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!

My husband has a MA in history from St. Andrews. Employers and interviewers have always been very impressed with the uni and it’s reputation and it opened doors particularly at the start of his career. There is an excellent alumni group which also helps. It is a small uni, loads of clubs and societies, but you really need to get involved with them to get the best student experience from st andrew’s as the town is so small. He loved it!

teta, DD says if she was starting again she would avoid Stoke Bishop and head for Clifton (in preference) or City Centre halls.

Drug taking was pretty out of control, with a bizarre problem that the only recourse for someone objecting to say, the smell, or to late night noise, was to phone security, and risk flatmates guessing it was you. Not wise given some of the heavy drug dealing types that were around.

Bristol security are not expected to "hear" noise on their patrols even when, as happened with a party in DDs flat, the noise was keeping flats on the other side of the road awake.

If security found drugs, and no one owned up, the whole flat would be punished. So curtains for those aspiring to be lawyers or doctors.

I talked it through with a friend who used to manage private accommodation for another University, and they used a very different management approach, and were not surprised when I listed the problems. As my friend said, 18 year olds are not really adults.

I think the Bristol Vice Chancellor should sneak into one of the more druggy halls and spend a night there. I lost count of the number of times poor DD phoned at 4.00am to say she could not sleep, with the noise levels quite clear in the background. Sadder though she saw one of the people from her old flat recently and they apparently now look like a junkie. And this was a nice hard working middle class kid, who went wild once away from home.

That whole year sounded absolutely diabolical for your daughter Needmoresleep. I’m so glad she’s had a much better year this year.
My Dd found that students moved halls fairly rapidly in the first couple of weeks if unhappy in their initial choice. One student moved out in the first couple of days and someone nice they met in the bar moved in, as she liked them and was unhappy where she was. So the only thing I can say is to ask to be moved as early as possible. Most halls seem to accommodate this.

My son didn't hate his time at Stoke Bishop but didn't love it either. And he did say the halls absolutely stank of weed. He also had the same problem with missing meals because he was at clubs centrally and in his catered hall there were no cooking facilities, only a microwave and toaster. He found his friends through his interests not halls.

St Andrew's have wardenial teams in Halls to keep an eye on things and do pastoral care.

It’s good hear of other experiences and to know that others have enjoyed the second year more. My DD did try to move halls but was told there were so many people unallocated a hall place that they were given preference. By the time places came up, she had made friends in hall and it just seemed too late try and integrate with a new group.

Unfortunately my DD who was very sporty at school, hated the hazing which seems to go on with a lot of sports teams so decided not to join. After she saw what happened to friends in some teams she decided she made the right decision.

And I also don’t understand why halls that don’t provide full catering at the weekend, think it is ok only to provide a kettle and microwave! My DD has specific food intolerances and is finding it very difficult to cook the food she needs.

She is hopeful that next year will be better as she has arranged to live in Clifton but so far Bristol has been a massive disappointment for her. I like to think as a PP said that she will grow into Bristol but I don’t think anything will persuade her to settle there long term!

Again blue planet, your DDs observations on sport seem about right. But it varies. DDs sport is relatively ok, with initiations designed to be amusing, indeed I think they all had to take part, not just freshers. But someone she knew had a pretty shocking (and dangerous) experience with another. There are also some new sports (futsal etc) which can be less cliquey and played for fun.

I was the one who said DD grew into Bristol. Getting to remote placements for 9.00am starting from Stoke Bishop was a nightmare, so this year we bought her a small car. In some ways it is quite an adult life. City flat, lots of placements, but with the University context like a sports team and lots of friends nearby to go to prees, cook for each other or meet up in Spoons. After describing last year as the worst year of her life, I now don’t think she could be happier. I hope the same happens to your DD.

By the way, to balance up my other posts, I have visited Bristol and liked it and can see why students would enjoy it.

Unfortunately we had cause to put the pastoral care at St Andrews to the test and found it seriously lacking, not to say downright inhumane.

Apart from the posters on here, I think most people enjoy Stoke Bishop. If a cateried doesn’t suit your lifestyle, why choose it? The catered halls used to do Sunday brunch and some weekend meals. Also many students go out and don’t mind a microwave meal or something simple occasionally. If you have food intolerances, catered is a mistake, surely?

