Insurance choice - Birmingham or Exeter?

[Addley]

I'm dithering over UCAS choices! Studying English, starting this September/October. I'm on an Access course, part time, and know what my firm is going to be, but it's a high offer - all 45 credits at distinction (which is what I'm predicted, but still) - so need to think very carefully about my insurance as there a good chance I'll end up there. As I'm doing my Access course over two years, I already have 30 distinctions banked.

My offers from Birmingham and Exeter are:

Birmingham - 30 distinctions, 15 merits
Exeter - 12 distinctions, 21 merits, 12 passes.

I think I prefer Birmingham, but it's fairly marginal, and Exeter's offer is so tempting - you basically can't fail a module on Access as they'll let you resubmit until you pass, so Exeter is very nearly a sure thing (only need one more module at a merit or above and I'm in).

Birmingham has IMO a slightly more interesting-looking course, and has the advantages of being near a big city, and I like the campus. I've heard things I don't like about the student culture at Exeter, but ATEOTD that's gossip and as a mature student I likely wouldn't be so involved in all that stuff. The accommodation I saw at Exeter looked a bit grim, but I'm sure it's not all like that. And it's possible a smaller city might suit me better - I've never lived in a city. And Exeter has such a low offer…

I'm wibbling.

Does anyone have any experiences of either place or could give any opinions either way?

Thanks, that's all useful stuff Peter! Am off out but will come back later and read what you've written properly.

On group work: group work is fine, I enjoy it and get a lot out of it. Agree entirely on all the positives you mention. It's only group assessment (i.e. sharing your grade with other students) that I dislike. I hate the feeling of relying on others to do their bit for my grade, because no matter how well you work in a group, there's always a possibility someone will just refuse to pull their weight.

I went to Exeter as an undergrad and postgrad and loved every minute but I was very young and didn't mind the slightly grotty halls etc.

I now live near Birmingham and its a fab city but I find it too big for me but there are plenty of places to live just outside the city.

Well, in the discipline I teach (close to EngLit) we always moderate a group mark & an individual mark. So they'll do a project & a presentation (I get them looking at primary sources etc etc) and then do an individual viva, or a short report or something like that.

But in the work place on a team project, the success of the project is a team success, not individual.

re Birmingham - DD is there at the moment, and the disability help is amazing - at least half the stuff recommended by her DSA assessor had already been put in place by the uni. If mobility is an issue, Jarratt Hall is 7 minutes walk to campus (less if you time the traffic lights properly) and the new Victoria Hall is even less.

DD can automatically resit exams in the supplementary session as a first sit (so no capped grades) even if she's sat the first exam and realised that she wasn't well enough to do it justice - that might be departmental rather than uni wide though.

We were massively impressed with the disability provision at Cambridge as well though - they said DD would be able to request not to actually write the essays/reports and just talk them through in tutorials if that helped her, which would have been incredibly useful.

I'd recommend getting your DSA application in before you start (unlike DD who had decided that going to uni would make her miraculously well and therefore wouldn't need any extra provisions) so that you've had the training on any software you get/particular room needs are covered, that kind of thing.

Are you ok to physically get around Exeter campus? If I remember correctly, it's quite hilly, particularly getting back to halls.

UoB is just fab. I would go there in a heartbeat.

Group assesssment sounds awful - I'd never heard of it. Hopefully you will get to Cambridge so the insurance won't matter. If it does come to it then in your case Ithink you prefer Birmingham. My twins have Exeter offers and will probably firm Bristol or Durham. Given their age 18 and stage we think Exeter would be better fit for them than Birmingham for them and they didn't apply to Birmingham but in your case and your age and disabilities I would have thought hand over fist Birmingham is right. It's our second city. It is full of resources. You prefer the course I think. f you have a career in mind after however do look at which of Birmingham or Exeter the companies or schools you might work for recruit most from.

First make your choice based on the course and what you want to get out of it.

