Sticking point in deciding between 2 unis

[daughterofliz]

I am not giving any identifying details about these 2 unis or the course because I really want you to focus on just this one aspect and how much of a deal breaker it would be for you/your DC.

Uni A and Uni B have given comparable offers for DS to study essentially the same subject. There is very little to choose between them. DS thinks he would slightly prefer the course content at Uni A. In other ways Uni B would be more convenient in terms of travel and accommodation costs, etc. and they offer some free equipment that would be useful. I would respect his decision to choose Uni A because of the course content despite those factors, but...

This is the biggie: Both courses involve a third year work placement (officially optional, but it sounds as if everyone normally does it and there are definite advantages).

At Uni A, this placement is not paid. I assume they just get a student loan like in other years.

At Uni B, the placement is paid (reasonably well by the sound of it).

Of course we want him to do a course he will love but being paid would obviously be a big advantage, especially as we have another DC possibly going to uni a year after him, and it could be an expensive few years.

In our place, would you be trying to persuade him that Uni B would be the better option? He doesn't hate the course there, just thinks Uni A might be "even better", and time is running out to make the decision...

If he is not paid for the placement at University A, he should get a waiver or reeducation in fees I believe, although there will still be living expenses. I think I would look very closely at which is the best university and the best course to gain the highest quality employment at the end although both should be ok on that front because they are both sandwich courses which do boost employment prospects. Is the paid placement definite, or will he have to compete with other students to get it? This is often the case I understand. Does university A guarantee every single placement is paid? Are some placements unpaid? This is 2 years into the future and things can change. What chance does he stand of being taken on by either employer/placement provider on completion of the degree? That could be worth quite a lot in the future. Could the unpaid placement actually be the better quality option?

I am not in your position and money would not overly affect the decision in this household. If your DS can really pinpoint why university B is not the right one for him or the right course, then he should be encouraged to go where he is happy irrespective of family finances. Being paid on your placement is a bonus but I am not sure it should be the deciding factor.

Sorry, that should read does university B guarantee etc.

Our understanding (from DH having specifically e-mailed both places about it, because it wasn't all that clear from the open days) is that Uni B undertakes to find all the students a paid placement. Both universities have said that almost all the students who go on these placements end up getting job offers from the same employers. One thing I don't know at the moment is whether all the placements are in the same geographical area as the universities - City A seems a more likely place for there to be many jobs in that field.

I've possibly made it sound as if the money aspect is more crucial than it is. It's not going to be the difference between making ends meet and ending up at the food bank (I'm pretty sure he'd be entitled to some help with his fees if that was the case) but, all other things being equal, we thought it would be sensible if he could build up less debt and possibly even build up a bit of a cushion of savings in that year. In this case, all other things aren't quite equal as he has this slight preference for the other course - but even he admits there would be advantages to living in City B. It's all quite finely balanced as far as he's concerned, so we're just trying to decide how big a factor the placement issue really is. Thank you very much for your suggestions.

Do the different scenario mean that the Universities end up with different sort of students eg is Uni A full of trustafarians and Uni B full of normal folk?
And, again, if students usually end up working for the places where they did their placements, does that mean that Uni-A-employers are the sort to take advantage of their employees whereas Uni-B-employers are fairer?

Hmm, those are good points!

have you checked out what the Student Room has to say about the universities and if possible the placements?

In general I'd support their choice, whatever that is, after pointing out the advantages (can afford to holiday with friends, go out more) to a student from having some paid employment in the placement year and any possible disadvantages (like location of work).

IME paid employment is likely to be a different type of employer (larger, less likely to be pubic sector) so he needs to consider not just if it will help him find work (any placement will) but what type of employment he might find afterwards.

I just thought I should come back and let you know that he finally decided on Uni B but not only for that reason. We found an online survey that indicated that for that particular course, people at Uni B gave a much higher rating for feeling well supported, getting lots of feedback and various other things that were important to him.

I'm glad that it ended up with everyone happy with the same decision.

My gut instinct is to go with the preferred course content. The money is a short term consideration in the overall scheme of a working life of 40 years or so.

Can you take the long view? Think of all the money you & he will pay or borrow as an investment in his future (it is).

Which course will serve him better in the long run?

oops should have RTFT