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Higher education

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

Original poster

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

155 replies

electricfeel · 12/01/2020 11:59

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 Smile

OP posts:
Ginfordinner · 12/01/2020 23:18

DD is at Newcastle and is really enjoying it. I would take its party reputation with a pinch of salt as partying is optional. DD doesn't like clubbing and partying, but still has a pretty good social life and lots of friends. We live rurally so she didn't want a campus university, and she loves having everything on her doorstep where she is now.

The other reason she likes Newcastle is that it is pretty compact and everywhere is walkable. The metro system is pretty good, and they can get to the coast very easily.

She really disliked Warwick and York campuses, hated Manchester as it was just too big and impersonal and hated Bristol because it was too hilly (she has joint problems).

thekaiserswife · 13/01/2020 07:55

@electricfeel

As far as Liverpool goes...entry requirements for my DS, (civil & structural engineering) he had a conditional offer of ABB (and the same for Cardiff University) we were also looking at Sheffield and offers were AAB (although the course went to clearing and they were accepting ABB in the end anyway)

No idea why you we finding entry requirement lower, my DS course is full and we have been so impressed by lecturers and the university as a whole. Time will tell how my DS fares against his peers in other universities though.

hellsbells99 · 13/01/2020 08:52

Hi Op. Both DDs did Stem subjects at Leeds and Liverpool.
The DD at Leeds is not a major party animal but enjoys going out and more so since she has been there. Leeds student union is very good with its own nightclub as well as bars. The club is apparently ‘cheesy’ but good for a Friday night out.

TheGirlFromStoryville · 13/01/2020 08:57

Dd is at Imperial in her first year - she absolutely loves it. She had Newcastle as her insurance option.
Accom is very expensive though, plus general living costs in London seem more than up here (NW.)

MarchingFrogs · 13/01/2020 09:02

Accom is very expensive though

Someone (with a medic DC at Imperial?) has written of really - relatively - cheap accommodation in Acton. Even adding in a travelcard made a single room there around the same sort of price as more central shared rooms, I think.

pazwaz70 · 13/01/2020 09:15

DD is in her second year of a fine art degree at Newcastle University. She loves it,absolutely loves the vibrancy of the city. Luckily we only live down the road so we see her quite often.Newcastle is a fantastic University.

PostNotInHaste · 13/01/2020 11:31

Cardiff in our household to date and loves it. Has thrown herself into the university societies, loves that it’s pretty compact so doesn’t have transport costs and accommodation cheap after first hall.

Bristol doesn’t suit everyone is my experience, friend’s DD not enjoying it which is not great as a 5 year course. I don’t think it will suit my next DC and know of a few who looked and didn’t like it .

Those I know who aren’t keen have come from small towns and I think culture shock a bit much. Personally I am very fond of it and only reason I didn’t go is that I lived there, did come back and work in the university after I graduated. Lots of people love it and it’s known as the ‘graveyard of ambition ‘ as people often go there as students and never leave.

Ginfordinner · 13/01/2020 11:43

Those I know who aren’t keen have come from small towns and I think culture shock a bit much

I think you might be right. We live out in the sticks and DD has to get a train if she wants to go out anywhere. She didn't want to live anywhere that she couldn't walk to easily. This ruled out campus universities and large cities like Bristol and Manchester. Sheffield and Leeds were too near for her to consider.

kirstinm · 13/01/2020 11:47

My personal experiences...undergraduate at Glasgow. Love the uni (I encountered several health issues during my degree and the pastoral care is second to none) and the city is an amazing place to study and to live. Friendly people, great nightlife, lots to do..easy access to pretty much anywhere via public transport. Masters at St Andrews..completely different experience and probably not for everyone, but I love it here too. Small town of which half the population are students...bit less conventional nightlife wise but still lots of fun. Can feel a little isolated at times (the nickname the bubble is not completely unfounded), but a beautiful location...the beach is amazing. I'm going on to a PhD at Notts and really happy to hear so many good things about it on this thread.

Moominmammacat · 13/01/2020 11:51

Cardiff is fab fun, not super-Welsh like Aber and Bangor.

MarchingFrogs · 13/01/2020 12:27

Cardiff is fab fun, not super-Welsh like Aber and Bangor.

Are super-Welsh and fab fun totally mutually exclusive? It can't be all Hinterland outside the capital.

Can it?

Piggywaspushed · 13/01/2020 13:30

I went to an Open day at Aber last year... full of kids from Birmingham!

