St Andrews or Bristol?

[Happydaughterhappymum]

It’s for History- both offers are AAA.
St A is higher in the league tables but not a Russell group Uni. Bristol is much lower but will it matter in 3 years’ time- they may have swapped positions by then anyway.
DD is vacillating. She has been to both cities but not on an official open day.
Which will employers prefer assuming she gets the same class. Does the MA carry any extra weight.

She keeps asking me my opinion as she can’t decide!

Really I think it depends on your DD's personality. St Andrews and Bristol are very different locations eg if you're a city person, you probably won't like St Andrews. My nephew started at St Andrews and hated it. He'd grown up in the countryside and thought a small university would suit him better but he found it stifling. He's now at a busy, city university and thriving.

St Andrews is full of quirky types, DS is one and has found his niche.
We only live an hour away so I have popped over a few times to collect DS for hospital appointments and the odd nice lunch or forgotten item delivery etc. I have therefore had a wee nose around in the halls and the library and read posters on noticeboards etc. there are clubs and events designed to appeal to posh kids but if they're not your thing just avoid the Polo club! Nobody has ever had the school chat with DS even though he does fencing and has chosen an art history module. DS's attitude is that he wanted to meet lots of different types of people from all over the place ( as a change from our village) and St Andrew's has supplied that.
The stereotype about StAs being full of Americans is true though and you notice them due to their volume!
There are lots of things on at Weekends as hardly anyone goes home.
The Student Room has lots of threads about this type of debate.
DS reckons the lectures and seminars are very good. so far Medieval History is his favourite.

My DS declined an offer from Bristol for History because he felt other universities offered a wider, more interesting range of modules.
He felt the Bristol course was a little dry.

Personal opinion of course, but I have 3 DC at uni and while accommodation, city, campus etc are all significant considerations, , choosing the right course / subject has been more important for them than anything else.
It’s definitely worth spending time looking at the modules available for the whole degree.

A friend's son is at Stoke Bishop which is cheaper

I hesitate to ask how much the city halls are, in that case...?

I went to a Bristol open day with DD last sumner. We didn't seeany of the city accommodation but did traipse out to Stoke Bishop on the last shuttle bus. Both of us thought that the upper end of affordable accommodation with shared facilities was just about okay and the to be fair really very nice en suite accommodation was of a price that I would only be willing to run to if DD had decided that Bristol - the city, the university and the course - was the only place she could possibly consider being.

She didn't actually like either of the second two enough even to apply, but did quite like what we saw of the city itself.

We live in St Andrews and my DD went to school here. She went running as fast as she could to Bristol uni once she left school. She discounted Durham as a potential place to study as she felt it would be much like St Andrews - too small and insular for her!

Both unis are great but your DD needs to consider if she wants the bustle and facilities of a city or country life with fewer facilities.

CreamColouredPonies do you mind saying where they did apply?

Be aware that most if not all Scottish universities have a second year entrance. Students taking A levels who achieve high enough scores can enter straight into year two making it a 3 year course. This is because as others have said, Scottish Highers end at a slightly lower intensity level than A-levels. This applies to sciences, maths, engineering. Not sure if it applies to humanities.

Certainly at St Andrews you can only do second year entry into STEM subjects.

Where do you live? And is she ‘young’ if you’re south, I’d definitely go for Bristol and if she’s likely to flourish in a smaller place with a longer degree, St A.

She needs to go with her heart. A lot of employers don't care where you went to uni but more so on what you did with your time there eg extra curricular and grading etc. She needs to go with where she can see herself living and enjoying more, also to look at the course breakdown and see which uni has modules that appeal more to her. I did not go to a Russell group, in fact I went to a tiny uni but none of my employers have ever cared where I went but more so about how I spent that time in regards to what will help me in my career. Wish her all the best of luck!

I think turning a university down on accommodation and not liking a short bus journey is a little bit shallow. DD never bothered to look at accommodation anywhere we went. She would cope and fit in with anything anywhere! She was more interested in the course, the opportunities available in a wider sense at the university and the breadth of facilities in a city such as theatres, music etc.

The new blocks in Bristol are not worth paying the extra for in my opinion. They offer a different but expensive experience. They are not that close to the university either. They are nearer the clubs though! Apart from the one on The Triangle of Ben Stokes fame!

So many students bus in and out from Stoke Bishop, it’s just normal and a bit like going to work. The Clifton halls are the only ones where you can fall out of bed into lectures. The sports facilities at near Stoke Bishop too.

It totally depends what job you want after graduating whether university matters or not! It definitely will for some recruiters. Not for others. However neither of these options is going to get you filtered out!

I think turning a university down on accommodation and not liking a short bus journey is a little bit shallow.

On the surface I agree with you, but the reality is that accommodation and location can be a big factor in friendships, mental health and 'connectedness' to the university.

I went to Bristol many moons ago and was fortunate enough get halls in Clifton and then live there in 2nd/3rd year. Even in those days students in Stoke Bishop felt a bit isolated and we used to struggle to get them to come back down for clubs and societies in the evening as the buses were unreliable and full.

