still stuck on insurance offer- Exeter or Manchester

[greyvix]

DS is still insure on which insurance offer to accept for economics- Exeter AAA or Manchester AAB. He should get AAA (or hopefully A*AA so that he can go to Nottingham as first choice). Manchester is obviously the safer option (or Cardiff which is offering the same). Unfortunately, we haven't managed to visit Manchester, so no idea what it's like, though I have heard good things. And Professor Brian Cox is there!

[greyvix]

I was bought up in Barry, so know Cardiff well. I can see that it would be a great place to live and study. Exeter has recently been promoted to Russell Group though, along with Sussex and a couple of others.

[greyvix]

I was bought up in Barry, so know Cardiff really well. I can see that it would be a great place to live and study; my sister lives there. Exeter has recently been promoted to Russell Group though, along with Sussex and a couple of others.

[Finocchio]

I've worked at both those universities, Manchester and Exeter, and studied at one too. I'd say the are similar in academic reputation for many subjects (but I don't know about Economics), and both very popular generally with students. I'd choose between them by which type of university/city ds would prefer - by his extracurricular interests.

Manchester: urban, gritty, lots of music, clubs, thriving arts scene. Multicultural/multiethnic. Solidly left wing (university and city). High crime rate (students need good contents insurance).

Exeter; campus very pretty. Near the sea and moors. Good place for outdoor pursuits. Students can seem a bit on the sloany side, certainly the whole university is more traditional/right wing. High housing costs.

[Manchesterhistorygirl]

The hills are only 20-30 minutes by train from Piccadilly to somewhere like Glossop (trains run every 30 mins) so that option is also available at manchester too.

The train links to the rest of the country are excellent too, so you can be n the lakes/out by the coast/Liverpool, etc in under 2 hours.

It is a very left wing area here, but most of the north is socialist by inclination, with few right wing outposts.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

@Lilymaid you're right, Exeter and Nottingham aren't in the same league for economics, Exeter is better regarded and has been for many years, certainly by both the RAE as was, and the city. It really is an area in which the university has excelled for decades.

[Yellowtip]

greyvix I very much doubt that Exeter, Durham etc regard their joining of the Russell Group as being in any way a 'promotion'.

[LondonLancashireRose]

I went to the Business School at Cardiff and had the time of my life, even though I didn't particularly like my course. Cardiff is small enough that you can walk anywhere that you would want to go, but as a capital city has something for everyone (international sporting facilities, great theatre, big nightclubs, national museums, great shopping etc etc) and the university is right at the heart of the city - no isolated campus living. Also the student's union is very active (and rich!) so their facilities and clubs are excellent. It is a very economical city to live in, particularly when you consider all it has to offer. I really would urge him to consider it as an option.

[greyvix]

RussiansOnTheSpree, are you saying that Exeter or Nottingham would be the better choice for economics? They appear generally equal in league tables. I agree with you Yellowtip. DD1 gained an excellent degree from Exeter, before it was Russell Group, but when it had an outstanding reputation for research and quality of teaching.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Exeter. It's one of the best regarded courses. As you can see from the most recent Graun rankings www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/may/22/university-guide-economics

It has one of the highest employment rates after graduating. Now, don't get me wrong, I personally think there is a lot more to education than can you get a job, and I am in fact married to an economics academic but the bald truth is most people studying economics are doing so because they want to get a job not because they want to do cutting edge research. And by that criterion, Exeter is a better place to go. By that criterion only LSE, Warwick and Cambridge are better, and that sounds about right to me, when I consider what I see in the City. I know an awful lot of highly placed Exeter graduates, who are in positions to influence or control recruitment and to also influence the views of others on how good their alma mater is. Other universities may be more congenial, have better surroundings, have better staff:student ratios etc. But economics (and allied subjects eg accountancy) - essentially, the school of business and economics - is an area that Exeter has been getting right for some time. It's probably the only area I'd ever recommend the university for, actually.

[greyvix]

English there is also very good. It is 4th in the Good University Guide. I know guides need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but both DDs have been really impressed with the quality of teaching there.