Ginfordinner · 13/01/2020 13:36

There is a good mix of students from all over the place at Newcastle. The ones who live further south tend to fly home at Christmas and Easter.

MarchingFrogs · 13/01/2020 15:27

I went to an Open day at Aber last year... full of kids from Birmingham!

It's a two-way process. There was a girl from Cardiff (iirc) in DS1's first year flat and one of the lads in DD's comes from the town in N.Wales where we lived for 18 months or so when I was young and where I started schoolGrin. I'm just waiting for her to come back to me and say that he went there as well. Although I suppose that in the 55 or so years in between, it has been closed down, or at least renamed. Almost certainly the latter, as it was a 'County Primary'.

Piggywaspushed · 13/01/2020 15:32

Yup... it's all about train lines in general!

SpringFan · 13/01/2020 18:43

Oh Yes! The trains. We live in East of England. Nottingham is a joy and a pleasure. Either into London across London and out again via Liverpool Street or Stratford. Or change at Peterborough or Ely and hope the 2 hourly train bothers to run. I believe it's currently a 4hrly "service" since they introduced new trains.
However, Nottingham is still a great Uni and a good place to live.
I didn't realise as I did home to Nottingham as a day trip from work. Couldn't do it by train!

Piggywaspushed · 13/01/2020 19:00

The East of England is so bad for trains really. Cambridge is hard to get to form lots of places. Where I live - in the so called Oxford Cambridge arc- it is actually hard to get to both places!

PBLR · 14/01/2020 16:38

DS 1 is at Sheffield and loves it. Hall was very nice in first year and he got a place in halls altho he went thro clearing having decided to have a year out and then changed his mind on Sept 1st. He's doing Chemistry. He's happy to be part of the party stuff but is working hard the rest of the time. He's in a house now sharing with everyone from his Hall flat which was in the older Halls area not the newer Village area tho. Maybe note that the Uni and the Halls are not in a particularly rough part of the city, which wasn't always the case for some Uni's we looked at more recently for DS2

PBLR · 14/01/2020 18:12

DH and I absolutely loved UEA for DS2. We think the course, campus and general vibe would be perfect for him but he's yet to see it like that so really hoping for a good Offer Holders Day experience - wish me luck!

MarchingFrogs · 14/01/2020 21:58

really hoping for a good Offer Holders Day experience

DD decided on Birmingham in the end, but UEA put on a great (free and for guests, as well) lunch at her offer holders' day last yearSmile.

boys3 · 14/01/2020 22:07

@PBLR DS2 (yr1 UEA) was completely swung by the UEA offer holder day (and quite put off by the one at his original first choice). Whether the nice meal out in Norwich the night before helped I can't say but it certainly did not hinder. :) There is a whole UEA freshers thread if you want to sound out a few more of us.

TheoneandObi · 14/01/2020 22:18

DS went to Cambridge. Did English. Thought 'if I'm going to do a subject perceived as soft, I'll go to the hardest place.' It was a treadmill. But two essays a week every week. You don't walk out with an easy first. But he's super glad he went. Met his future wife there (married young !)
DD - Durham. Loads of extra curricular. And academically rigorous. Been asked to apply for a PhD tho and days she's had enough of the place (it's small!)

PBLR · 14/01/2020 22:23

Thanks Marching and boys3, we will certainly work on the meal out idea. UEA has made a good offer that he will achieve and so has Sheff Hallam which he likes atm. - here's hoping for UEA tho x

RedHelenB · 15/01/2020 11:39

Mine are at Newcastle and Liverpool and love the student life in both these cities.

Needmoresleep · 15/01/2020 13:59

DD is at Bristol. She found the first year tough. Almost everyone else seemed to be heavily into drinking, clubbing and drugging and she was not.

Second year was heaps better. Nice flatmates, beautiful city surrounded by glorious countryside (a group went camping in November and south Wales surfing beaches are not too far away) and plenty of cultural life. Her course, medicine, is good, and she is happy in the city, but she is disappointed by the University and the lack of.......perhaps intellectual spark and curiosity. (That sounds a bit snobby, but they are, after all, at University.)

DS was at LSE. His course was great, with loads of scope to develop and pursue interests. Accomodation was not the problem that some on MN, who often seem to have DC in London, make out. His course opened loads of doors (he is currently in his second year of a six year and funded PhD at a good US University) and his friendship/professional network seems to extend worldwide.