Southampton/ Leeds/Bristol/Bath/ Loughborough recent views and experiences?

[Lara53]

Hello,

DS1 is applying to uni to start in 2021. These are the Unis he is interested in. Obviously we can’t attend Open Days so looking for any recent input on accommodation, campus, area etc

I think, and others might disagree, but you get a more student friendly experience by going into a hall actually run by the university as opposed to a private hall run by a business. Different ethos. Often the older more rough and ready halls are the ones to consider and they are often uni owned and run.

DD's Unite Students hall of residence at Birmingham (newly opened for 2019) seems to have been pretty well run. It's a shame that she only got to spend 6 months there.

YouTube is a good place to look for accommodation / room / campus tours for various universities. I saw one this morning where the lad ranked the five halls he looked at at Leeds on his opinion of the bathrooms. He awarded first place to Charles Morris and second place to Henry Price, but only because of the 'Jack and Jill' arrangement there (DD really liked that one when we looked around).

@YinuCeatleAyru

what subject?

Southampton Bath and Loughborough all have a very similar ambience. nice, friendly, contained campuses. strong community vibe
Bristol and Leeds have a different feel. more urban, less open space. taking their partying way more seriously (pre lockdown)

Computer Science 👍

@PurBal

I think Bristol Uni and UWE have different vibes too so depends which one you mean. I know people who loved, and loathed, the ones you mentioned...

Bristol Uni not UWE 👍

@Piggywaspushed

Bath is obviously a glorious city and the uni is on a good campus. Very very sporty. As is Loughborough. Is your DS into sport? Both attract elite sportspeople.

Bath uni is at the top of a HUGE hill, which is not much fun after a night out/with shopping.

Thank you! Yes DS is sporty. Plays 1st team rugby and football

@Eve

DS1 is at Loughborough and thriving. He’s not into sport in a big way, (does a bit of climbing for fun ) and it’s not an impact on him, plenty of other activities.

The town is quiet though, not a lot of nightlife, they will go to Nottingham for a night out.

DS does engineering, good employer connections, lots of career support & DS needs additional support for dyslexia which has been excellent.

Interesting. Thank you. DS really likes the look of the Comp Sci course there

DH and I both studied at Southampton in the 90’s so I’m very biased towards it!! Has changed a helluva lot since then. From a purely selfish point of view it’s only about an hour from home too 👍

@BillieEilish

Oh take no notice of me! I went when RG was the be all and end all! Now I realise it is a big marker of a good uni, but not the only thing, of course. We do need to be careful of that.

Leeds I just don't fancy. I think Birmingham has a much greater reputation, if heading up North, but I was sticking nearer my family I suppose. It is purely subjective opinion. Also depends on where OP lives.

Also I never knew anyone who went to Leeds so have no idea.

Bath though, as my Goddaughter's opinion is fairly relevant (as has just got into uni this year), was never considered 'academic' enough. In my day too... don't know why. Probably the RG thing.

It really depends on subject. I'm really interested in this too because it'll be my DD in a few years.

DS will need A* AA for Comp Sci at Bath

@Lara53, we probably know each other! I was in Connaught Hall

I visited Bath/Loughborough/Southampton with ds and he did Bristol alone. He’s just finished 1st year, but these weren’t his 1st choices. Loughborough was his reserve choice (this is to give you context on timing). We were looking at engineering.

Bristol he was v enthusiastic about the course, but really didn’t take to the university and the whole feel of the place. Southampton was just a bit odd - very run down area (it used to be the big city to shop in when I was a teen and I was surprised how run down it was) and the university lecturer who spoke seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder about it not being top 10. I’m surprised he was the best choice to try and sell the course, but anyway that put ds off totally. Bath and Loughborough he really liked the contained campus and I think was happy with the idea of all his life happening on campus, but obviously that’s not for everyone. From a parental point of view Bath is far nicer to visit than Loughborough.

Oh!! I was in Glen Eyre, but a couple of friends were in Connaught. I left in 97

I have one dc at Leeds and one at Bath. Both unis (and cities) have a very different feel - my dc have very different personalities so both had different requirements. My Ds at Bath is not sporty at all but I would say it has a sporty rep only second to Loughborough.

I know OP’s Ds is not applying for MFL but I would disagree that it’s not good for languages. Know someone who specifically chose it for their masters.

I really liked Southampton too, if it had been my choice I would have chosen it over Bath.

Bristol obviously has a great reputation in general, but did not think the city would suit Ds as he was not very streetwise at that stage. He did have an offer from there though.

