Bristol or St Andrews? Advice please

[UniversityQ]

My DS is trying to choose between these 2 Universites to study Economics. He has visited St A but unfortunately, is unable to visit Bristol before the deadline.

I would be interested to hear thoughts on both places please so I can help him with this difficult decision.

Thanks

This is great thanks and I have emailed him the link to this thread.
In an ideal world he would visit Bristol but that’s not possible.

We live in St Andrews but my DD2 is at Bristol. They are chalk and cheese. St Andrews is rural and provincial. Not many nightclubs etc. Students make their own entertainment. Bristol good sized city and loads going on. DD2 loves it. She went without having visited and it made no difference. Academically both very good. It depends really what sort of experience your DS wants.

What would he like to know about Bristol? If he has chosen the course, he must like that. What is he like as a person? What interests him outside of Economics? Is he sociable? Does he value what a larger city offers? What type of hall of residence would he prefer? What about sport and other clubs? If I can help in any way, I will.

He is sociable BubblesB but certainly prioritises his study and says he’s going to University to study, not party. He’s extremely popular and gets on with everyone from any background. Likes to keep fit but doesn’t play any team sports.
We live in a village but near a city which he occasionally visits.
He shows a keen interest in news and politics but doesn’t go to the cinema, theatre, gigs or anything.

One thing also worth considering is the effects of a gap year. It's noticeable at University who's taken one, additional maturity, often better motivation to study.
When you consider lots of students at Scottish university's will be younger as they take their Highers earlier than A levels there might be a 2-year age gap between him and his peers.
Also means at SA that he'll have an additional year, so would be entering the workforce a year later. Not a consideration for many but could be a factor.

My daughter is a first year at St Andrews and her final choice was between there and Bristol. We live in a small town but relatively close to a large city.
She is really enjoying herself and feels she made the right choice. Yes it is small (but very beautiful) and the whole town is very university focused and there is only one club but none of that seems to be an issue. She has a vibrant social life focused around many societies and the union and there are loads of pubs that do student orientated stuff. There are also lots of house parties and ceilidhs/balls. Lots of people go to Dundee for the nightlife and the buses are good and sharing a taxi doesn't cost much. She is mixing with a very cosmopolitan bunch of students (not just Americans!) and is loving the way the degree set up gives her a chance to branch out into other modules of interest. It is obviously a four year course unless you go for direct second year entry which is available for some subjects. There aren't many Scottish seventeen year olds there at all as Scottish places are capped. I think she knows one. There is a good age variety mix.
My daughter was a state school pupil as are most of her friends and has had no issue at all. You get the odd idiot, like anywhere, and she did withdraw from one society because of the type of people it attracted but everything else has been fine. Housing wise it also hasn't lived up to the mega expensive stereotypical At Andrews label. Albany park is self catering and cheap (and is going to be replaced soon). My daughter is in catered central halls and they are not cheap but we only give her the top up to the amount the government suggests and that is fine. She easily got back into halls for next year but is actually going to share a lovely house with four friends for less money. It was easy to get with little stress.
Obviously if your child would prefer a city lifestyle then it's not for them but otherwise it's great. She often goes to Edinburgh and it's well connected on the East Coast mainline via the train station at Leuchars which is a five minute frequent bus journey away. Tickets booked in advance cost very little.
I hope that helps a bit.

I think Bristol attracts plenty of young people who want to study. There are many who can socialise and study at the same time. Very successfully. As the halls in Stoke Bishop are a bus ride away from the university, many students socialise with others in their hall in the first year. Meeting up for coffee near the university is popular and of course many make like minded friends in societies. There are balls at Bristol and a wide variety of students go to them. Lots don’t though. Many societies need people to run them or be on a committee for something and that is something for the cv. The university is very firmly on the London milk run and career options are taken seriously by many students.

I think the union has been revamped and it is near the university and not in Stoke Bishop. I have to say that for DD and her friends it was an irrelevance. It may have changed now but they were not dynamic. As they matured, they used to go out for a meal or cook in turn at the various flats and houses. All her friends rented in Clifton eventually so it was easy to organise your own social gathering. They often went out to celebrate a birthday though.

It seems few students go to gigs these days. Probably due to the expense. This used to be the big bonus of places like Bristol.

I think any student there can make friends pretty easily and study without being a party animal. Very few are truly like this anyway and it’s over stated that Private school pupils are somehow different in their goals and attributes. They are not. None of DDs friends’ parents bought flats and no one took cars to university for example.

DD visited friends occasionally at other universities and saw Exeter students from time to time. I think there are more options regarding entertainment in a larger city and hopefully university opens the eyes of a student to film, theatre and music: not just drinking as seems the norm these days. I am sure that wherever he goes, he will be fine.

He shows a keen interest in news and politics but doesn’t go to the cinema, theatre, gigs or anything.

Bristol is a very 'arty' city - there's the Old Vic, museums, galleries, gigs etc. My DC who went to uni there is pretty quiet and introverted, but did enjoy gigs, the theatre (Hippodrome and Old Vic) and cinema. It seems a bit of a waste if all that is on hos doorstep and he's not into it. But that's what uni is all about- spreading your wings and trying new stuff.

