Can anyone kindly look at DDS current uni choices. Honest feedback most welcome

[drivinmecrazy]

DD is in the process of deciding which unis she will apply for after the summer.
Her plan is to study English and Spanish.
Current favourites are Royal Holloway, Nottingham, Queen Marys and Surrey.
TBH her heart is completely set on Royal Holloway at the moment.
We're due to start our visits next week.
Courses are quite similar so think it might come down to personal choice (obviously with the proviso that she achieves her predicted grades).
Anyone with any strong feelings either way on her choices? Any feedback very much appreciated.
It's our first time round with uni applications so stabbing in the dark at the moment!!

What's her likely 5th? Do they typically make similar offers , if so might be worth considering a range of grade offers. They are sound choices although in pretty expensive areas of the country. RH has the "advantage" of being eligible for the London element of student loans.

When choosing uni's I think the it's best to choose two aspirational, two lower grade choices and one in the middle. She needs to give herself a wide range of options. Try and visit all the universities on her list as you get more of a feel for them in person.

I wouldn't want to study in London. It was hard enough on a graduate salary. What with housing costs and travel, London is a very expensive place.

Thank you for your comments.
She is really struggling to find a 5th choice as we've found it harder than we thought to find the course she wants to do.
All her current favourites have the same offers and very similar course content hence why it might come down to personal choice.
TBH I think she is being swayed by the beautiful campus of RH. Can't say I blame her but it would be great to hear the negatives as well as the positives.
She is somewhat limited because of the course she wants to do which has come as a bit of a surprise. We both thought it would be quite a popular degree but it seems not.

And as to cost I couldn't agree more about London.
If she were to go to QM She will have the option of living at home if cost were to become a major factor. Still cheaper than Edinburgh which offers an identical course.
We're trying not to let cost become a major factor but focusing primarily on the course content. It will be a 4 year course so she has to factor that in too.

Has your DD actually been to visit any of her choices yet? What strikes me is how different they all are. So, if the courses really are very similar, what might swing it one way or another is what sort of university experience she wants. What I mean is:

Royal Holloway - campus, in a very small town that, while nice, isn't exactly a social hotspot
Nottingham - campus, in a big city
Queen Mary's - non campus, London
Surrey - campus, in a decent sized but not massive town

They will all have very, very different atmospheres and opportunities.

I did actually go and visit RH, Notts and a couple of the other London colleges when I was applying, and it massively struck me how isolated RH felt (as lovely as the campus was), and also how disconnected the London ones felt - the social side and student housing was (back then, might be different now) combined University of London rather than uni specific, so there was less of an identity.

It might be very different now, and perhaps me initial impressions were not accurate - but I thought I would share the experience so you're prepared that the 'feeling' of the place might be really key.

As it happens, the uni I chose as my first choice wasn't even on my 'maybe' list to start with. I went to visit because my best friend wanted to go and it meant a day off school. She hated it, but I absolutely fell in love with it. So, if you have the opportunity to visit, go to as many as you can, as it will really help you to be more sure of your choices.

I highly recommend Nottingham as an interesting city to live in for undergrads. I went to uni of Sheffield but lived in Notts with my exBF during uni and I loved how cheap everything was for such a vibrant city.

I found that I didn't really know what uni I wanted to go to properly until I started looking. I fell in love with Uni of Sheffield (originally I thought I was set on Leicester) after walking about the uni and exploring the city. So try to keep options open until you've both had a good look around.

Another thing to consider though, is a campus uni the right atmosphere for your DD? Or would your DD like one that is more entwined within the City? I thought I would like a campus uni until I looked round them and thought it might be a bit stifling or feel like I am living in bubble wrap. But campuses can be great for the whole student experience and feeling more included in the uni life.

