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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Campus universities with beautiful old buildings

277 replies

Trewser · 25/09/2019 12:13

I know, i know. But dd2 is reluctant to go to any open days, and this is her (childish and silly i know) requirement. I thought if we could at least do ONE she will start to be more open minded!

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boys3 · 27/09/2019 22:17

not the dodgy 'student satisfaction' based on small samples type of thing ...

are you referring to the NSS errol or something else?

Needmoresleep · 27/09/2019 22:17

“They are a bit more reflective of thing that are important to undergraduate students”, depends on which students.

LSE comes 25th for economics, sparing some blushes by being a place above Hertfordshire. Yet it was near perfect for my non drinking, research oriented city-raised son. Some Hertfordshire students would not enjoy LSE, and some LSE students would not enjoy Hertfordshire. All that tells you is that students should choose carefully. What a league table might give you is an agglomeration of hard(ish) stats. Research quality, teaching rations, job prospects, completion rates, entry grades, etc.

FWIW, DS claimed it was a matter of pride that the LSE regularly comes bottom of student satisfaction tables, and that responses to questionnaires were skewed by a desire to maintain that position. I also suspect that should the same surveys be repeated 10 years after graduation, tables would be quite different.

boys3 · 27/09/2019 22:29

22 place gap now need in the latest Graun offering. Hertfordshire up to 4th for Economics, LSE 26th . I can't help thinking something not quite right Grin ; a vestige of sanity restored by Complete and Times tables at least.

ZandathePanda · 27/09/2019 22:32

At the end of the day , most students who pursue an English degree do it because of love of subject.

^This. Someone mentioned earlier that they knew English graduates from lots of different universities, including Cambridge, who hadn’t got jobs. Therefore if the prestige factor doesn’t seem as important, then go for somewhere she’ll really enjoy. Obviously that should be academically suitable but if she’s happiest with an environment with older buildings then that is valid too. Dds English bundle has just arrived and she’s very excited by the books. This is why looking at the (compulsory) bit of the course is good too. With English, there will be a lot of non-contact time and she’ll want to enjoy that by studying books she’s interested in and can have enthusiastic discussions with others.

QuestionableMouse · 27/09/2019 22:44

I can vouch for Sunderland uni's English BA.

The uni is really nice too, great pastoral support, fantastic lecturers and a nice riverside location.

It doesn't have old buildings and isn't highly ranked though the current BA is only three years old and so needs time to grow, so to speak.

whereamitoday · 27/09/2019 23:39

Royal Holloway is beautiful but dead at the weekend as many students head home to London. I think it's a tough place to get a great student experience.

Piggywaspushed · 28/09/2019 08:17

Ahem. Enough of the sneering at Hertfordshire which has a longstanding relationship in many of the science and economics subjects. Bedfordshire Uni it ain't. (with apologies to Bedfordshire ...)

I agree with zanda that content is very important in English (and history) degrees, and is very often the deciding factor between otherwise similar universities. I didn't apply to Durham back in the day because it had too many compulsory units, for example , and did apply to York because it had modules in foreign literature and Anglo Saxon, and you could completely swerve the Victorians (which I now regret). It also had an orally assessed unit (which I also now regret swerving). Others might have chosen the opposite way round.

Outside of Oxbridge, if your DD loves Shakespeare, the Birmingham course is a wonderful choice. The proximity to Stratford is really played (hoho!)up.

Every course can find students struggling to find the work they want. English grads are no more known for this than other subjects of its ilk. I don't think there are legions of them working at Costa for years.

Of the people I directly graduated with I can name a corporate lawyer, a film director, a novelist, a university admissions head and a headteacher.

Original poster
Trewser · 28/09/2019 08:19

Was Hertfordshire Hatfield Poly? Even 40 years ago it had a really good rep for economics and engineering i believe

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Piggywaspushed · 28/09/2019 10:23

Yes, Hatfield Poly indeed.

apples24 · 28/09/2019 10:26

Glasgow is lovely, campus has a great atmosphere, is in a fab part of the city and the old buildings are just magical. (Big mixture of old and new though)

ZandathePanda · 28/09/2019 10:33

Piggy you showed why Dd didn’t want Birmingham! Grin

ErrolTheDragon · 28/09/2019 10:38

It'd be a disaster if the same unis (course-wise and physically) were the best choice for them all!

Piggywaspushed · 28/09/2019 10:46

Exactly zanda ! No one English degree is the same Also , how they are assessed varies widely. I had 8 hour and 48 hour exams...

York didn't used to have any first year exams, and suspect it still doesn't. Those things are often not discussed at Open Days unless someone asks, I find.

Xenia · 28/09/2019 11:00

Perhaps have a look at what career she might choose and look at the places the most recently hired her graduates there went to and go from there.

Original poster
Trewser · 28/09/2019 11:14

That would be far too easy xenia she has no clue Grin

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mrsjackrussell · 28/09/2019 11:19

Not lovely buildings but a great location and a good university is Sussex. Located in the downs and a bus ride away from central Brighton. Loads to do there too.

mrsjackrussell · 28/09/2019 11:22

My dd is doing combined English and drama there and it's fabulous. Lots of clubs musical theatre. Brighton fringe . Lots of like minded people. Performers etc.

ginyogarepeat · 28/09/2019 11:35

Might be too far for her, but Queen's University in Belfast is a fab gothic, traditional red brick university.

ErrolTheDragon · 28/09/2019 12:12

Might be too far for her, but Queen's University in Belfast is a fab gothic, traditional red brick university.

The daughter of a friend is very happy there, but apparently because many of the students are local it tends to empty out at weekends. She's making a virtue of this by having a job then, but it probably wouldn't suit everyone.

ginyogarepeat · 28/09/2019 16:18

It does @ErrolTheDragon, the university recognises it as a problem. There are more international students than ever before in Belfast now though, so it is becoming less of an issue.

crimsonlake · 28/09/2019 16:45

Agree, do not indulge her desire for period buildings, it is the course that matters. Mine have finished uni, we did not go to any open days until yr 13. Leave it until next year when she will have matured a bit more.

kenandbarbie · 28/09/2019 17:18

How about Hulme Hall in Manchester? It's catered with its own bar etc so maybe she might feel a bit more looked after, old and pretty, a 20 min walk from the uni.

FlyingSquid · 28/09/2019 22:22

Hmm, well, given that I have a current Year 13 who is scrabbling round for open days at the last minute, I think I disagree with CrimsonLake! Get a few done now and let her mull it over.

Plus, I’d indulge her desire for old buildings as much as she likes right now. Sounds fun. And sitting staring out at calming loveliness from a college/hall window can make a difference when wrangling with a tough course.

Nixen · 28/09/2019 22:24

University of Reading