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Higher education

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Original poster

Nottingham or Newcastle for psychology?

90 replies

LaBelleSauvage123 · 13/09/2019 22:21

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.

OP posts:
Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/09/2019 08:48

He’s done a lot of research into the different courses on offer - talked our ears off about it last night - and that’s why Newcastle, Nottingham and York are on the table. He’s going to the Leeds open day soon and will probably apply to Bristol too. He is worried about cost of living in London. I’m not sure why he wasn’t as keen on Birmingham- I was quite surprised by that. He’s very aware of its liveliness and great food scene but seemed a bit overwhelmed by the city. I think he probably wants a smaller city - we live fairly rurally now and he’s never lived anywhere larger than a market town.

I think the best thing he can do now is apply, then go to offer holder days if he gets in. Yesterday he was set on Nottingham on the train up to York, York on the way back and by the time he got home, Newcastle was taking first place again. We keep telling him it’s a great position to be in!

OP posts:
Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/09/2019 08:50

Piggy I’ve just realised we were exchanging PMs when our boys were doing GCSEs!

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Ginfordinner · 15/09/2019 08:52

That's why DD liked Newcastle. It is lively with lots to do, but quite compact. She didn't like Manchester as it is just too large and she would rather walk everywhere than rely on public transport all the time. She didn't like Bristol at all. She has knee problems, and the hills were a deal breaker.

Although, given everything else I have read and heard about I think Bristol wouldn't have suited her anyway. Plus, Cross Country trains are always cancelling trains beyond Birmingham, so travelling between Bristol and Sheffield would be a PITA.

Ginfordinner · 15/09/2019 08:54

What are the post graduate job stats for each university? How flexible are the courses?

Another reason DD liked Newcastle is that the course she is doing (biomed) is very flexible and she can specialise in year 2, or even apply for medicine.

DeNiroDeFaro · 15/09/2019 09:02

If he wants a Russell Group city campus, then what about Manchester? Great for psychology and a fantastic city for studying and living in?

Piggywaspushed · 15/09/2019 09:28

We were OP!

waves!

NotDavidTennant · 15/09/2019 09:33

Has he considered Cardiff?

Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/09/2019 10:28

Cardiff isn’t RG and he wants a research based university.

OP posts:
Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/09/2019 10:29

He’s thinking about Manchester.

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justintimberlakesfishwife · 15/09/2019 10:42

I went to York (not psychology) and loved the campus in all its 1960's glory! It's a collegiate campus too, which is great for sports etc. I chose it over Newcastle and Liverpool as it had such a lovely vibe, and because it had some amazing names within the world of my academic subject teaching there.
Friends who did psychology there loved it and went on to do reality well.
I've had a few friends who did psychology at UCL and who rate it massively. UCL is a fab university and it sounds like your son would love London life Smile

justintimberlakesfishwife · 15/09/2019 10:44

Manchester is also an amazing city, it's on my very short list of places that I'd be willing to move to!

Parsley65 · 15/09/2019 12:04

Cardiff is a RG university!
Dd and I were there yesterday for the open day.
She also wants to do psychology.
We loved it; campus uni in the middle of a city.
We were really impressed by it.
Good luck!

Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 15/09/2019 13:07

DS told me it wasn’t 😳. I should do my own research! Will mention...

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mumsiedarlingrevolta · 15/09/2019 13:13

DS is at newcastle and loves it-the student experience great and the city a lively, fun place to be a student.
Most move out to Jesmond for 2nd year and DS lived in a house where they each cooked one night a week-so really nice experience overall

You are in a very fortunate position-Good luck!!

MaidenMotherCrone · 15/09/2019 13:24

Cardiff most definitely is RG. DS is a third year there.

IdblowJonSnow · 15/09/2019 13:24

Newcastle.

mumsneedwine · 15/09/2019 14:38

Mines having lots of fun at Nottingham. Loads to do in city with Uni club nights and bars, galleries and a cat cafe. But campus a large park with a boating lake. Sports facilities are incredible and clubs for anything you can imagine.

StealthPussy · 15/09/2019 15:11

I cannot fathom why Nottingham is attractive to anyone. Yes the campus looks nice. But crime is terrible. Students recently mugged on Uni of Nott campus. 18 year old murdered last night in city centre. It’s one of the poorest cities in the country.

schoolcook · 15/09/2019 15:18

Cardiff is Wales' only RG uni.
We were there yesterday too for open day - so impressed by the psychology course the uni and the city. Definitely worth a look.

Digestive28 · 15/09/2019 15:25

I would check the fast track thing out more closely if that is swaying the pull to York. Doctorate places are increasingly going in the direction of nursing (ie self funded), not there yet but if another three years before graduated the fast track scheme may be gone by then.

soulrider · 15/09/2019 15:39

I cannot fathom why Nottingham is attractive to anyone. Yes the campus looks nice. But crime is terrible. Students recently mugged on Uni of Nott campus. 18 year old murdered last night in city centre. It’s one of the poorest cities in the country.

You have to be very careful looking at statistics for Nottingham. The way the city boundary drawn means the city itself is very small and includes many poor inner city areas. The suburbs which many think of as Nottingham are not counted in any of Nottingham city statistics. I wouldn't consider it any more dangerous than any other large city.

Although campus based, it's not far from the city centre, and I would say feels like part of the city. I found it a totally different atmosphere to campuses my friends were at like Warwick and Loughborough where all student life seemed centred around campus

LuckyMarmiteLover · 15/09/2019 17:01

I’m sitting in Newcastle airport at the moment waiting to fly home after the open day yesterday. We were very impressed by every aspect of Newcastle, so this is an interesting read, although we were looking at marine science. Good luck with whatever your DS chooses!

mumsneedwine · 15/09/2019 17:07

Nottingham Uni & council have also ensured that the Uber drivers are licensed. I was worried when DD went there as I'd heard similar scare stories, but when you look at the actual figures for the whole city it's pretty darn similar to anywhere else. I'd not heard about the murder on campus and neither had DD. There was a death but it wasn't murder ? It's a lovely city with 2 large universities so is over run with students. And the locals are very tolerant !

Piggywaspushed · 15/09/2019 17:32

The 'dangerous' parts of Nottingham are not in the city centre or anywhere near Nottingham Uni campus.
A few of my friends lived in The Meadows and Wilford when I did my PGCE and came to no harm. We did once walk through a rather hairy area recently to get to the cricket. But Nottingham City Centre is very safe. My main beef with the city was its blandness!

Some of the outlying estates aren't nice : but, unless doing a PGCE, I can't see how students would end up there.

Newcastle can be pretty dicey too! Manchester, Cardiff, Leeds, Bristol ,Sheffield, Birmingham, Liverpool : all have tough areas. If this was anyone's main concern, all students would be in Keele or Loughborough, hermetically sealed on their campuses. And , even then, a young person isn't immune to danger.

I grew up in Glasgow so it's all relative!

wonkylegs · 15/09/2019 17:48

I went to Newcastle (not for psychology but spent 8yrs as a student there) from the SW and loved it. It's a nice sized city, easy to get around with friendly locals, lots and lots going on but also easy to get to the coast and the countryside (even without a car) when you want a breather. It's where I met my DH and we lived for another 6 years after I finished uni before moving elsewhere in the NE for work.
My sister was at Nottingham for 3yrs (again a different subject) and had a much less positive student experience, with several break ins, including one where they came in the door behind her brandishing a knife, it put a downer on the whole experience- however she still got a 1st and won a National award.