What are Leeds, York, Notts, Newcastle & Birmingham Universities and cities like? No open days = no clue!

[Notdonna]

DD yr12 and all open days cancelled. We haven’t done much UK travel and don’t know the cities at all that DD has on her list. So if anyone has an insight to Birmingham, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Nottingham - the cities and their unis it’d be very much appreciated. Huge thanks!

[bimkom]

@mumneedwine - thanks, that is useful - although unfortunately the chances of interviews in the crypt are remote - they were pretty clear at the open day that it was odds on for online interviews - which means that even if we get to interview stage, we won't get to see the place unless we make a separate trip (and are allowed to make a separate trip). Didn't realise there was no patient contact in Year 1. Does it mean it is more of a traditional course than the one your DD chose? He is quite keen on early patient contact, and I think he thought that an integrated course would give that.

[mumsneedwine]

@bimkom do check as things change really quickly. But the course didn't give patient contact in year 1 - 3 years ago. After that there was a lot. And I thought they might do online interviews, so assume not going to be MMIs. It is a fantastic city. I'd never been until the open day and I loved it - loads of regeneration and people are so friendly.
DD is at Notts but also liked Sheffield, where they get lots of early contact. DD has been in wards every term to back up her theory and has also had 12 GP days which she has gained so much from as they let her get really hands on.

[bimkom]

Thanks @mumneedswine. what was your DD's fourth choice? Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield and ? . Currently he is definitely thinking of Liverpool and (UCAT permitting) Sheffield. Nottingham is definitely on the radar though, along with Birmingham and Bristol. He has thought about Newcastle also. That is all assuming the UCAT goes OK. Really likes the sound of Leeds, but that means sitting the BMAT, so the current thought is not to bother if the UCAT goes OK, and he has a reasonable chance of the others.

[mumsneedwine]

@bimkom Southampton was number 4. She didn't like Bristol (her little sis is hopefully off there soon so not a family trait), Birmingham wanted an A* (but now their contextual list is huge). Her friend went to Leeds to do another subject and loves it. DD was not doing BMAT after the torture of UCAT 😊.

[SabrinaThwaite]

@bimkom Have you had a look at Dundee for medicine? Friend’s DS went there as you get a lot of patient interaction from the beginning and that was what appealed to him.

[bimkom]

@sabrinaThwaite Thanks, although at the moment he is not looking at Scotland as just too far. Also we gather Scottish universities are not keen on deferrals, and DS is hoping for a deferred place
@mumneedswine - Birmingham have dropped their requirement for that A*. The problem with Birmingham is that they require English literature to be one of the GCSE scores they count, which means (as he only got a 7 in English literature), he is two marks behind others, and needs to do that bit better in the UCAT to get an interview (while Liverpool take the best nine, and while they include English language as a required one of them, along with maths/science, they do not require English literature, so he would get full GCSE marks there). And while the contextual list at Birmingham is huge, DS's comprehensive was not on it last time we looked (although it was on Bristol's - go figure). On the other hand, he does really like the look of Birmingham, from what little he knows - so we are dithering whether to put it as his "stretch", or go for somewhere he has a better chance of, like Nottingham (where again I don't think he has an English literature problem).

[bimkom]

@mumneedswine - can you tell us about Nottingham? The couple of people who went to Nottingham that he knows, he didn't particularly like, but I do keep telling him that the random couple of people he knows shouldn't necessarily put him off a university.

[Piggywaspushed]

Nottingham University is literally next to the Queen's Medical Centre (not sure if it's been renamed recently) which is a huge teaching hospital.

Nottingham City itself is vibrant and really very attractive in places with a bustling and youthful city centre. The campus is in lovely grounds. Because there are two popular and large universities it is very studenty with huge housing stock, and fantastic public transport.

I can't see what's not to like with Nottingham , to be honest.

[hellsbells99]

Bimkom I think Liverpool start patient contact in year 2. DD went to Liverpool (not medicine) and had a great time. She graduated last year and would at some stage, like to move back to Liverpool. She says it is just so friendly. She still goes back for visits.