There is room at uni for all kinds- not everyone parties till 4am.

I think it’s fairly well known that some London universities empty at weekends but I’ve not seen that about St Andrews. Partly because it’s so far from home for lots of students.

Some ultra sporty types might leave at the weekend but generally it’s best to stay put and try and mix. Disappearing all the time does give you a very different university experience and I would have thouyghbthst, at St Andrews, you would be in a tiny minority.

I would have thought that at St Andrews...,,

I have seen on online forums many students struggling to find accommodation at St. Andrews and that is has become very expensive.

OP if he has Facebook there's a good uni group with current students (and parents) at both unis.

My DS is studying economics but not at either of those unis so I can't help much. Hopefully someone on there will be able to help with current advice.

It's m.facebook.com/groups/488235648182391

(What I wish I knew about uni)

Lots more helpful posts thanks

I’m not saying he wouldn’t do and try new things if they’re available to him, just that he wouldn’t miss them iykwim

I thought it was a good question as DS is deciding between there St A or Southampton for medicine.

He flip flops between them daily. We've said it's his decision but I know they still want our input.

Just reiterating what others have said, taking a four year degree after a gap year should be carefully considered. Your DS will find that he still has two years to go when some of his school friends are graduating.

I did an Economics degree (in the late Middle Ages!) and I would have thought that three years was more than long enough to spend studying the subject, although it might be possible to go straight to the second year. I know science students at St As who have done that.

St As is an absolutely beautiful little town, but it is very quiet. I have heard that some of the American students are a bit of a handful and have caused some problems recently. I idly wondered if rich mom and pop sent trickier offspring there because they thought they couldn’t get into too much trouble.

The 4 Years doesn’t bother him, even after a gap year. If he went to Bristol he would take a year out and work abroad anyway. He also plans to do a Masters after.

TonTonMacoute St A wouldn’t be 4 years just studying Economics. He would need to choose 2 other subjects I believe - this was actually one of the things he liked about St A

That's right about the StA course. If he's doing the MA, he will probably only have 1 module per semester that's economics based, and then he'll have another 40 credits to play with each semester until his honours years where he'll do the more specialised courses.

My degree is in history and in my first year I did: Ancient history and Medieval history in both semesters, and then French in my first semester and Sustainable Development in my second. I have friends who started studying history who changed to the BSc Geoscience and from Social Anthropology to joint hons French with German. I think it's a system unique to the Ancient Scottish universities.

Thanks WildDuck that’s explained it well.
It was something I know particularly interested him about St A. He liked the idea that he still had options

Not RTWT so sorry if repeated
St. Andrews is a significant journey
I went for open day and with flights and taxis it was almost £600. Train would have been v long and still significant taxi ride from leuchars (£15ish I think)
Tbf I could have had cheaper hotel (it was £200 for a night but I wanted a hotel where I could get meal if flight late and no cancellation fee)
I'm sure many love it there - pubs open late with dance floor and my DD not keen on clubbing so she wasn't bothered by that but it was just too far away from stuff she's used to like big cinemas, theatres, music venues and arty stuff
Accommodation has sounded like nightmare from a MN thread a couple of years ago 'st Andrews a warning' I think it was called and it is pricey
Actually that may be the student room thread on it! Varied opinions on there about it too!
Good luck

We live north of London but not that far north and my daughter travelled home at Christmas and then back again first class on the train for £48 and £42 respectively. She could have gone standard for £28 but she was generously fed and watered in first class which was a better deal! The buses to St Andrews, which are frequent, are £5 or most students opt to share a taxi. There is a Premier Inn in St Andrews although we opt to stay in one of the Dundee ones where it's normally around £35 for a family room and then a 25 minute drive through beautiful countryside to get to the university. The bus is easy too; it honestly doesn't have to be expensive.
When it comes to lugging belongings up and down they are allowed to leave their possessions in their rooms for the whole academic year they are also allowed to stay in their rooms over the spring break if they want. She and her friends are looking at local storage options for their belongings over the summer and the quotes that are coming in are very reasonable. I may well take her back in September but that will be because she and I choose that, not because I have to as she would be able to manage fine on the train.
It's also worth mentioning that St Andrews has a good scholarship scheme and it's well worth applying if you are worried about finances.

Also re accommodation, my daughter's new house comes with a gardener, truely looks nicer than my house and is less than the Bristol prices quoted earlier in this thread. She did not have to camp outside an estate agents to get it!

Thanks @marine04 one of my DS friends older brother is there and loves it. Our families are in Edinburgh so it might encourage me to visit them more often.

He went to the open day.
It cost just over £100 for return flights, transport to and from St A and an overnight stay 😂

I don't know why but Bristol seems to have a bigger drug problem than other universities and it is reaching endemic proportions. For that reason alone, I would be uneasy having my child there.

St Andrews is nice but dull. Granted, four years is a long time to spend there. If there is a study abroad option, it would be wise to avail of it.

Endemic should have read epidemic.