This is great. Exactly the kind of info I am after.
We are due to start our visits next weekend and I've been trying to get DD to keep an open mind as much as possible.
I had no such choice ultimately as I ended up in clearing so had to take what I could get!
FizzingWhizzbee what you say about RH first with my impression. Interestingly it's for all your points that my DD has chosen it as #1 at the moment.
Nottingham is definitely #2 at the moment.
It seems to me that yr12 is a full on year. We've just had her mocks which were very full on, and now we're thinking about unis, personal statements and EPQs.
I'm very grateful she is giving it all so much thought now but frankly I'm exhausted! I've barely recovered from the trauma of having a 16yr old hormonal daughter sitting her GCSE'S. I'm very thankful I will have a brake before DD2 sits her GCSE'S in 3 years time. When does it ever end????

Nottingham is a great place to be a student in. Campus is walking distance from the city centre. Really good public transport. I've lived in the main student area for years and it's safe and a great area to live in.

Has she thought about Warwick or Birmingham if she’s keen on a campus university? Guessing York would be too far north given her choices so far.

Zampa, very few would describe Royal Holloway as London. We have known a couple of students who have loved RH, and done very well both at University and beyond, after being quite unhappy elsewhere. If it appeals, it is a good option. Especially for quieter students who are happy with small-town life.

Queen Mary's is London though, isn't it? But I see living at home is an option for that one (which I wouldn't encourage either!).

I went to a campus based/collegiate university and thought it was great. However, as I've not experienced anything else, I can't recommend it over other options.

Students enjoy Royal Holloway, it is a lovely campus and being one of the smaller United versities has advantages in terms of the friendliness of the academic and student communities. Calling the town “historic royal Egham” is a bit err aspirational. Boring Home Counties town of mainly 60s architecture would be nearer the mark. However there is a very fast train service into London and students can and do enjoy the cultural and night life and living in a small middle class town actually might be seen as better by some than student accommodation in the big cities. I gather the languages department along with all the arts is very good there and particularly valued.

St Mary’s I think suffers a little in comparison to the other inner London uni versities though London’ cultural and nightlife’s centre of gravity life is shifting east most students contemplating London tend to head to the ones further west, and to live in the popular student areas north and south.

Nottingham is a solid campus university, though it does feel a bit corporate in much the way other Russell Group unis can. The thing about RH is it is different, which is s good or bad thing depending on whether you like it!

Does she know what she wants to do after uni? University rankings aren't always a good reflection of teaching quality or student experience but it's worth bearing in mind that Nottingham and Queen Mary are Russell Group universities and therefore tend to be looked on more favourably by employers in certain sectors.

If she's thinking of going into something competitive, or even if she's unsure about what she wants to do and needs to keep her options open, she might want to think about the university's reputation alongside the campus and the course.

I definitely wouldn't recommend making this the deciding factor, but at the same time do think about it.

It will be worth looking at the range of modules on offer, which is related to the size of the departments and range of research going on . It may be that an arts focused uni like RH will have a wider and more interesting range of courses available. That actually directed my DD to a large highly ranked research intensive department in a smaller uni and it turned out to be the right choice for her .

My eldest as just finished his masters at Nottingham, middle son just finished first year at RH

Eldest loved Nottingham. Lived in halls for year one then in shared houses after. Everything they need on campus, but buses into town cheap and frequent. Lots going on all the time, every interest catered for as student body is huge.

RH more expensive - seems to be London prices but they don’t get London allowance on student finance or even qualify for student oyster. The SU organise a good number of well run social events, but it’s a bit isolated in terms of ‘going out clubbing’ etc. My son’s summer term finished ridiculously early - he went back after Easter (and paid a big chunk of rent), had two weeks of exams, a few workshops in week 3 and that’s it. I think that’s hugely unethical considering the fees! Having said that he is happy and comfortable there. He is quieter than my eldest and I think the smaller uni has made it easier for him to settle.

If you have any specific questions then let me know and I’ll ask them 😎

Queen Mary IS a campus university. It’s the best ranked for English (I think) on the list and the student experience is brilliant as it combines campus with central london so gives the best of both worlds. It would get my vote hands down if she was eligible for halls (it used to be you needed to live outside zone 6, unsure if that’s changed).

Royal Holloway is beautiful but in suburban Surrey, it’s not really London. The surrounding area is pretty dull from a student perspective. I have two friends who were pretty meh about their experience there, they both opted to do their post grads at QM.