[BackforGood]

I'd agree with Piggy's description of Nottingham.
The course dd was looking at was in the Med School there.
I really liked it as a City, as a campus and the overall vibe.
dd, OTOH, said "nothing wrong with it, it just didn't 'grab' me like the others"

• sorry, not overly helpful

[mumsneedwine]

@bimkom sorry was trying to sort out my very over grown garden. DD chose Nottingham as liked the campus, city and course. She has just finished 2nd year and now has a term doing a dissertation that counts towards the other degree they get (can never remember what it is, something biomedical and counts towards points for F1). She wanted full body dissection, which she has found invaluable - they not only see their person but the other 11 in the lab and can see how things look different each time. She has enjoyed placements at Royal Derby and QMC and her GP sounds amazing for experience. And she likes the medical school being in the hospital, over the road from the beautiful campus. DD is a comprehensive educated, very normal person. She has met all sorts from all backgrounds and has found her friends, through societies and the course. And she loves the nightlife in Nottingham. Club nights and great pubs that run special student nights as well as medic nights. Med rounds sounds bonkers (v large pub crawl of all medics, vets, nurses etc).
And it's cheap. Her rent, 7 minutes walk to the new school, is £75 a week.
Sure she'd have been happy at any of them but she is very happy at Notts.

[cantkeepawayforever]

All very interesting....DD (Y12, thinking of architecture) is very drawn to Nottingham as a course and has done various online lectures etc from there so it has been really helpful to read all the different opinions here.

Sheffield also seems to be featuring at the moment....

[My0My]

Sheffield is consistently ranked above Nottingham for architecture. It’s one of the best universities for architecture along with Bath, UCL and Cambridge in England.

[cantkeepawayforever]

DD is attracted by the architecture and environmental design course at Nottingham....

[My0My]

Does Environmrntal Design lead to being a Landscape Architect? Or is it some form of environmental engineering (usually undertaken by Civil Engjneers)? What institution is accrediting the course? I would make sure it leads to Chartered qualifications after graduation. Or it’s a bit iffy.

[cantkeepawayforever]

www.nottingham.ac.uk/ugstudy/course/Architecture-and-Environmental-Design-MEng

Gives RIBA part I exemption and is also recognised by this lot www.cibse.org/ as a route to chartered engineer status. It's 4 years as a result.

Seems kosher?

[My0My]

A Chartered Building Services Engineer is not really held in quite the same esteem as being a Chartered Civil Engineer in terms of engineering for environmental solutions.

Being a bit blunt, this course is Architecture dressed up as environmental engineering but doesn’t get you qualified for Civil Engineering Chartered status because of that. Its not recognised by ICE. It’s architecture with a narrow focus on a bit of engineering. It means you will know a bit more about the environmental requirements of new buildings but not up to the broader education of a civil engineer. So useful for an architect but not so useful for complex engineering solutions. You cannot be Chartered for both Architecture and BS Engineering very easily, one suspects, as you have to choose a single pathway. So I think I would choose a full Civil Engineering MEng or Architecture. However any engineering is good!

[cantkeepawayforever]

This is another one:

www.sheffield.ac.uk/prospectus/courseDetails.do?id=HK212021 mixing both engineering and architecture. Not too keen on the 'waftier' conceptual / arty end of Architecture courses, hence leaning towards those that have an explicit engineering 'bit', and somewhat put off by Cambridge's History focus, though keen on other aspects of their course.

Thanks for the viewpoints!

[cantkeepawayforever]

[ICE and RIBA accreditation for the Sheffield joint course]

[My0My]

Sheffield is excellent for both but I suspect grads must choose a specific direction. Chartered Architects are never Chartered Engineers as well. (Well someone on MN will know one but it would be a career swap type person). Environmental engineering is obviously now important and civil engineering courses will cover this. Lots of job prospects.

[sammyjoanne]

Im from Notts and the campus at Nottingham Uni is just outside the city. its a very pretty campus and got good tram links and bus links towards the city. City is a good size and its great :) A lot of students tends to live round Lenton which its not bad for student area. My daughter will be studying at Lancaster, but she went to York and Leeds for open day too and hands down, York is better than Leeds. Unless they want to go clubbing loads, then Leeds and Newcastle is your uni. I felt York was more safer in comparison to Leeds. York and Lancaster are both collegiate so that was another thing that was appealing. Out of your list in the title Notts and York are great., but if you want a livelier uni then Leeds and Newcastle is the one. Birmingham and Newcastle cities ive been to at night and they are buzzing.
You can walk round campus still to get a feel for the place, so go to York, spend a couple of hours round there and drive down the A64 which links the two unis, and then spend a couple of hours round leeds :)