Party universities?

[purplegreen99]

I've seen on a few threads people have referred to certain universities as full of partying students (Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester I think have been mentioned).

I'm wondering if this is really the case? Do some universities have a quieter, more introverted student body, while others are full of lively partying types? It just seems unlikely that a place with a few thousand young people won't have a wide range of personality types, and the possibility of everyone finding a friendship group to suit them. But, on the other hand, if a university has a well-known reputation for lots of partying it might be a natural choice for extrovert students?

If there really are universities which are known to attract more extroverts or introverts, can anyone give me a list? I'm interested in both as I have an extrovert dd and an introvert dn both doing open days this year.

It's partly a matter of geography. The sort of person who is attracted to a field campus in the countryside is different from the sort of person who wants to live in a vibrant city.
Also, it tends to be the larger Universities that get this reputation. It's all down to numbers and visibility. The larger Universities will have similar numbers of NonPartyPeople - it's just that you don't hear about them.
Have a look at the extracurricular societies, that will give you a clue as to what the general student body is/isn't up to.

Manchester has been trying to downplay its Madchester image in recent years. They got fed up with students choosing it for all the wrong reasons.

Yes, it is a city/campus thing.
When I went to Durham with DS for an open day, the only thing the students seemed to be talking about was about how the nightlife wasn't great, but you could easily get the train to the clubs in Newcastle .

It was a big turn off for DS actually as he's not a party animal at all.

Do they change over the years? When I went to university everyone I knew wanted to go to Bournemouth or Brighton. And living in Surrey as my db put it we were far enough away but near enough to bring our washing home. Db and all his friends from school went to the same university.

I was an introvert. I chose an ex polytechnic uni in the Midlands. I partied more than I studied. They had a massive programme of events and sports outside of studies. Appealing when I visited. Not when I was actually there.

Most people I know these days who are now considering universities for their children are looking at the quality of the course and the results primarily.

I would agree it’s more of a city activity if you are looking at going out but there are student parties everywhere!

Bristol has it’s quieter halls in Stoke Bishop that are near the sports facilities. The central halls are nearer the clubs and The Triangle. You can avoid most of this by going to Stoke Bishop and making like minded friends in the first year. For many, the end of October signals settling down.

Manchester is huge and the city itself has a reputation for nightlife, so inevitably students are part of this. Ditto Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, Brighton and Nottingham. All of these cities have more than one university too so there is a massive student body. There is a rich culture of nightlife in all of these cities. It’s not new!

Less so at Aberystwyth, Bangor, Warwick, Loughborough, St Andrews, Keele, Bath etc. However that does not mean that students don’t have parties in their flats, get drunk and do drugs. There’s just fewer places to go out in the evening!

I meant to add that I wouldn’t choose Bangor over Bristol if the course wasn’t better. You should choose based on course and where you feel at home. Party people have a right to feel at home too!

I think it depends on what your child gets a 'feel for' when they visit. My son is very much an extrovert, and I presumed he would like to go to a uni in the city (we live in a small town) we visited Liverpool and Coventry and he didnt like either which really surprised me. He then went to visit Bangor , loves it and is in his 2nd year doing really well.

One of my DDs opted to go to Leeds Uni. She picked it primarily for the course and she also loved the campus. She is not particularly a party girls but likes to go out occasionally. She likes to go to the pub and bar in the students union and also said the nightclub there is good to go to on a Friday. Doesn't go into Leeds much though (doesn't like shopping!). There is a good variety of clubs to join (but she hasn't joined many) and she goes to the on-campus gym a lot. She has a mixture of friends - some are party animals, some are very sporty, some are more 'geeky' like herself
Leeds union have lots of events on over the next few weeks to try and relieve exam stress including clay making, pompom making and walks ......so not all partying activities.
My other DD is more of a party girl and also picked a city university, but again likes the mixture of people there and things to do.

Thanks all. I suppose it makes sense that a large city will have more nightlife than a campus or smaller town, but I think we need to just try and get a feel for each place when we visit.

My two chose Bristol over Durham but more because of it being a bit closer to where we live than because of going out and activities. I went to Manchester and spent much of my 3 years, in churches, choral singing, touring with choirs abroad and a massive amount of classical music almost every day yet other people (lots) were out dancing and drinking in Manchester so that just shows you can pick what you prefer. I was in political associations too and gv ing legal advice in the law centre. A bigger university has a wide range of activities. I did some country trips, hiking etc.

The bottom line is some universities are harder go get into than others, have people there with higher grades who get better jobs and that tends to be the better criteria to choose on rather than which suits introverts.

Most people I know these days who are now considering universities for their children

In my opinion, most people should let their children do their own considering!

All of these cities have more than one university too so there is a massive student body. There is a rich culture of nightlife in all of these cities.

Yeah, this is exactly it. I have one dd at a supposed party uni. She went out a lot in her first year, hasn't been clubbing nearly as much in her 2nd year. It's an amazing city to go and visit though, I'd love to spend a week or two there just going from restaurant to bar to restaurant!

Other dd is at a university considered more serious. She's out constantly and does far less work than the other one. (Will get a worse degree too!) It's far more down to personality and what you want from a place.