Surrey is in Guildford so a bit more exciting than RH, still a smaller city compared to London/Nottingham though.

I know a few Nottingham grads and it seems to be a pretty marmite place. Most loved it but a couple hated it.

I definitely agree she needs to visit all these unis before making her choice.

To declare an interest, ds is at RH and we are alumnae! Kaykay, I'm sure ds got London-based student finance They guarantee place in halls for first years, not all do, but then you are pretty much at the mercy of local landlords or extortionate private halls. It is pretty low key nightlife wise but lots of societies and scope to be a big fish in a small pond. Its looks does attract overseas students and that international feel may or may not suit some.

. RH has the "advantage" of being eligible for the London element of student loans.

No it won't it's not in London, despite being part of UoL.

They are all totally different so am unsure what's attractive to her. I'd say she really needs to clarify what she's looking for. QM is an odd one for someone who want a provincial campus for instance. Again RH and Surrey (tbh I'd remove Surrey - it's strengths are not English or Languages!) are very different institutions. And RH has a reputation as somewhere no one stays for the weekend.

York and Exeter might be worth considering, and UEA if English is her main strength. Also look at their years abroad, and how supported they are.

Definitely didn’t get the London rate of maintenance loan - his first term rent (halls, uncatered), was significantly (about £800 I think) more than his student loan money coming in, and that was without thinking about food and general living costs - good job he had savings. He got his 5th choice of halls, the new build ones, they were well located and well planned but could be quite noisy. He was allocated the same halls for year 2 (sports scholars can apply for halls again if they wish) but was allocated the same again so has found a room elsewhere instead.

it all depends on what the individual student is looking for. My s liked that many went home at weekends as he got most of his work done then!

Going back many years now but...RH had a great student union with lots going on. However, it was pretty deserted over the weekends. There is little to nothing off campus to entice. The train to London is always an option, (probably why everyone seemed to disappear). The cafeterias etc were empty at a weekend. There seemed to be a lot of London based students who went home at the weekends. There was also a thriving student union that held events regularly. This was definitely a strength but not enough to off-set the times when it was deserted.

Your daughter may have little to no reason to be in Founders building (the chateaux styled one). Although it is gorgeous to walk around! It would be a campus experience and I suspect very safe (if a touch dull). However, if she has a group of friends it won't matter if everyone else leaves at the weekend.

RH is next to Virginia Waters which is one of the most expensive areas outside of Chelsea. A notable percentage of the student body was very, very affluent. All in all it makes for a niche and potentially expensive experience. I would check out the cost of student accommodation in Egham and Englefield Green, and whether most still live off campus in 2nd and 3rd years. The cost might not influence you now, but it might when you've added up living costs.

I think I would throw a few more universities into the mix if you are not so keen on her staying at home and going to Queen Mary.

I think Royal Holloway suits some people but you are miles from anything social outside the university. It’s Surrey and definitely not London. She obviously likes the idea of leafy Surrey!

I would have a look at Southampton, Exeter, Warwick and, further afield, Liverpool and Manchester. They have direct train routes from London and are not at the North Pole! I would also look into employability. Thousands of students take English and having an idea of what career she might want should inform choice. Warwick would be better than RH for some jobs, for example. I too am surprised more universities don’t offer this combination, but I would aim high with at least two choices. It’s the shortage of linguists probably. Look at what grades they want for the courses to give you an idea about how competitive they are. I haven’t checked the courses at Leeds, but that could be a good choice too. Campus but a lively city on the doorstep.

This website allows you to search by course and then you can filter by grades
university.which.co.uk/search/course?utf8=✓&c%5Bq%5D=English+and+spanish

Further to Bubbles post above, Leeds do appear to offer the course and it is easy accessible from London by train.
Just double check on the courses though as some appear to be English language and some literature

What are her intentions once she has her degree? Which courses best suit her job interests?
Which universities have better graduate employment rates?

Is studying abroad an option? It would certainly improve her Spanish and job prospects. It could also potentially be cheaper than the UK.