Visited both universities and would choose Birmingham over Exeter for campus, accommodation and 'in city and beyond' transport options. It is much more vibrant and has a greater range of facilities in the city.

DD has friends at Exeter and she was put off by the 'Surrey by the Sea' reputation.

'Surrey by the Sea' Y'know, I expected this when I went to teach there, but - in seminars and tutorials at any rate - I didn't see it. It's a reputation that I"m not sure is the reality. But it might be different from a student perspective. And Birmingham had just as many students from fee-paying schools and wealthy families as far as I could tell.

Educational selection is based on socio-economic advantage, so any university asking for the AAB or so that both Brum & Ex ask for is going to have a pretty high proportion of socio-economically advantaged undergrads.

Yes, outcomes in the workplace being team-based, I totally get, obviously. I just don't feel comfortable on a personal level with being assessed in that way at this level - in the long run we're not working together for a common outcome in quite the same way as members of a research team or a team in a workplace are. But I guess there are just different ways of doing these things and there are different opinions on the subject. Mine is that I would prefer an essay- and exam-based system of assessment, maybe the odd viva or presentation, but preferably no shared grades. It's just my preference, but when the courses state upfront that they use that kind of assessment, I prefer to avoid it in the same way, I guess, as someone might avoid a very exam-heavy degree if they prefer coursework.

Aaaanyway. That was a digression and not something I want to get into too deeply.

It's good to hear info about the local public transport; thank you for all the information about the physical environment, Peter, as well as the academic info.

Physical mobility isn't a problem, but both driving and public transport are very very difficult - I can drive, but haven't for nearly a decade. Public transport I can only manage if accompanied, at least until I'm very, very familiar with the route.

DSA: will apply once I've firmed. I have to say the disability department at Birmingham did impress me, but it's always difficult to know just by what you get via email (have been in email contact with disability departments at all the universities I've considered) and at open days.

Work/career… I'm doing this more for the love of it (which I hope I can maintain for the next three-and-a-bit years ) than for anything else. I'm signed off sick now pretty much permanently, DLA, ESA etc., and it's entirely possible I won't ever work in the future unfortunately, but I'm open to opportunities

Thanks to everyone for all your input - this is really helpful stuff.

Peter… you've been really helpful; thanks so much. Would you be able to tell me - when you say in the discipline I teach (close to EngLit) we always moderate a group mark & an individual mark. So they'll do a project & a presentation (I get them looking at primary sources etc etc) and then do an individual viva, or a short report or something like that, what does we moderate a group mark and an individual mark mean? It's the "moderate" bit I'm not sure of

Good luck with it. Both are good places. (My twins have still not firmed their choices. Exeter might be insurance choice rather than Nottingham but they are not sure yet)

Don't give up hope of working. If you can type (and get the degree) there may be work you can do from home at a keyboard which is no more onerous than typing on mumsnet! (mine is exactly that)

Addley - we ensure that if there is a group assessment task we give a group mark, and also do an assessment for each individual on an aspect of the work done. This could be a separate assessment eg a group presentation (oral) worth say 30% of final module mark plus an individual report, of say, a 1000 words, worth say, 10% of final module mark. Or we might do individual vivas, for example, which could moderate the individual's group mark up or down a certain percentage eg the group gets 65% based on specifically designed reveal individual strengths so a specific student's mark might be moderated by, say 3 marks up, or reveal individual weakness and lower the mark by x percentage points.

But we set out group criteria, so the assessment is about how the group negotiates working as a group. It's a very important skillset for the modern work place & the profession we're training them for.

In my day at Birmingham - all undergraduate English students got a week or so in Stratford and studying with the Shakespeare institute.
Also just being so close is amazing! You can pop down for the day and see a play or two on standby. And even as a Science student I did this.
If you like the course then I would go for Birmingham.

Thank you Peter.

They did mention something about a week studying somewhere nearby, at the open day.

Def Birmingham. DD graduated from there recently and we did look at Exeter prior too. She loved Birmingham. It's a great campus and we weren't keen on Exeter.