Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Exeter or Bristol for Economics??

64 replies

YaWeeGobshite · 07/04/2021 18:17

Hi all, any advice appreciated - DD has offers from both of these and is trying to decide which to opt for. She is going to look at both cities soon, but I thought I’d ask the Mumsnet massive whether one is inherently ‘better’ for Economics than the other? Many thanks

OP posts:
PresentingPercy · 10/04/2021 19:06

I think that’s right. There are some people who would prefer Exeter but go to Bristol and vice versa. We looked round both with DD and Exeter was soon removed from the list. Bristol was firmly on it. School friends flocked to Exeter. It’s very popular.

YaWeeGobshite · 10/04/2021 19:16

Thank you @FoolsAssassin that’s interesting - can I ask what it is about Exeter that you think would suit your ds?

OP posts:
FoolsAssassin · 10/04/2021 19:36

With DS it’s a bit different as familiarity with Exeter will play a role along with the knowledge he could come home easily at weekends so a different situation to most to start with.

But apart from that he hates big cities and has ruled London out completely. Exeter is about the size of that he is comfortable with. It’s a campus university and even if you live in some of the Halls in the centre it’s still pretty quick to get around.

He is very quiet and geeky but ok as long as can find similar. I feel that Exeter would feel a more natural step up for him from where he’s now - Bristol would be a huge culture shock for him I feel and I find it difficult to imagine him there where as he looks at home walking around Exeter.

We will probably go to look at Bristol I think because I am aware I have expectations of how he will react that may be wrong . One of his friends is very similar to him and the year above went last year to look and felt Bristol wasn’t for him (too big and spread out) as did my friend’s DS who again is similar and spent 4 happy years at Exeter.

PresentingPercy · 10/04/2021 20:50

I’m not sure I understand the spread out comment regarding Bristol. The uni resort is in Clifton. Some halls are in Clifton and thousands of students live in Clifton. Shops, bars, entertainment etc can all be found in Clifton. Most students don’t go near other parts of the city except for a night out. If that’s not your thing, don’t go to the Riverside. You only learn in your faculty. You might be allocated an exam room that’s not nearby. Otherwise it really isn’t spread out. But it’s not removed from the city. Clifton is part of the city.

Bristol students tend to live near the university and it’s not remotely like London where students cannot afford to live near UCL or Kings and end up at home of at the end of the Northern Line.

PresentingPercy · 10/04/2021 20:52

Uni resort?? If only. The university ...,

I also think one visit where you can be shown everything isn’t an accurate picture of student life in Bristol. It’s an opinion but not the same as the actual experience.

FoolsAssassin · 10/04/2021 22:57

I think it’s the fact that a lot are in Stoke Bishop Halls for year 1 . Have heard of a number of people who went to look and said about how the accommodation is a long way from where they would be having lectures and discounted on that -really good friend and her DD felt that way and have heard of others say similar.

Personally I don’t see it as very far as grew up in Stoke Bishop by Halls and I know there are buses but the perception of some people is it’s spread out potentially for first year with some of the Halls and that’s their opinion based on their lives at home and what they have seen at other places. Where I live now the DC are in a bubble and Bristol is a bit much for some.

Totally agree you can’t tell from one visit but the reality is one visit on an open day is what most people usually get when looking at a university. And though it has thousands of happy students, like every university it sadly doesn’t suit everyone, my DD’s friend is on a 5 year course and is deeply unhappy there spending as much time back here as she can. I do get it might seem weird for some to hear of people saying it spread out but they are just coming from a different viewpoint and home experience. Be boring if everybody was the same !

PresentingPercy · 10/04/2021 23:31

There are plenty of halls in Clifton though. I do think the DC who choose Stoke Bishop don’t want a campus experience but at least on MN it is worth being very clear that you can live, study and do everything in Clifton if you choose to. The notion that the university is scattered over the city is incorrect. It’s around 10 mins from the bus stop DD used in SB into Clifton. A bit more in traffic. It’s a bit like going to work and then going home in the evening. There’s really little need to live where you study unless you wake up late. Plenty of London students would love a 10-15 minute commute. It seems odd to reject a top class university on the misunderstanding about where all the halls are.

