University of Bristol vs University of the West of England

[Janus]

Daughter has got herself into a bit of a state trying to decide! She hasn’t had an offer yet from university of Bristol but she should get it via a contextual offer. She’s also got predicted grades for their full requirements anyway. Waiting to hear.
She’s now worried she won’t ‘fit in’ if she does get an offer from UOB. She goes to the local comp, we are a bit left wing and she’s worried that most of the other students will be from private schools and she won’t fit in or have much in common. She wants to do Sociology so I’ve said the people on her course would probably be the people she’d get on with. She’s worried about who would be in her accommodation.
It’s all a bit daft to me, tried saying I’m sure everyone will be nice and she will be fine, she’s got friends that are all over the place socially and politically and she gets on with it.
I think it’s all come from how awful it is at the moment, we’ve not even seen any of the unis she’s applied for and although Bristol is top of her list she hasn’t even been to Bristol! I’m not surprised she’s having a wobble.
Does anyone have children at either uni that can tell me how theirs is getting on and what they may like about it or dislike about it please??

My comp educated, ‘on full loan’ Dc is at Bristol. Loves the city, was impressed by the course, BUT has had not 10 mins of face to face tuition since starting.

@StockingBlue unfortunately I think that's been v common everywhere this year. DD is 'lucky' as has some stuff in person, but that's only because it's hard to learn how to handle a sheep via zoom. Fingers crossed it all starts to get better v soon.

DC went to a comp in the SW and loads of their friends went to Bristol.
My impression is that some of the halls (like Wills and Churchill) are a bit rah. But the others are ok.
Also Bristol has a reputation for attracting the well heeled who want to be a bit 'edgy'. Can't think why!

I went to Bristol Poly and stayed on in Bristol after finishing the course. It is a fantastic city, something for everyone, stunning views, parkland, the docks, lots of sports (I did rowing) your daughter will love it!

I have 2 dds at Bristol University and they love the city and student life, although at the moment student life isn’t great anywhere due to covid restrictions. There are a high number of privately educated students at Bristol but everyone seems to rub along together really well.

As titch says above 70% at Bristol University are from state schools. I think it is 71.3% (and 20% at sixth form level I believe go to private schools in England so not too different from that percentage really) .

3 of my children went there (2 finished last summer). All loved it. All were in Stoke Bishop in year 1 as wanted catered halls in the first year and liked it there - Wills Hall x 2 and Churchill Hall 1 (which by the way was not shared rooms as far as any I saw when my son was there but I did not see the whole buildings).

Churchill has shared bathrooms. Not bedrooms.

Thank you, I don’t think she’d want catered as she’s actually a good cook and doesn’t eat meat so is used to cooking her own type of food.
I had a really good chat with her last night. I used your stats of 70% coming from state school! Also banged on about how diverse her friendship group is here and how much she values them. Also my eldest is at uni and lives with a Piers Morgan loving Tory and they’ve had a great friendship and some great late night chats! How boring if we were all the same! She’s given her head a wobble I think and now seems much calmer and sent off an email to admissions to chase up her application.
I’m so excited for her, whichever one she goes to I’m sure she’s going to love Bristol.
Thanks for all your help with halls etc, I shall come back to this when trying to choose. You’ve all been so much help.

Bristol is a great student city as everyone else has said. So much to do at the uni and in the City and a good mix of people there. Great uni too. A good self catering hall in Clifton is Goldney - it’s very popular (but if you don’t apply you definitely won’t get it!). Well located, lovely grounds and facilities, great mix of people and you can walk everywhere - to uni and into the City, as well as taking advantage of the free bus to Stoke Bishop if you have friends there. Flats are of about 8 and both the communal space within each flat and bedroom size are good. Wherever she ends up she will have a good time if she goes with the right attitude, gives everyone a chance and makes the most of opportunities - that’s what I told my DSs when they went off to uni. Good luck!

I have to say I find it really sad that there seems to be this anti private school kid vibe from many state school kids who have never met any and have yet to realise they are just like normal kids everywhere!

Ah yes well we never needed en suites in our family of 5 children (my twins even shared a bedroom at home until they were 18)..... In Churchill hall my son and one other boy shared the shower room directly next to my son's room so fewer people sharing it than the bathroom at home and that was in the block of Churchill they call "Shanty" (as in Shanty town), he loved it despite the name.....

Ah well you see my princess is spending some days with her arm up a cows bum or covered in some variety of blood so she wanted easy access to a shower at all times. Think her flatmates are v glad she has one as she sometimes stinks.

@SeasonFinale

I have to say I find it really sad that there seems to be this anti private school kid vibe from many state school kids who have never met any and have yet to realise they are just like normal kids everywhere!

I don't read it as anti at all; rather a wariness that a place isn't for them. And there must be some nugget of justification there because universities themselves say they want to become more diverse. DD went to Durham and Bristol has nothing on the poshness of that place! It's been in the news in the past 6 months for some of the more horrible attitudes some of its students have towards state educated students - particularly those with (shock) accents. Also reported in Metro and elsewhere, but DD says this isn't an exaggerated story. www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/19/students-from-northern-england-facing-toxic-attitude-at-durham-university

If over 70% of children at Bristol U are state shcoolers then surely you would expect the private schoolers to be the ones worried it is not the place for them not vice versa!

scntedgeranium - a place isn't for them because they only form 70% of the student population??

I'm just saying I've seen no venom from state towards private as stated. But I have seen reasons why state (see the case of Durham) may be wary. It's a real shame don't you agree?