As all the unis under consideration are good but very different in terms of their environment your Ds probably needs to think about what sort of place he wants to spend a few years living in, big/small city, city centre or campus

To add, in terms of accommodation, halls cost around the same in both places but once they move out to private houses, Bath is a lot more expensive than Leeds (like 50% more) if that is a consideration

So, very sporty + comp sci = Bath!

My twins have just finished at Bristol and had really good experiences (as did their older sister who also went there). I would recommend it most of those on the list.

Everyone chooses on different bases however - some will pick a university based on the bathrooms or how close to home or campus or not, others on how difficult to get in in terms of A levels - harder the better and which ones the higher paid jobs tend to recruit from which tends to be our family - simply because are a kind of lawyer/doctor type family where that sort of thing i.e. pay (!!!!!) is quite important because we like to buy houses, pay school fees etc. I am not saying you cannot buy a house in your 20s if you go to London Met ex polytechnic but certainly institutions make it a bit easier (and subjects).

Employers try to recuirt broadly so they can get the best of the best bot those like law which want people with AAB or higher A levels tend to recruit from the universities where people have higher A level results although some are trying to recruit institution blind (so you had better be good at psychometric tests instead I suppose....) This is quite a good list of universities where lawyers went (recently) and I expect it would be similar to other high paid city type jobs too. www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities-2019

Of these my order would be

Bristol
Bath
Leeds

Not sure about the others.

BillieEilish that particular lobby group did a good sell on you, then.

I was at LSE a few years before it joined together with its friends for coffee at the Hotel Russell (were they to be starting out today, it would be the Kimpton Fitzroy London Group, of course, rather less snappy). I enjoyed my time there, but in the interim, the degree pathway that many of us took (BSc(Econ) individual specialism) has gone, my old - admittedly one of the smallest - department subsumed into something else, but at least one of the things that I found annoying over three decades ago still pops up occasionally on TSR as a moan. Not sure how much of any of that can be laid at the RG branding's door, of course. But it is to a certain extent branding and, as others have pointed out, doesn't necessarily make for the best course in a given area or, more I.importantly, the best place for an individual student.

Leeds has a very good rep for engineering - although you haven’t said what sort. It is also good for sport. DD2 has just spent 4 years there and really enjoyed it. I think the campus and the student union are very good. Very close to the city centre but feels like you are on a nice campus. Most 2nd, 3rd & 4th years live round Hyde Park (5-10 mins walk) which is a bit rough (and full of graffiti) but DD liked it.
Visited Bath with DD1. Liked the campus but quite far out and most 2nd and 3rd years need to get a bus to uni from what we were told.

Sorry Op - for some reason I had thought you were looking at engineering, hence my last post!

Ha ha very interesting marchingfrogs re LSE!

This is the exact list of unis I visited with DC last year. For the course, all had same entry requirements so it came down to two things. The first was course content, which will obviously down to the subject, future career choices, year in industry or abroad etc. The second was which uni and location was the best fit for the time you will spend there- in our case four years studying plus possibly a year in industry or abroad, so a five year commitment.

DS liked Loughborough but felt he would outgrow the campus/small town vibe if staying there longer than 3 years. It was very friendly and lots of social stuff is based around the halls - you can remain part of the your Hall even after moving out, which was a plus. And having to travel to Nottingham to see bands etc was a downside.

Bath ticked the academic boxes but he was resistant to commuting up that hill every day, as the 2nd year onward student housing area Oldfield Park is quite a way out. And having to travel to Bristol to see bands etc.

Bristol - just didn’t vibe with it at all.

Southampton was dull, no personality.

Leeds ticked all the boxes - city centre but on a campus, lots going on, can live within walking distance, loads of music, sport etc. Oddly enough the open day was a bit meh, but he went back for offer holders day, did his research, and can’t wait to get there.

Southampton is on the edge of the city, more studious vibes than some, Loughborough is campus based, Loughborough it's self is very tiny, doesn't suit party animals or shopaholics. Don't know about the others but I like Bristol as a city

Bath isn’t great for MFL undergrad. Limited choice of courses. Not that this matters if we are talking about computer science!

I don’t think you have to be streetwise as Bristol. Just normal I think! It’s not much different to any uk city and the university area is very genteel! And a very attractive place to live. Many students don’t bother with the city centre much. No need to. Clifton is far nicer!

@Piggywaspushed Bath has a superb reputation for economics, finance, business type subjects. probably why they want A*AA for economics.

Certainly!

Leeds I just don't fancy. I think Birmingham has a much greater reputation, if heading up North

Birmingham "up North" ????
I hope it isn't to study Geography