I don’t think DD ever spoke of drug taking. Admittedly she was there a while ago but the student body hasn’t changed so dramatically one would have thought. Nor was there unacceptable noise until 4 in the morning every day of the week. I think extremes are being painted as the norm. I think most students have a fairly standard life and coming back after a night out is the worst it got.

If your DD expected parties and a great social life in the hall (I’m unsure why anyone would go to SB expecting this) she’s in the wrong place, Warchingbkueplanet. Full stop. She seems to have chosen SB for all the wrong reasons. Students shop in Bristol. They don’t go out in SB because there isn’t anywhere to go. They travel back to SB from Bristol. Why go to SB if she’s 40 minutes (allegedly) from her faculty? This is untrue of course. It’s not even 40 minutes to walk to the university. There are buses all the time. People share taxis home if need be from central Bristol. She clearly didn’t research SB and would rather be in Clifton. Her mistake I’m afraid.

Some students seem to want everything handed to them on a plate and have very exacting requirements. I find it very peculiar that a student moans when they have to make some effort to see friends, get tonghe facility and shop. I’m staggered. Life, when working, will be full of challenges. Best get used to a few now.

Bubbles, a bit harsh....

I am not sure is you realise that there will always be a good minority of students who do not settle quickly, or who have problems during their second or third year. For whatever reason you seem take a line that it is the students fault. Maybe it is, though DD had a gap year and thought herself both reliant and sociable, and we still ended up with a full scale crisis. Not surprisingly nwhen we were in the middle of the worst of it, I found your attitude quite upsetting.

I appreciate that your daughter sailed through last year without issues. However there is no way on earth that she could not have spotted drugs, unless she has absolutely no sense of smell. During one prees they were hotboxing DDs flat to the extent that DD could hardly breathe. I can assure you I am not exaggerating. And though most wont face the extreme issues my daughter did, I know from PMs that she was not the only one.

I’m sure she wasn’t but posters do make far too much of individual issues which the majority of students are able to ignore or simply don’t recognise as the norm. Most students really don’t have extreme issues to contend with. That is not to say a minority don’t. I fully understand it’s difficult when other students misbehave but it’s not a majority. Never has been and never will be.

DDs friends are now all doing well paid grad jobs. They used their time at Bristol productively. They thrived and found friends. I have never heard any of them complain about anyone. That is possibly because they got lucky and possibly because they knew how to find like minded people. DD ran a society in y2. That’s a great way to get to know people and meet your own type of person.

It is not remotely fair to describe SB halls in the way they have bern portrayed here. The vast majority are happy. The vast majority of students are decent people. The vast majority don’t take drugs all the time. There will be students who are unpleasant, stupid, drunk and drugged everywhere. They really are not unique to Bristol.

Of course some students are more resilient about annoyances than others. Knowing lots of DDs friends, not one of them was upset about their halls, other students or their social life. I’m afraid I do think that certain expectations are far too high in terms of what other students might be like, the social scene, parties, availability of shops and pubs etc. Anyone who goes to SB has to do some homework on the place first! Other central city halls can be expensive. They are also nearer the fairly loud city with plenty of social life happening until the early hours. That’s why they are popular with some students. Others wouldn’t like that either. So choosing wisely is the best idea.

Bubbles - my DD applied for Clifton halls and was instead allocated SB. Not her choice but where she ended up. I don’t think her expectations of uni were unreasonable. Based upon the experiences on her brother and friends, life at other unis is easier than at Bristol.

I am also not saying that every other student is a druggy, just that there is a much larger group who like the alternative music scene and others who take drugs than she expected. She is not judging their choices but just is not comfortable in this scene. I don’t know whether it is Bristol’s reputation as a more liberal city that attracts a type of student but it definitely seems to have a different vibe compared to the experiences of friends elsewhere.

I have two at Bristol and one of my older ones were there (and were all in Stoke Bishop halls in year 1) and did find it really good and I am not making that up and they are not druggy children and none of them even smoke by the way (they do drink). I actually prefer the peace and grounds and fields (never mind the chapel and quad) etc atmosphere of Stoke B acutally. it just feels more like my house here on a residential suburban quasi rural street than being in the middle of a city but I am sure other students like being in the centre of bristol.

What isn't easy is not getting what you chose (like the daughter mentioned here but unlike my 3 who got their first choice of halls at Bristol) and I remember that feeling myself. i was not prepared to share rules at a different university and didn't get my first choice of all and ended up in halls very close to the university which were self catered flats and I didn't want self catered. However it was absolutely fine in the end but certainly very disappointing at the time.

