Nottingham or York?

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Just that really. DS is trying to decide which to firm (for Physics) and I wondered if anyone had any pointers.

The campuses are very similar, I've visited both many times. I think there is less self catered accommodation at Nottingham.
I have one at York though not Physics. If he's torn then applicant day visit might sway him? When DS was struggling to decide it helped him to look at the courses in great detail.

Presumably he visited? Did he have a preference for campus and either city? Was he more concerned about the standing of the course? Not sure where either of them stand regarding prestige in Physics but job prospects won't be dented by either. DD1 had several friends at Nottingham and all were happy. Have not heard anything negative about York either. What did he think of the accommodation? Did either have a usp for him? Travelling time from home? Would this be a factor? Has he done a spreadsheet of plus and minus points?

Both are pretty good. York campus is a bus ride out of the centre, I think Notts is more central. York accommodation may be more expensive, as it's an expensive city generally, but it also has good access to the dales. I had friends at both and none of them had any complaints.

My DD is in her 1st year at York doing a 4 year Masters in Theoretical Physics - she didnt have Nottingham on her list (her 2nd choice was Sheffield, I cant remember the others, I think she looked at Manchester, Royal Holloway, Warwick etc). I am fairly sure her offer was AAB or might have been AAA. (She took Maths, Phsyics, Chemistry and Further Maths) Her comments are that Further Maths really helps, but most people didnt have that, as a lot of schools dont offer it.

She loved the campus at York and the fact that it was close to the city centre, and the course was what she wanted, so that influenced her choice. She is enjoying her course so far and has settled in well at York, her 1st year accommodation is on campus just a short walk from the Physics department and she is an active member of Phys Soc (who seem to do a lot of pub crawls).

If there are any specific questions your son would like answered re Physics at York do PM me.

He had decided on Nottingham (he went to an open day) but has been for an interview day at York today and now is undecided.

I was going to suggest a list of pros and cons when he gets home but just wanted to check if there was anything we didn't know about.

Offer should be slightly less at York - AAA. Nottingham want a star with one of the As.

He needs to scrutinise the courses at each obviously but I wondered in particular if there were any accommodation issues to be taken into account.

My DD didnt get the accommodation she wanted at York (ended up with a more expensive option) but is happy with it - Alcuin College, on same campus as Physics dept. Ensuite room in a flat of about 6 people, they share one large kitchen with the other flat on their floor, so get to know everyone on the same floor. She ended up on a 50 week contract (didnt read the options properly when applying, some are only about 42 weeks, but at least it means she can leave all her stuff there in all the holidays), cost per term £2200 ish.

She has just signed up for a house with 6 friends for next year, which is costing about £103 per week.

She cycles around York (and beyond - is keen cyclist and member of the cycling club) or gets the bus into town, if she goes for a night out.

Not very helpful but I think they would both be excellent places to be a student.

assuming the courses were identical I would find it hard to choose. 😂

DS wanted self catered and at Nottingham all the s/c was on the second campus (I forget what it's called). Having said that it was the course and facilities that clinched it at York.
He is happy with accommodation at York and they also have a kind of college system. There seems to be plenty of reasonable off campus student lets for second years although they have built a huge number of new halls and can choose to stay on campus if they want. Bus fares are reasonable and there are plenty of night buses back from city centre.

Physics at Nottingham is excellent. The campus is lovely with the lakes, there's loads going on and the city is a nice one to be a student living in.

I'm biased because it's where I went for my physics degree.

I think he will really have to scrutinise the courses. My own preference would be for York as my gut feeling is that it has the edge on Nottingham in terms of reputation. But I've never been to Nottingham and it's not my choice!

I think Nottingham is better for physics than York (academic in related area).

Neither Nottingham nor York would be likely to enforce their offers as physics is rather over-subscribed. Both would take AAB or even lower in the summer.

My own preference would be for York as my gut feeling is that it has the edge on Nottingham in terms of reputation

Do you mean academic reputation?

wonders idly whether my DD and Dotty's DD are in the same pictures on FB

Well I did mean academic reputation, but having looked at the university league tables for Physics, I see York is 29th and Nottingham 21st. And Southampton, which he plans to make his insurance, is 14th. Even Sussex, who have offered an unconditional, is 27th. So maybe York isn't so great after all?

According to the Times Good uni guide for this year (yes, I've got a yr 13), for physics notts is ranked 17, york 25 - notts is either better or the same on all the metrics with the largest difference being in research quality.

Xpost - the times lists s'ton at 11 and sussex 27, so while different to the table you're looking at, consistent. Did he just not like s'ton as much (which is an entirely valid criterion of course)

I know several of DC friends at Nottingham and they love it. One is doing Physics and didn't get A*AA.
Why not have one as firm and the other as insurance instead of Southampton?

If he has a car York charges a fortune for on site parking if you're not eligible for a permit. (I worked it out that it would cost me in the region of £130/week just for parking. That's more than the room!)

He does have a car but I wouldn't expect him to take it to university in his first year wherever he goes.

I think he liked Nottingham best and Southampton 2nd best until he went to York today. I do wonder though if there's an element of Southampton asking for less (AAB) so they're the insurance sort of attitude! He's going back to Southampton next week so who knows what he will decide!

Southampton is definitely not worse than Nottingham physics, either as an undergraduate course or in terms of research.

I think they just have different strategies about getting students. As I wrote above, there is a slight shortage of physics students so outside the very top places physics departments will take slightly lower grades in August. Southampton's offer is in line with what they will take (unlikely to go much lower) whereas Nottingham physics is very likely to take AAB in August.

If he really decide he likes them equally then go for the one that is cheaper and easier to get to from home.

I have a DD at Notts - not doing physics - she loves it. It's a great uni. Beautiful grounds, very green. The trams make it easy to get around the city. Accommodation is fine - my DC is going back into halls for 3rd year because it's so convenient. Loads of things to do ...

I know nothing about York! But I believe Notts has a better academic reputation.

I really wouldn't worry too much about the academic reputation of these three Unis - they are so similar. Also there can be a big difference between the academic reputation of the department and that of the University as a whole.

I think the places mentioned are not too dissimilar for student experience so I'd suggest he makes the choose based on how interested he is in the course. I'd look at unistats to check if there is anything that stands out too.