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

Worst accommodation I saw by a long chalk was Ziggurats at UEA.

I'm sure they will forgive you. Much loved by those who choose them, so they can take a few choosing not to. On second or third viewing, DD decided that she wouldn't mind if she ended up there, should she firm UEA. DS2 - who actually does have a medical reason for preferring en suite accommodation- fell in love with both univetsity and Ziggurats at first sight.

DD1 is at UEA, but didn't even look at the Ziggurats, as they aren't ensuite. Agreed, they are an "acquired taste" but a lot of people love living there.

Grottiest accommodation we saw during the Open Day season was at Sussex.

I know Ziggurats has a cult following!

Worst accommodation I saw by a long chalk was Ziggurats at UEA.

@Piggywaspushed - how could you say such a thing! They are iconic with spectacular views. That said DS2 who is at UEA was appalled by them, BUT, they remain a very popular choice at UEA.

On a slightly more serious point with all the MH issues around today if residences can create a real sense of community then grotty or not that it is something well worth having. The Zigs do have a decent amount of communal space.

It was a mistake I made to take DS to see the cheapest accommodation at UEA and nothing else : he thought it would all be like that!

The comedy comes form the fact that my house is an absolute shitheap!!

I think the community bit and the idea of space and air matters to me. I think that's what campuses definitely offer but it's a trade off against the sense of being in a bubble.

Grottiest accommodation we saw during the Open Day season was at Sussex.

It's over 5 years since I saw inside any of the Sussex accommodation and I know they've rebuilt some, but yes, I have to say that even I was a bit thrown by the flat DS1 and I saw on that open day visit. I can't remember which block it was, but it was either a really big flat, or a corridor set up? I had been to the university for work and was expecting DS1 to love the place, but that accommodation was just another rather depressing aspect of the day - to go with the Biochemistry students supposedly acting as demonstrators in the lab just not turning up. And the weather, unfortunately. I realised that my previous visits (for work), when I had thought how nice the place was, must all have been on nice bright, dry days.

(I have been back since, for a campus tour with DD and DS2 and rather liked it again, though).

Ah, I see now why we didn't see the cheap Brookes accommodation. That's at Harcourt Hill. Nothing that cheap at Headington, unfortunately.

Ah, I see now why we didn't see the cheap Brookes accommodation. That's at Harcourt Hill. Nothing that cheap at Headington, unfortunately.

Yes, it's at Harcourt Hill. But students get free bus travel, so it's a £30-£70 a week saving in return for an extra 40 min a day travel time (if you have to go to Headington every day).

Right. I see. It wasn't the only reason for not applying to Brookes, to be fair but the accommodation coats at Headington did put me off. That, and the fact that Oxford itself is one of the most expensive places to live in the UK. (unless at Oxford Uni!). Lovely city, though.

My dd just graduated from LSE.
Guaranteed 1st year accommodation and they will help you find other accommodation after that.
Dd loved it.

How can you check if a university course is academically rigorous? They're not exactly going to advertise a course as being easy and for the student who can't be arsed.

In the 1980s I went to a (now termed) RG university and the course was dull as ditchwater and the other students were below par. But at least it was free. Now it costs £9K a year it would be devastating to be disappointed.

Another vote for Newcastle. Easy peasy from London. Fantastic, compact, friendly city. Beautiful countryside, beaches etc. University very supportive. Lots of different combinations he can do with English.

My dd loved Nottingham- lovely campus, lovely city and fairly cheap accommodation.

On this question "How can you check if a university course is academically rigorous? " you could do the following:-

1. Look at the A level grades needed to do it - if they are high it will have good people and probably be intellectually rigorous. If it is dead easy to get into it probably will not have such bright people on the course, those people are more likely to drop out and it may not be so much fun in terms of cut and thrust of intellectual argument for your child if the child is bright although I accept lots of children aren't and we are trying to generalise across about 50% of teenagers here.

1. Look at where people who go into the kinds of jobs you want (if those jobs demand intellectual rigour) who graduated recently went to university. I think I posted a link to where most new lawyers come from in terms of universities for example.

Thank you, Xenia. There is RG and there is RG. Dn went to a university oft praised on MN for a particular course. Dn's work she shared with me was astonishingly basic.

DD is at Uni of York.

It's a campus uni and there are no cars so it feels very safe and quiet, it's easy enough to walk into York or the busses run every 5 mins.

The pastoral system is very good and the way the colleges work is very supportive.

It's been a good stepping stone between school and adult life.... so far!

I think the poster who thought Sheffield might not be safe, do think again! It has a huge student population and it’s extremely popular. Of course students are safe there. Run down cities are fairly normal in the North. They are not all renovated and pristine. That doesn’t make them unsafe.

I think some universities are more of a bridge between school and becoming an adult than others are for first years. I would say Lancaster, Exeter, York and Bath fulfil that role quite well. City universities have their gritty side but that doesn’t mean Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle should be written off due to a few slightly run down areas.

Thanks BubblesBuddy for putting some perspective on it, my DS is at Sheffield and we visit often, it's a lovely city, very welcoming and the area around the uni is really nice. The uni accommodation is a reasonable walk from the majority of uni buildings and town centre is not far away. It's no different to big cities all around the country(including the south), it has nice and not so nice areas.

There are run down cities in the south too...

Portsmouth springs to mind!

I actually think a lot of Northern cities are very handsome : Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester in particular have lots of lovely architecture..

One of my daughters went to Nottingham which is a camputs and loved it. However my 3 who went to or are currentlya t Bristol loved that too so I suppose it' is hard to say what is best. Just make sure children don't choose things for silly reasons that will affect them for life. I know someone whose daughter went to an ex poly who had the best A levels in her comp because her friends were going there. She read law and wanted to be a lawyer and she has not found it very easy since although I know evn law firms are trying these days not to discriminate on the basis of institutione attended even if that means the application pile even after people take the online psychological tests and all the rest is still very big.

My DD is at Leeds, absolutely loves it , the course ( graphic design ) was a bit slow to get going but is picking up pace now. She loves the nightlife , goes out at midnight gets in at 8am

I do realise that not all cities, even in the South, are not all pristine and I would agree Portsmouth is not. However we tend to think that the post industrial cities are mostly located north of Watford Gap! It isn’t a great way to choose a university if a few run down areas are making parents think it’s unsafe when this clearly isn’t the case and students are very happy - and feel safe.

My DH went to Sheffield and when we went back (I didn’t know him at university) to see friends it was very run down back in the 70s and 80s. It’s very different now and I visit regularly as I have relatives there.

Sheffield is south.

Isn't it?

I'd be first to admit Bristol is a great place to be a students but areas of Bristol are decidedly not nice. Students don't usually frequent these areas so, yes, it's not a good reason.

That said, I would point out that some students in Nottingham in years 2 and 3 end up living in quite hair raising areas , so a bit of research might be well spent there!