PresentingPercy · 10/04/2021 23:33

If the DD isn’t happy she could perhaps transfer elsewhere. Is this an issue with where she lives? Again, one person doesn’t define a university where thousands are happy and stay there after graduating.

Lessthanaballpark · 10/04/2021 23:40

I have no advice but just wanted to say what a wonderful choice for your DD to have! Two great universities in interesting cities.

Whichever one she picks I’m sure she’ll have a fantastic experience Flowers

Bigfatsquirrel · 10/04/2021 23:59

I have a DC in halls in Clifton. Having a great time. Bristol is a fab student city. Happy to answer any questions.

MarchingFrogs · 11/04/2021 01:10

Most students don’t go near other parts of the city except for a night out

Rather sad, that.

Muchtootall · 11/04/2021 01:30

I agree with the comments that students don’t venture out of Clifton. My DC was in Stoke Bishop in first year and whilst she loved the hall she hated the trek home late at night. So she settled in Clifton in her second year and apart from the City Centre for nightlife I don’t think she has ever been anywhere else or needed to! Of course Covid has exacerbated this but she has appreciated most of her friends being in the same area so she could meet for walks by the Observatory etc.

FoolsAssassin · 11/04/2021 07:26

@PresentingPercy

If the DD isn’t happy she could perhaps transfer elsewhere. Is this an issue with where she lives? Again, one person doesn’t define a university where thousands are happy and stay there after graduating.
Yes of course one person doesn’t define a university where there are thousands of happy students which is exactly what I said in my post previously. She is simply representative of a student who don’t gel with Bristol, of which there are some just are there are some who don’t gel with LSE, Exeter, Durham, York, Cardiff, Bangor, Loughborough , every University.

There isn’t a one size fits all and different places quite obviously suit different people otherwise there wouldn’t be students who drop out of one university after a bit and go on very happily to do the same subject another year in another university very happily. Yes they are a minority and most students will be happy where they are iamoly becausevof the experience they have there.

Too late for the DD in question to switch now really as will be graduating next year and currently she can do a lot from home which has given her a break.

There’s really little need to live where you study unless you wake up late. Plenty of London students would love a 10-15 minute commute. It seems odd to reject a top class university on the misunderstanding about where all the halls are.

London students and what they want aren’t really relevant here though are they? Assumably they would then be perfectly happy doing Stoke Bishop to Clifton bus ride which must be quicker these days as was my trip to school for years and used to take considerably longer than 10 mins , more bus lanes now and not needing to travel peak time as much I guess? And little need to live near where studying skims over those who have a preference to live close to where they study , maybe they feel they will have a lifetime of commuting ahead of them and would like their time as a student to be different ?

There is a wide range of universities and a wide range of different personalities. Delighted that so many students are happy at Bristol but I think if you live in London then you have a daily experience that is very different to someone living where I live and subsequently will potentially react differently looking at different places.. I was really surprised when people were telling me their DC weren’t interested because of the accommodation, but it has happened a fair bit more than once over the years . Just looked back at a recent conversation with the mother of a DC who was is holding an Oxford offer. He wasn’t keen on Bristol as felt the accommodation was ‘sketchy’.

Bristol is a great university where the overwhelming majority of students are extremely happy to the point loads don’t leave the city when they graduate. A minority don’t like it for reasons that are valid for them. I have enough imagination personally to understand that and very much support people making choices that are the right fit them and that what seems odd to some doesn’t to others. I’m not going to mention the costs of private accommodation in Clifton either as I have said what I wanted to and I hope that what I have said will help some who may be read this now and in the future.

argueifnecessary · 11/04/2021 07:42

Bristol is a fine city. I love it but I can really only tell you about Exeter Uni. There are so many positives. The business school itself is amazing, new building, approachable lecturers, great amenities, the halls could be a 2 minute walk away but I would say that it can be a bit cold and business-like in a most boring stereotypical way.
People that commented on the night life being a bit boring - I think if one has good friends then it's never boring. Usually the students go to clubs on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which means they don't really interact with the locals too much.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page