Nottingham or Newcastle for psychology?

[LaBelleSauvage123]

Does anyone have opinions? DS has visited and loved both. He has his grades already
( A* A A) and is taking a gap year and applying for Sept 2020.

I think the Offer holder days are a really good idea - are they usually held in the spring though? He’s travelling Feb - May.

To put another one in the mix, he’s texting from the open day at York today saying that the course is brilliant - apparently one of the biggest names in psychology teaches there and they do a fast track doctorate which is exclusive to York which means he could be ready for work 3 years earlier than anywhere else. But he’s not so impressed with the campus ( like a huge version of his college, apparently 🙄) and describes the city as ‘very clean and pretty.... like a big version of X’ ( cathedral city near us). These are not compliments! 😆

I live in the heart of Studentsville (Lenton) in Nottingham. Nottingham is very much geared towards students. The uni of campus is beautiful, and easy to get too.

My sister went to Loughborough but commuted from home in Leicester. I think she found it quite difficult as everything is campus based and Loughborough itself is tiny and not much going on.

My daughter is doing psychology at Exeter and loves it, but it might be too small a city tor your son, given his comments about York. The campus is lovely, and not too far from the centre of town.

Nottingham was her reserve option, but she also really liked Birmingham and Leeds.

When we were looking, Bath didn't need A level biology, but they did want an A for maths at GCSE.

The good news is that with those grades he should get in anywhere.

I would love him to go to Exeter but you’re right - he wants a bigger city. He got a 7 for maths GCSE so that would be ok for Bath. Unfortunately he seems to be biased against the whole of the SW!

DS lived all 3 years in reasonably ok self catered university accommodation in Lenton. Cycled to the main campus on a pretty much off road route and was able to walk into Nottingham city centre from his flat.

Cardiff used to do a 4-year Psychology degree with placement. Worth a look?

But he’s not so impressed with the campus

DD hated the campus at York. The science campus has loads of blocks that look like run down 1960s council flats. She didn't like any of the campus universities we looked at TBH. I think it is because we live in a rural area and she wants to enjoy city living.

apparently one of the biggest names in psychology teaches there

Just double check how much actual teaching they do - I've been on several Steering Committes etc with 'big names in x', who obviously didn't have that much contact with undergrads.

These comments are all so useful - am getting multiple texts from DS on the train back from York basically saying he doesn’t know which to choose. Academically he seems to think that York is way above the others on his list ( he’s very swayed by the fast track doctorate option for clinical psychology) but he is less keen on it as a place to live.

So we’ll sit down when he gets back and discuss pros and cons, including the comments on here.

From a purely academic point of view I would rate York very very highly and Nottingham not far behind. The others mentioned are also v good but not as strong imo. (I work at a psych dept that is not on your list.)

TooDamnSnarky that’s very interesting thank you. DS is aware that York is the best on his list academically but is struggling with the fact he doesn’t like the city or campus as much as Nottingham or Newcastle. He says he thinks that Newcastle has a more holistic approach whereas Nottingham and York are more medical/biological. Would you agree with that?

Haven't a clue but there were a few doing psychology that we met at Liverpool today. Similar to Newcastle vibe I'd say.

Would he consider Bath? Very highly considered for psychology & also offer placement year.

It’s very near where we live, which puts him off!

Manchester?

One of the 'big names' in psychology lectures at Bristol. He tutored my son for the four years he was there, he's just graduated. He's the only psychologist to have done the royal institute xmas lectures.

He’s not a big party animal but wants a city with ‘energy’ ( his words) and a thriving food scene ( he’s a very keen cook).

Er..... Birmingham has more Michelin starred restaurants than anywhere else outside London.... thriving street food scenes...... foods from countries around the World...... plus of course the famous Baltis.

It is also one of the 'youngest cities' in Europe.

Absolutely fine if he didn't like the course at Birmingham or the campus or something else about the City, but he's not done his research if he is putting that as a reason

Dgd is applying to Cambridge, kings college London, Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham. Apart from Cambridge which psychological and behavioural science all other courses are psychology with cognitive neuroscience.

I know someone who has just graduated from Bath and loved it. She is very clever and enjoyed it all. When she started out she knew she wanted to do clinical psychology - doing the year out made her realise she really didn’t so she was glad to have enough scope to explore non clinical aspects in her final year. I seem to think that she did two different placements in the work experience year too - again which was great for doing clinical, realising it wasn’t for her and getting to try a non- clinical role.

He’s not a big party animal but wants a city with ‘energy’ ( his words) and a thriving food scene ( he’s a very keen cook).
He should not dismiss the UCL or KCL courses then.

My son is at Nottingham - whilst all the halls on campus are catered (easy intro to Uni and great for meeting people) there is also Broadgate which is a massive hall of residence just across the road from the west gate and which is self catered. So very easy to be in self catered.
Just be aware that accommodation opens at Nottingham at the start of March and sells our fast. So would be better for him to take a decision on which offer to accept by then.

Ds also wanted a city with energy and Nottingham delivers that in spades.

Sports at Nottingham are excellent and inclusive - something for everyone. They came 2nd this year in the country behind Loughborough.

What type of psychology is he interested in? All courses will be broadly general but if they have specialists in a certain area, naturally the course will lean towards those topics more and expertise in social psychology/child development/clinical/forensic/occupational/health psychology/cognitive neuroscience differs wildly between universities

York has always had a reputation in psychology, right from when it opened in the 60s. I guess the campus hasn't changed all that much since then

York is not a quiet, genteel city if that's what concerns him. It is really easy to get to from campus and is thriving, bustling and beautiful. It has one of the highest rates of students staying on to live in after graduation.

I have a stake in all these games : born in Newcastle, went to York for undergrad, and then Nottingham. All three are great but, oddly, I found Nottingham duller as a city than York : more just your standard city. It's upped its game a bit since then, though. In Newcastle , students very much live in a middle class bubble, in the Jesmond area. If he likes trips out, the countryside around York and Newcastle is fabulous.

In terms of city living and lifestyle, I'd agree with Leeds. I don't really know Birmingham but many students I teach have loved everything about it.

Has he considered Glasgow, or is that too far?