Bristol, Manchester or Sheffield Uni?

[mrsmootoo]

DD1 has been lucky enough to get three good offers from three good universities to study German & Russian next autumn, but she cannot decide which to choose. Has anyone got any firsthand experience through their children/friends etc of any of these cities and/or language departments? We live in the country but she likes the idea of a big city so that's not a problem. I like the idea of Bristol as a bit more manageable than huge Manchester. (Rain also not a problem apparently - I know it's wet there). Thanks!

Sheffield.

Actually I don't agree that the course comes first. Few employers gives much weight to what modules you studied, especially on arts courses, or what ranking the course has. However, if you look at last Saturday' Daily Telegraph university supplement, the top 10 universities from which recruiters actively recruit, as opposed to just visit on the milk round, does not include Sheffield. The top ten does include Bristol and Manchester. Out of these two there is quite a big difference in what the student will experience regarding fellow students and living in a university city. Bristol university is a lot smaller but has a very high proportion of privately educated students. Manchester has more home city students and much more of a large "red brick" feel to it. It really comes down to where someone fits in.

Milly I think that may be true of courses in general but its not true of language courses (at least not in my experience). Time abroad is usually directly linked to linguistic ability so an employer looking at potential employees with language skills will look at course content and time oversees. I've seen this as a potential employee and as someone involved in recruitment.

*overseas!!

By saying the course comes first, I mean which course interests her most, not which comes top in the fairly arbitrary rankings.

I work at a Russell Group university and really the rankings mean very little when you are choosing between three top unis such as Mcr, Bristol and Sheffield. What means more is what's the balance of the languages in a duel language degree, how long and what type of foreign language placements there are, what the choice of modules are like, the balance of language, linguistics and literature, what's compulsory, what's optional (remembering optional modules won't run every year). This is going to be individual choice of the student as to what grabs them most and what is likely to keep them enthused for three or four years.

Choosing a course which interests you is imperative to getting a good degree class and it is what I tell students at Open Days and what DH tells the UCAS candidates he interviews. That may mean we loose some good students for our uni but the fit of candidate to course is vital.

Dual not duel (although deciding degree class by a fencing match would be an event!)

If it appears in the Daily Telegraph then it's definitely advice I wish not to follow.

All three excellent. Bristol more hooray henry ish. Manchester excellent but v large. Sheffield best of both as good sized city but not so big as to be lost in it. If only they hadn't banned pyjama jump (google it). Though i say that thinking I am 18 not as the parent of someone about to go to uni.

Don't google pyjama jump as a parent . You will never let your DD go to Sheffield!!

Choose the course you like best - if only I'd followed my own advice 36 years ago! Those three unis are all excellent. Love the cities of Bristol and Manchester, don't know Sheffield, but my dds friends who went there raved about it.

I read MFL at Bristol and my DSS1 is there right now reading Economics. Great university, great city. Compact and attractive and a good name with employers.

A somewhat late response, but all MFL students go abroad so what some employers might look for is not what others may want. Lots of employers are not employing MFL students for their language skills anyway, although clearly if an MFL student wants to have a job using these skills, then they need to make sure they are very good and do appropriate modules. None of DDs friends from MFL have gone into carriers where the employers are needing their linguistic skills. Lots of them chose courses they liked and would get the bests marks on. Going abroad, however, can be an excellent way of proving you are self reliant and cope well in an unfamiliar setting. However a good friend of mine lived with her grandma during her year abroad somewhat missing the point!

Will have to report to DH the pyjama jump is no more! Highlight of his time at Sheffield apparently!

I think Manchester is far too big for a good Uni experience. I don't know anything about Bristol. But have heard Sheffield is a very good student experience.

I did German and Russian at Bristol (1988-1992) and then did MFL PGCE at Sheffield.
Both good but would veer towards Bristol as an undergrad.

We have just been to the Manchester accommodation day today and DD is applying to live on the Fallowfied campus. The students we spoke to all seemed to be having a very good student experience there!

My DS loves Manchester. He was at Fallowfield in 1st year and loved it, 4 boys bad 4 girls in each flat. There are loads of student houses to choose from for the next years, and the rents are very reasonable.
If you like music then Manchester is a great city, and the year ends with the Parklife festival :)

Thanks Milliways