Xenia, my impression of Stokie B was not grounds and fields and chapels! A bus turning circle and high density large flats more like, with no supermarket anywhere near. Are we talking about the same place? And even Wills had a nasty drink spiking episode at the start of that year.

A friends daughter started this year though wisely is in Clifton. She is very sociable, which is why she had picked Bristol, despite a Cambridge offer. However even she is surprised at how prevalent drugs are in some halls, and relieved she is not in one.

DDs flat had an unofficial "guest". Someone who had been expelled from another hall for drug dealing. Apparently there was nothing that could be done.

We got through it. And as I have said before, DD is now having a great time, and indeed cant think of anywhere she would prefer to spend the next four and a half years. But I still believe Bristols failure to manage the accomodation properly including ensuring safety was extraordinary. And that taking away wardens, when many courses dont offer personal tutors, or follow up on poor attendence, makes it very possible that a small minority of students can slip through gaps.

Stoke Bishop halls are ugly. I remember visiting a friend there years ago and they were bleak. But the Downs are lovely, especially in summer. I think it’s very much the luck of the draw as to the random people you can be mixed in with at Uni. Dd wouldn’t have been happy in a druggy flat at all. Incidentally there are some in Clifton. Some flat parties she’s gone in and everyone’s taking them & hot boxing is common. But she’s just not hung arround.

My DSS has adored St Andrews. I thought it was lovely too. It is isolated, it is small, and it perhaps wouldn't suit a city person, but there is a lot going on. It's quite quirky, with lots of traditions and balls. There are lots of clubs and activities, and a lot going on socially (sounds to be more organised parties and events rather than nightclubs). It is posh, a lot of students have lots of money (my DSS has joined the polo club and a lot of his team mates went to Argentina for the Xmas break training at £300 a night!) but there are plenty of normal students there too.

I grew out of St Andrews when I still had another year to go....but that was a long time ago- it’s bigger and a bit less insular now!

One thing I would say based on my own recent experience. I would never encourage a child of mine to go a very long way from home. I did with my dd, and it was incredibly difficult for her when she hit some problems. So far enough so they can’t just pop home with their washing but not so far that the occasional weekend is very difficult financially and practically.

Well I am not on commission for the Stoke Bishop Bristol halls, laughing as I type. All I remember is they were lovely, two f my children had the quad, chapel and fields etc and the downs are near or whatever that area is called and they were both very near a nice botanical garden with water, gorgeous plants and that kind of thing.

However I do think in life it is how you feel inside that determines how you feel rather than whether you are living in a mud hut or high rise so it will probably just depend on other things whether someone is happy or not and their friends etc. Their friends might be from their halls, their course and their hobbies (and old school friends I suppose too) and my twins have each other if needs be too.

St A sounds lovely too. You probably cannot go far wrong with either Bristol or St Andrews. I am not beating a drum for Bristol necessarily - my 3 who went there turned down Durham for Bristol and I would have been just as pleased with Durham (where my father went and in the NE where I am from).

From what I know people in the city centre halls tend to want to move further out in second year and vice versa.

Does anyone know what halls to avoid for this kind of thing in particular? , or which halls are better suited for the non partying type at Bristol?

DS is considering Wills Hall for first choice , does anyone know anything about this halls?

Eny, I had two children in that one and they loved it. My son was there last year. Any hall will have lots of different people in it so it is really hard to generalise and most people find friends who are like them or they like.

What do you want to know about Wills? I can always ask my son if I don't know the answer.

I think it would be quite hard to find halls where everyone is shy or doesn't like going out much just as it is hard to find a UK workplace like that or school. We just have to mix with all kinds of different people in life. I remember from university however too much noice at night and although the halls have rules about that it is very hard to make all teenagers be quiet. At my university there were some Roman Catholic halls run by nuns with a curfew whch was quite quiet but they only had shared rooms so I avoided those.

Hi , it's good to hear a positive experience from Bristol accommodation .DS isn't quiet , just not much into the going out partying scene , was a little put off from some of the replies on here and was wondering if certain halls were more known for partying than others . The comments on the drug use is certainly worrying.

Yes, I don't even take headache pills, never mind smoke or drink! My twins were surprised how many people smoke at university - just about no one we know outside of university smokes these days. Thankfully they don't like it and have not taken it up but it certainly surprised me too as I thought smoking was on the way out.