for posting the offer Moomin. My Ds has Grade 8 but not Diploma and is taking Music for IB Higher which I think equates to the Grade 8 Theory. If the A level sylabus did not appeal, I would be studying the Course Content very carefully as there do seem to be differences between the different Unis. York, for example, has a practical project in first year that I haven't seen mentioned in other courses.

Definitely go on the basis of which town wants to live in. I am a big city girl so would like Bristol best. I am fond of Leeds, though, great student life and somehow I find it's grimness attractive (weird, I know).

I would agree it's important to visit all. Worth also doing some research into graduate destinations, the unis should have that info. I went to Edinburgh and loved it. Incidentally while I wouldn't call it a big city, it does have a larger population than Bristol.

We have recently been to visit Leeds Uni .I expected to hate it as I find Leeds beyond grim.But surprisingly I quite liked it .They are just So well geared up for students

But York is lovely too-although the campus is quite far out.
Scottish have some sort of different system whereby they do extra subjects in the first year don't they?

Depends on the degree. I did joint hons philosophy and psychology so was only able to do one outside course - the delight that was classical literature!

Thank you again ... Grand Tour must commence.

A friend of mine did Music at Leeds and absolutely loved it.

One thing to consider is the cost of living , my ds is at one of the Northern cities you mention, one of his friends is at Bristol and his rent is almost twice the price, plus the lifestyle seems to be very expensive there .Another thing to consider is that Bristol is notorious for scoring low on student satisfaction , although the place and reputation are great .

Your ds has done very well , they are all great Universities.

In fairness the students in Bristol tend to live in relatively affluent areas (Clifton, Redland, Cotham etc.) whereas in many northern cities they live at the rougher end of town. For instance, in Manchester most live around Fallowfield / Rusholme / Withington / Longsight, which aren't quite as picturesque / white middle class!

Edinburgh - but for the solo reason that I went there :)

One thing not in Edinburgh's favour is if the course length is a year longer than English courses (university entrance is traditionally designed to be age 17 in Scotland). This means an extra year's fees.

This is actually first year university accomodation, although the private rental differential is probably the same.