Queen's university Belfast

[Linneasweet]

Hi all, my daughter is in yr 12 and really like the look of Queens university in Belfast. We live in London. It seems and looks lovely and has the course she would due for and grades are achievable. Could someone please give me some feedback of it? Also, her grandad have unfortunately scared her half to death talking about the England -Ireland struggles and she's now a bit worried whether she would be a outcast being English. We never been in Belfast and no one there so would be great to hear some opinions! Many thanks!

I graduated from QUB and had a great experience, Belfast is such a great place to be as a student and if my dd wasn't so keen to stay at home I'd definitely encourage her to consider it. No issues at all with being English, the Northern Irish are extremely friendly and NI is fairly cheap to live (although from what I've heard the new student accommodation is pricey).

No issues at all with being English. Your DD will be welcomed.
New student halls all renovated and nice.
COVID permitting, get a flight (short and cheap) and visit for weekend?
Fly into city though BHD, not International BFS as transport into city is quicker and cheaper.

QUB graduate here. Great university, brilliant night life (normally!). Everyone very friendly and teaching excllent. The English accent really really won’t be an issue, people in NI are just looking for a bit of craic

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4103325-Isnt-it-lovely-when-someone-does-something-so-right

This is the type of people you find in Belfast, an entire bus full of people happy to go out of their way to help this day see her mum.

I went there over 25 years ago and even at that stage none of the English students that I knew reported any hostility and I'd guess there are probably more of them now than there were then (no cheap flights in those days). It's a friendly city.

I’m from NI originally and a lot of my school friends went to QUB (back in the day!) It’s a very well regarded university for many subjects and the university area in Belfast is lovely, in quite a vibrant part of the city with lots of great places to eat and quirky shops. Student accommodation is among the cheapest in the UK and is generally of a high standard. @cactusisblooming is right, NI folk are generally very friendly and the university is fairly international, so anti-English feelings are rare. My DD applied to QUB and was offered a huge discount for her accommodation in her first year, probably because English students pay higher fees than NI students so are sought after. In my day, a lot of QUB students went home at the weekend, but I’m not sure if that is the case so much any more. What subject has your dd applied for?

I went to QUB and there was only a handful of people from outside NI on my course, but I graduated ten years ago. I would love to see if the proportion of non-NI students has increased.

I wouldn't worry about the English thing. I'm married to an Englishman, he's never had any comment passed. And if some idiot did say something in the SU when half cut, well it's an easy way to filter out the arseholes.

What I would caution about is that because most of the student population is from NI, a lot of them will go "home" not just during the holidays but also at weekends. Some can stay quite insular as you'll find whole friend groups from secondary school going to either QUB or Ulster. If she's really outgoing and makes friends easily that shouldn't be too much of an issue, but my experience was that it wasn't really the university-melting pot that my mates who went away to England or Scotland benefited from.

I had a great time at Queens and love Belfast (note how the Englishman lives here rather than England ) but the social scene would be my main concern saying she can't nip home as often as her prospective mates.

NI students get charged lower fees, I think it's to try to encourage them to stay in N Ireland. But because of that there is a cap on numbers for local students so they have to get higher grades to get into the same course, compared with students from the rest of the UK. There was a big news story about it a few months ago. It's all a bit complicated.

Queens is excellent. English students are welcomed with open arms. Don’t hesitate to apply.

Hi,

Queens is a great University!

There wouldn't be any issues at all with her being English. The University has become more and more popular with students from Scotland, England and Wales over the past few years. It's not a huge campus so it's easy to get to know other students, and make friends.

Belfast is a really friendly City! Living costs are so low compared to other University cities. The new accommodation seems quite pricey, but it's very modern and probably in line with accommodation at Universities in England. There are slightly cheaper options.

Airports are close by too, so easy access to fly over too.

The nightlife is (in normal times!) great! I lived in Belfast as a student and I loved it, and it's only gotten better over the years! I love getting back to visit!

Here to agree with everything said upthread. Well-esteemed university, lots of local students (many of which go “home” regularly due to short distances and many drivers). Small, friendly, cheap city with quick access to coast and mourne mountains. Again a lot of my school friends who went to queens stayed in (and married) within their school friendship groups, also made friends at Uni, but could feel a bit harder to integrate unless you’re outgoing, if it feels like a lot of people already know each other.

I would say though that unless you are doing medicine or dentistry then the vast majority of students will be from NI. As another poster pointed out, numbers in NI are capped whereas they aren't in England so entry requirements are over inflated. On an international scale NI seems to be the cousin that everyone forgets so lots of people haven't heard of QUB, despite it being an RG uni.

Can only echo positive stories above.

English DSS (indie educated with public school accent so very definitely unmistakably English) went as his insurance offer and had a great time. Lovely friendly place.. Great city and the bonus of the cheapest student accommodation in the UK.

DS2 is there at present, currently in year out in industry. He spent his first two years in halls, although preferred studio flat for second year as he loves to cook and wanted more fridge/cupboard space 😂. His flat mates in first year were a mix of NI and International students, only downside was a lot of NI students go home at weekends. Teaching and facilities are great, he's studying EEE. Has two years left as on Meng course. Currently living out in flat with his NI girlfriend. It is very economical to live and the nightlife, pre Covid, is great apparently. He loves it and we wouldn't be surprised if he moves back there after he's settled in work and travelled a bit later in his life. We're from the South Coast but he never picked up my yokel accent so is regarded as posh as he speaks well, he laughs it off as that's very far from the case.

Forgot to say it's a Russell Group Uni and very well respected for teaching and student satisfaction.

Thank you all! You have totally helped us, and quiet down her grandad! She wants to study criminology and social policy. Even though she's not exactly the most outgoing person and will not be going back to London more than at the main holidays it seems to a good fit, we will definitely visit when cv19 calmed down or if all online: just go there for a few days holiday to look around Belfast, it sounds lovely!

@Linneasweet if you can add on a day and make sure to visit the north coast - such beautiful scenery it would be a shame to miss it when you’re so close (bushmills, Bally castle, Portstewart, Portrush) you could even fit in Giants Causeway and Dark Hedges (Game of Thrones) tour