This however is a thread about Bristol which is predominantly state school kids (70%) and where a child has some preconceived notion that she won't fit in because there will be private school kids there. I can only assume she has not had much experience of meeting any private school kids who are predominantly normal and just like her!

@SeasonFinale

This however is a thread about Bristol which is predominantly state school kids (70%) and where a child has some preconceived notion that she won't fit in because there will be private school kids there. I can only assume she has not had much experience of meeting any private school kids who are predominantly normal and just like her!

Yes and it's important to understand why this is the case. I assume the student hasn't had the opportunity to mix with the 7 per cent or whatever it is now. It's quite easy to see how that could be the case. My DC despite being comp educated had that mix because of their very mc upbringing (county orchestras, family friends who chose the paid route etc) and the fact their own parents had attended naice universities. But I wouldn't ever dream of assuming that every comprehensive student has had that opportunity. Can you not understand that?

I can understand that she may not have mixed with someone who was privately educated but I do fail to understand why she believes she won't fit in when the student population is predominantly made up of kids educated in the state sector - exactly the same as her.

It does show that there are misconceived prejudices from both sectors towards each other. Hence my original comment: "I have to say I find it really sad that there seems to be this anti private school kid vibe from many state school kids who have never met any and have yet to realise they are just like normal kids everywhere!"

It’s probably not comparable but I’m a mature student studying social sciences at UoB. I’m a single parent to 3 and in my 30s, I fit in fine! Obviously it’s different this year and it’s not like I’ve made tonnes of friends but the kids who I work with on group projects are great, I’m happy to chat to them, they’re lovely open people (for the most part!).

The university are super supportive too and are also very well funded for those who come from less well off backgrounds!! Even during online learning they’ve created a very cosy atmosphere within the department, I would completely recommend it.

I went to Bristol in the 80s and taught at UWE until recently. UWE has moved rapidly up the league tables and is now an excellent Uni. However, UWE is much bigger than Bristol and group sizes are therefore much larger. I taught in a business module that had 700+ students, at Bristol module cohorts are less than 200 mostly.

Bristol was full of public school students in the 80s but has taken great strides to be more diverse. Personally, I would opt for Bristol over UWE, it's actually in Bristol rather than out at Frenchay for one and its reputation and corresponding cudos are still evident.

There are left and right wing students at all universities and public school educated students likewise too.

I think it's about 7 or 8% private school in the UK but 16% or up to 20% at age 16 plus. So 71% state school at Bristol v say 20% sixth formers private schools is not that much out of sync particularly once you feed in that children who do very well at school probably have parents more likely to pay fees accounting for the 10% difference.

Bristol will look better on a CV than UWE but for some jobs it won't matter.

All students should go to the best university they can. I find this attitude towards young people from private schools bewildering. Why would you think they will be utterly different? Especially if you don’t know any of them?

Interesting that the state pupils want Goldney. The most over subscribed hall! The private school dc take the cheapest! Wills and Churchill are more formal and catered. Shared bathrooms in the old quad at Wills. Boarding kids have done all of that so it’s no sweat! Kids straight from home are wary and have the money for very expensive halls. Something of a paradox!

The Union was never very strong at Bristol and DD wasn’t left wing. You find your tribe though. A friend who went to Eton did Sociology at Bristol but students should be open to all discussion and points of view!

UWE is very different. Certainly not as good for engineering and related subjects. Much easier to get in and not as valuable regarding employment prospects. Although I have to say sociology is a bit of a problem area for employment.

@PresentingPercy you gave me a little chuckle there. You start with wondering why state think private are different and then give a massive generalisation about who applies to what halls. Our state school has had kids at Wills, Churchill, Goldney, Hiayatt Baker, in fact at most of the halls in Bristol - there are loads of new ones going up too. They chose them because they liked the look of them or wanted catered/self catered, not because they went to a particular school.
And why are some state kids worried about private schools ones ? Read what has happened in Durham where students are mocked for their regional accents. Kids see that and also make generalisations. Once at Uni they realise most students want the same things, to make friends and have a laugh (& maybe learn something).

My daughter went to UWE and loved Bristol so much she stayed on. She didn’t want to stay in halls and after looking at several dire flats we found her a studio flat in Clifton that was £20 less than halls had a fantastic view across Bristol and had a large sitting and dining room, separate tiny kitchen and bathroom with a washing machine. She was there two years ( with her boyfriend which we didn’t know was happening ) and when some of her friends came down she house shared in Bishopton, Horesfield and Gloucester Road.
Her boyfriend applied for the army but didn’t get in due to health. He went for an access course then applied to Bristol as his sister had been there and UWE. Bristol didn’t want to take him because of the access course and some of his A levels hadn’t been as good because he dropped out of school after changing schools and not settling. However he came out of UWE with a very good first and went straight into a job with a local Law firm.
Bristol is a very diverse city ( we had never been there before) and they loved living there.
There is a Vegan Festival, a Balloon Festival and lots of others like Street Art which she will love. DD was a veggie but changed to Vegan after visiting a market stall by the canal. The central market is great and there are lots of Veggie and Vegan dishes in most of the cafes and restaurants. DD was studying and working at Spike Island after Uni and working on Gloucester Road but they have now gone travelling. It is a shame they can’t visit as I think that helps. DD applied to Bath and Cheltenham and gained a place but UWE Bristol was where she wanted to be and even more so after her interviews. She had a great time at Bower Aston and has kept in touch with lots of people from her own course and from others she met down there.

The only draw back was that we live in the north so it was a 5 hr minimum journey. We stayed at the Avon Gorge a few times it has great views and the food was good. We loved Clifton and Gloucester Rd.
I hope she enjoys it as much as DD did.