Where do your DC go to uni, and what are their thoughts?

[electricfeel]

I have a Year 12 DS starting to look ahead to the university open days he would like to attend this summer. He is keen to pick a uni with a decent academic reputation (though probably not Oxbridge etc standard) in a city which he really likes. I was hoping to gather some opinions for him to consider on the unis which your DC attend and the cities they are in?

He's vaguely considering Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Cardiff so far but frankly insider feedback/info on any uni would be helpful as he/we are a little clueless

Anyone had experience of London unis? I would prefer a campus based life but some of the courses look great ..

Dd was desperate to go to Leeds but didn't get the AAA needed.

She's in Liverpool and absolutely loves it

Birmingham is extremely popular with my ex students.

Has he thought about York ? Given his A Levels, it seems an obvious choice.

Geography doesn't seem to be to much of an issue given his initial thinking but do consider travel time and transport links.

@NameNumber5 pleased to hear your DD is enjoying Liverpool so much. What grades did she actually achieve, and what course is she studying?

Regarding Birmingham and York, these may be less interesting for DS as he is interested in a less campus based and more city type university (although open to anything). Nottingham I know is campus but seems to be an exception for some reason

Nottingham is pretty close to the city centre, maybe it's that? My nephew went there, he really enjoyed liked it.

My DS is at Nottingham (Trent) & loves it, right in the city centre, it’s a great city with loads going on. The Trent students mix with the Nottingham Uni students quite a bit and seem to get on well. The Nottingham Uni campus is really quite central to the city, and is very attractive.

@SaskiaRembrandt that could well be the case; I can't picture him so much in a very campus based uni like Warwick. I also suspect he will want somewhere with more nightlife than I think York has.

DS is at uni of Nottingham. Loves the uni and the city.

He enjoys gigs and clubs and thee seems to be plenty going on. City feels safe and has a very student vibe with the two uni's. My DD is now set on going to Nottingham.

We live in Birmingham so both are used to lots of night life etc

@electricfeel DD got AAB and Leeds were not interested! She is studying English Lit

We are in Liverpool now for weekend as dropping her back from Christmas break. The heartbreak over Leeds on results day and the stress of clearing was awful but seeing her so happy here it feels like a blessing in disguise now

Nottingham has lots of nightlife !! 2 Uni club nights a week and Rock City for the more indie things. Lots and lots of bars - one plays Abba and one is a German beer keg where dancing in tables is common. Great Xmas market too. Oh and and a cafe and a wonderful pub in the Rick below the castle. DD seems to manage quite a good social life without spending too much money (Spoons !).

Cat café !!!

Cardiff is most definitely not full of Welsh students.

The vast majority of Cardiff students are English!

@Northernsoullover @titchy my apologies! It was just an assumption I had made, thinking students typically would stick to their own country in the UK.

@NameNumber5 wow, Leeds are clearly incredibly strict even with one dropped grade - I thought for most places if you put them as first choice and achieved AAB instead of a required AAA that would generally be fine. Ditto dropping from AAB to ABB etc. Very happy Liverpool has worked out so well for her though.

Where u live and is distance an issue?
My niece is at Newcastle and really enjoying it.

from what I gather about Birmingham it has its own train station and is a matter of minutes to the City Centre.

People on MN seem very dismissive of York (are you London based? This is where the anti campus thing seems to come from). It is very easy to get to the centre from the campus; accommodation in second year in the city is plentiful and cheap and I have never heard of anyone being bored there. It has hundreds of pubs.

I had way more fun in York than Nottingham and felt more isolated at Nottingham Uni : it was just more of a faff to get into the centre. They are both great places to be a student, though.

@IdblowJonSnow we are in London. Newcastle may be stretching it a bit in terms of how far away it is but DS would be happy to go further than is ideal if it was for a city he really loved; he is not fazed by the idea of Liverpool for example which is a 4/5 hour drive. However, I do think that unis in Scotland will be ruled out for him unless he drastically changes his view.

I suppose what I meant to say is where one goes does of course matter (DS was definitely put off Aberystwyth because of its isolation) but the course really truly has to matter most.

My son is waiting to see if he’s got into York - applied for two different courses related to international relations as he’s so keen - he’s got friends at uni there and they’re having a brilliant time.

Cat café !!!

Leeds has got one of those, too (in the city centre, not actually on campus).

Although Leeds has a definite campus, it is also a) pretty close to the centre and b) sort of the way through from one place to another, so to speak, also (like at Birmingham), has publicly accessible facilities, such as a gallery etc. So not exactly behind a ten foot fence in the middle of nowhere.

What about Bristol? Definitely city rather than campus, walking distance to shops, the Harbourside etc. Not for those allergic to hills, though (but even Norwich in 'flat' Norfolk has got those) but mostly a lesser 'rise to tread' ratio than, say, Exeter. Bristol has 'city' halls as well as the ones out at Stoke Bishop (if you don't mind being accused of not being serious about your studies because you prefer to be within walking distance of proper shops and an evening out). DD looked at Bristol, but didn't apply; she could have been very happy living there, just found that she really didn't like the course or what she saw of the university, once up close and personal with them. It was at the Bristol open day that she realised that she actually wanted a campus university, as doe DS2.

DS spent his first year at Exeter studying physics but found it extremely challenging
He loves.physics but decided to do am a it turn and transferred to UEA where he is now doing politics! it's such an individual choice and we never thought he would give up physics. He loved the city of Exeter and equally loves Norwich.

My daughter chose Plymouth ...she loved the feel of the city,she felt it was easy to get around..mainly all walkable ....accommodation was a big thing to her and she loved what she saw much more than other places she'd looked at..she felt very welcomed on the open day ..so although she also had offers from RG universities she felt most at e and so chose it for those reasons...she had a great three years.

One DD is in her final year at Leeds uni and has loved it. The other one went to Liverpool Uni and had a fab time.