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 was also a bit at the notion that Birmingham is "up north"!

I suppose if you live on the south coast anywhere is "north".

From where I am from in Newcastle Leeds and Birmingham are both South.... although classically Birmingham is Midlands and Leeds North.

Leeds was on a Tatler list of suitable and reasonably academic universities a while ago and Birmingham was not if that counts for anything with people! Probably just as valid as choosing a university based on quality of its bathrooms.

I said 'heading up North' ffs, having already established I was at university in Southampton.

I stated it was an opinion and depended on where OP lived.

As it happens, she also went to Southampton and lives down south.

Such sarcastic posts. Not helping anyone at all.

Thanks Xenia for perspective.

Birmingham has clearly been taken over by Leeds, but this was not so 15 years ago/recent past. The same for all universities, reputations come and go. As everyone knows.

It's all relative. I grew up in Glasgow. 'Down South' was basically England!

Leeds was on a Tatler list of suitable and reasonably academic universities a while ago and Birmingham was not if that counts for anything with people! Probably just as valid as choosing a university based on quality of its bathrooms.

Dear God, I hope not and Yes, respectively.
(The bathrooms thing was almost certainly entirely frivolous, btw).

Quite a nice one for Bristol here (must show it to DS1, as 'his' building is featured, if only in passing).

I loved Bath because of the contained campus which felt safe and had a community focus. I never lived on campus but I think the older accommodation is not up to much. There is more 'swish' accommodation off-campus but of course it's more expensive. The buses are rubbish and you'll get tired of the enormous hill and the micro-climate where it can be sunny in town and raining on campus. But I loved it so much I moved back here and then did a Masters and a PhD. I'm sure I read somewhere Bath recently scored highly on a student satisfaction survey. It also comes high up on employability markers.

Personally I didn't like Bristol when I visited. I found it snooty - and I come from a private school. Can't comment on the others.

@bathsh3ba There is plenty of swish accommodation on campus too!

How can every single student at Bristol be snooty? How can anyone think this just from a single visit? In comparison to Oxbridge? And Bath isn’t snooty? Really? How did you reach this conclusion? Did you meet every student? Honestly. Just say somewhere isn’t for you instead of having a go at 19,000 Bristol undergrads whom you didn’t meet.

My eldest just left Birmingham and youngest is at Leeds. They are not hugely different but here are my opinions of both:

Birmingham: positives are it is a big, vibrant, diverse city in a part of England that is easy to get to from anywhere. Your children will learn how to cope with big city issues, without being too overwhelmed (most live in Selly Oak which is students as far as the eye can see). Yes, it can be rough, but imo it isn't bad for students to experience this. It made my DD more streetwise. Great student body, lots going on, great sports opportunities, easy to get involved in anything you like. You feel the uni is a well oiled machine. My DD loved it and as an overall student experience it was all she could have wanted.

Negatives: Uni of B is good but in our case I'd say the tuition was pretty average. Lots of striking and unhappy professors. I realise this is the case for most unis, but once corona appeared the online learning was next to nil. DD tried to talk to the careers centre for advice; she had to wait weeks, and then the person told her she didn't really know what she was doing. ie undertrained, understaffed and underpaid. These things have a knock on effect on the students. Probably not the case if you are studying medicine or some more vocational course, but I don't know. And yet they are the richest uni in the UK after Ox and Cam I think, and find plenty of money to put up buildings (my personal bugbear).

Leeds:
Positives - such a great town. Smaller than Birmingham by a long way, so feels more manageable if your children are less adventurous. People are super friendly. My DD had halls in Headingley which is a lovely part of town. She told me she literally never saw an adult, or talked to an adult. Every pub is full of students, every shop, etc. This suited her down to the ground. She walks everywhere, which I was happy about. Because there are so many students it feels super safe. 2nd year she will be in a rougher part of town, so may have a different view next year. The tuition seems great at the moment but, as with Brum, once Corona appeared there was next to no online teaching, and they passed her whole cohort with no exams. She is on a very competitive course as well, so I am worried about her not really being prepared for 2nd year.

All in all I am really happy with both the unis my children went to. My one caveat is that modern universities seem to do more to close their minds intellectually, than open them. They both seem to have learnt that there some subjects can't be discussed in case someone says something that is unacceptable (ie unwoke). It's very depressing to me, but they think I'm the one with the problem. Not sure you can escape this mindset anywhere though.

It's very depressing to me, but they think I'm the one with the problem. Not sure you can escape this mindset anywhere though.

Quite.
Philip Collins on the Cancel Culture.
links.info2.news.co.uk/ctt?ms=OTkyMjUyNwS2&kn=31&r=MTU3OTkxMjgyMzgS1&b=0&j=MTU1MjE2MzE3NAS2&mt=1&rt=0
Not a cheering read.

I studied at Bath and now work there, and I love it! The campus is one of the safest in the UK and there is a real sense of community. I think that different Universities suit different people, but for me Bath was absolutely the right choice. It isn't a RG University because it doesn't have a Medical School, but it consistently ranks highly and has just received a great score for student satisfaction in the NSS results out this week. It has a superb reputation for Computer Science and excellent links with industry.

Leeds we have been to. Leeds is self contained and to the west of the city centre. its about 10 mins walk away to the nearest large supermarket of morrisons. Its got 3 clubs in the student union on site which is great and lots of clubs in leeds itself. We visited Central Village which is nice, but over subscribed. Lyddon hall we also saw and henry price. the accommodation is pretty good, but its just for first years. I chatted to students and its not known that 2nd years onwards stay in halls. Woodhouse is not bad and Headlingley but hyde park has a bit of crime with burglary. My dad used to work in leeds and knew the areas. But you are going to get a bit of crime no matter what student area you go to. just got to be smart by keeping doors locked and windows. Leeds refectory is really nice. its such a huge space that thers plenty of space to sit and eat. We also ate at the edit room and had a snack there and thats good for instagram with all the different light bulbs. The librarys are the best ive seen at Leeds and the physics dept is enormous and we also ate at the physics coffee shop, again a nice place. I think if you want a hip, city uni with lots of nightlife, Leeds is your go to place. I would recommend visiting. We actually went for a walkaround before the open day, and then back on the open day itself a few months later. So worth a visit even if the open day is on line :)

above message on the photos, one on the left is physics building, second one is inside the refectory and 3rd one is just outside the students union at leeds