A bit like Durham, Bristol seems to have a reputation for students rarely getting their first (or even second choice) accommodation and of course you don't know until after you've accepted an offer (unlike Durham, where you get offered a college).

My DD was out at Stoke Bishop in her first year in Badock Hall. She absolutely loved it. It wasn't her first choice and the rooms were scruffy and poorly appointed.
However none of that seemed to matter to DD as she made loads of friends and had an absolute blast. The distance to town didn't seem to matter. There was a bus or often she and her friends walked into uni. At night they shared cabs. She recalls those days with such fondness. She want to uni a quiet, country lass but really found her stride in Bristol. It has been the making of her.

We all have own anecdotal expreiences. I have had 3 children in Britsol halls in Sotke bishop - Wills Hall and Churchill and being isolated and away from people is definitely not the case. They are full of ahppy students taking a full part in university life with a free bus to university and back and even a night bus now. The area is lovely and it is similar to where we live - suburby with fields in the grounds. Wills has a Chapel not that I expect my lot spent much time in it. My son did play the Last Post on remembrance day the year before in it.

Like BB mine would not choose based on standard of accommodation or that kind of thing but everyone has different priorities. The bottom line is St A and Bristol are both very good universities so go with what feels right for you. Mine had had a similar experience to Apollo's.

3 of mine chose between Durham and Bristol. I marginally prefer Durham and I am from near there so some would have had grandparents quite near too but I can see why Bristol tipped the scales just because it's closer to our home, they can drive back here in about 2 hours door to door, may be easier to get to interviews - not that they are having those presently.

To be fair I don't think I said anything about isolation at Stoke Bishop. I just stated that they need to get a bus but it is cheaper.

As they don't know what accommodation they are going to get until after they accept a place our choice of Bristol had nothing to do with the halls of residence. The OP had asked about accommodation and I was trying to help.

I think turning a university down on accommodation and not liking a short bus journey is a little bit shallow.

Absolutely.

Don't know whether that was a response to my post, but bizarre as it may seem, DD's reasons for not applying to Bristol were that she didn't like what she saw of the university enough to make up for discovering that the available options for what she wanted to study weren't really what she wanted, either.

Oh, and she really did like the swanky en suite accommodation we saw at Stoke Bishop, bus journey not an issue. But choosing a university and course on the quality of first year accommodation you may not even get, even if you could afford it, isn't just shallow, it's plain bonkers.

She should.go visit both for offee days and put pros and cons. But both are good unis and her future job offers will.be more impacted by the fac t she enjoys her time at uni and therefore does well and is confident in herself. So choosing the one she likes best atmosphere preferences is important for her well.being and future life.

Accommodation is more important to some more than others.
Amongst DS's friends:

• some absolutely wanted self-catered to fit in around sport/training schedules and similarly ONLY wanted to be in halls near the uni sports centre
• some absolutely only wanted self-catered to fit with food preferences

My godson went to Bristol and had a strong preference for a Stoke Bishop catered hall. Ended up in a shared room, self-catered in Clifton (just for a term in the end, I think, as the other guy left!)

catered halls would be dds worst nightmare!

Catered hall was definitely what DD wanted! She loves formals. Still does via work! So, everyone is different! She found that it took the pressure off being new to university. New students have to get used to the work, how they wanted you to research and write essays and adapt to to a new life in general, as well as find new friends. It was one less thing to think about. As she had boarded at school it was seemless. She does not really like cooking (still doesn't) and cooking for herself, on top of everything else, was far down her list of priorities (bottom actually). The formals at Wills are a great way of getting to know other students and she sang in Chapel. For some, ensuring that you meet other students this way is important. I do accept self catering, for some, it is vital.

Are there now swanky en suites in Stoke Bishop? DD had the cheapest room going in Wills - shared. Utterly non swanky! Probably furniture from the 1930s. It cost the same as her minimum loan. No en suite for her and no top up in accommodation costs from us. It seems the people with a private school background at Bristol are more likely to go for the cheapest halls!

Out of interest, why would you pay for boarding school but then let your child take out a student loan?

Wills is renowned for being very Oxbridge reject territory.

Accommodation should be considered, the stuff at St Andrews is rather expensive for what it is. Bristol 2nd3rd year renting houses in Clifton are often lovely! Clifton is a gorgeous area, and for those looking for something a bit cheaper and rough around the edges there is Redland. These days that is a nice area too.

We paid for private education. And then had our dc take our student loans. We wanted them to understand the value of money. University is a time when everyone else is in debt so they won't feel out of place but they will learn about how tough it is to pay your way. We may pay the loans off one day. Not sure. But it has made them very aware which I don't know of they would have been otherwise.

That’s a fair point I suppose, at least they might perhaps appreciate the education a bit more knowing they’ll have to pay it back. My sister did the same, but I’m still not convinced it’s worth landing dc with 9% less income over £25k until paid off/30 years. We paid for all living and dc took loans for the fees. Sister’s dc are getting a dab in the mitt for a deposit after graduation. Swings n roundabouts

If she's into singing, it's worth looking at what St Andrews might offer for her in their new £8m music centre. I think it's meant to be ready in the next year. If nothing elses, there's sure to be a couple of singing societies.