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Higher education

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

Original poster

Biochemistry - Warwick, Exeter or Lancaster

73 replies

Delphigirl · 01/05/2021 20:37

Sorry I started this in the wrong section. Will try again!

Need to advise young relative who is at school in uk but lives abroad re uni choices. He has offers for these three unis. Rejected for Ox and imperial. Expects A A A. Hasn’t visited a single uni ever 😱 so am going to take him to Warwick and Lancaster this weekend and will try to get to Exeter next weekend. But I know nothing about biochemistry. Which has best dept? Which do employers prefer? Should I be concerned that Exeter doesn’t have a chemistry undergrad offer? All campus unis so although he may prefer one over the other, he may not. My instinct is that all other things being equal he should go to Warwick (better funded, more prestigious) but is that right?

OP posts:
Original poster
Delphigirl · 03/05/2021 17:15

I def will do - thanks @sammyjoanne

OP posts:
gwilt · 03/05/2021 18:55

Good luck. There's a lot to be said for the feeling of a place when you vist. I had a lovely warm feeling when I first visited mine which never left Smile

PresentingPercy · 03/05/2021 22:09

Exeter campus is like a giant boarding school! We went to a very badly organised open day there years ago and it was full of Ernest parents who had to be asked to leave sessions so prospective students could attend. Helicoptering parents were everywhere. In fact whole families of them. You will have a much better time on your own. DD, from a boarding school, ran a mile. Others love it!

Original poster
Delphigirl · 03/05/2021 23:49

@presentingpercy - yes I don’t think he will go for it. He is at a v smart v English boarding school and has not enjoyed it so I expect he will go and have a look and come back saying “no thanks, been there, done that” but let’s see...!

I remember going to Exeter for an open day with DD and she bumped into so many people she knew from prep school onwards - it was like a massive cocktail party of acquaintances. Also there was a sort of food court set up but instead of pizza and burgers there was artisanal falafel and a bloody macaroon stall!!!
She ran screaming to Sheffield Grin

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BCBG · 04/05/2021 07:48

Same with youngest here - she turned down her Exeter offer in favour of Lancaster simply because after years of private school she said she wanted to get as far away as possible from that world Grin

RampantIvy · 04/05/2021 07:52

Does Exeter have a higher proportion than most universities of privately educated students?

HasaDigaEebowai · 04/05/2021 07:53

Really good that he had a preference. Lancaster has a slightly different set up in that each of the colleges has its own junior common room and bar (which makes for fab campus bar crawls) but then the SU night club is in town (buses run from the underpass) That would be why he couldn’t identify the SU.

pourmeanotherglass · 04/05/2021 08:45

Nice to hear positves about Warwick. DD has firmed Warwick ( for maths) without visiting anywhere, with York as insurance.

Original poster
Delphigirl · 04/05/2021 09:26

@RampantIvy Yes it has one of the highest % private school entries of uk universities.

Ah that makes sense, I will tell him @HasaDigaEebowai, thanks

@pourmeanotherglass one thing I have learnt is that any visit is better than no visit - is there any chance she can go and have a look at Warwick at least, or ideally both Warwick and York? Or is it too late to change if she has already firmed? Even if it doesn’t change her choices it is good to have a proper experience of what she is working so hard towards rather than just an abstract idea from a photo in a website, I think.

OP posts:
Original poster
Delphigirl · 04/05/2021 09:31

This is the 2019 table re highest proportion of private educated by university if anyone is interested. I think those unis not on the table have fewer

Biochemistry - Warwick, Exeter or Lancaster
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MarchingFrogs · 04/05/2021 09:42

I had a niggling feeling that I'd seen something along the lines of Oxford Brookes having a higher percentage of privately educated students than the University of Oxford- but having found the article, it was actually that according to a statistician, in the intake considered, Brookes should have had 9% and had 32%, which was a larger discrepancy between expected and actual than at the University of Oxford (73% and 61% respectively).
www.oxfordstudent.com/2020/02/20/brookes-favours-private-schools/

PresentingPercy · 04/05/2021 10:23

It’s just that Oxford Brooks is the firmer poly of choice for a lot of privately educated dc. Especially for humanities subjects. It’s in a fantastic city and has everything a student could want and very good transport links with London.

Actually DD went to Bristol which also has a high proportion of privately educated dc but what she wanted was a bigger city and the university to be in the city. Less claustrophobic. Sheffield has the same city feel but not so loved by private school pupils.

LoonvanBoon · 04/05/2021 11:10

Just spotted this thread. Don't know anything about the biochemistry side of things, but DT2 visited Warwick on Sunday with DH and also really liked it.

It was apparently very quiet (apart from outside Pret where there was a long queue!) but DT2 liked the layout of the campus, the look of the accommodation blocks and raved about the sports hub. He actually found it less 'bubble like' than he'd imagined because of the proximity of the big shopping centre, with Tesco, Sports Direct etc.

DH was less keen - he's more of a historic cities kind of person, and thought the campus had a bit of a business park vibe - but was still impressed by the open spaces and nature reserve type parts. I was WhatsApped lots of photos of bluebell woods, goslings and a pair of herons Smile.

They went into Leamington Spa afterwards which was quite bustling in places and not unlike Cheltenham, judging by the photos.

pourmeanotherglass, have you and your son ever been to York? I personally think it's a perfect student city and the campus is so close by. It's not far enough away for DTs to have considered it - they actually stayed on the campus while doing NCS a couple of years ago - but DT2 said he preferred Warwick's campus anyway.

Original poster
Delphigirl · 04/05/2021 11:15

Hi @LoonvanBoon, your impression was much like ours! I thought less business park, more like a newer Canadian university or public space. We sat in the open steps place outside the union/rootes and I said to my husband that I felt a bit like I was waiting at the bottom of a ski lift in a Canadian ski resort! Had definite Mont Tremblant landscaping vibes about it but sadly no big hill Grin

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dottiedaisee · 04/05/2021 11:23

Lancaster is a fantastic Yni with a wonderful campus and the halls are absolutely fabulous!My son had a fantastic time there. It is very academic and considered a prestigious Uni to go to .

PresentingPercy · 04/05/2021 14:15

A lot of the universities with privately educated DC are quite close to London and are our top universities. London Dc also do not mind travelling to Durham and St Andrews as they are highly desirable and attract the privately educated too. Plus lots of international stufents are privately educated as the fees are huge - you have to have the money! So destinations are about money and desirability for overseas students.

Newgirls · 04/05/2021 16:08

@Delphigirl

This is the 2019 table re highest proportion of private educated by university if anyone is interested. I think those unis not on the table have fewer
That’s interesting about Royal College of music. I guess it’s all about which parents can pay for endless music lessons... or an emphasis on classical rather than say rock?
RandomMess · 04/05/2021 16:13

Royal college of music - many pupils will have been eligible for bursaries and/or scholarships based on amazing musical talent?

Newgirls · 04/05/2021 16:16

@RandomMess

Royal college of music - many pupils will have been eligible for bursaries and/or scholarships based on amazing musical talent?
Ah yes that makes sense
Etulosba · 05/05/2021 16:33

We sat in the open steps place outside the union/rootes and I said to my husband that I felt a bit like I was waiting at the bottom of a ski lift in a Canadian ski resort! Had definite Mont Tremblant landscaping vibes about it but sadly no big hill grin

I have always thought ski resort too. That's the first time I've ever heard anybody else say the same. I think the white bricks contribute. There used to be a webcam covering that area but it seems to have been removed.

Original poster
Delphigirl · 14/05/2021 16:49

Hi everyone, just thought I would let you know the outcome of this. So he went back to boarding school looked again at the course details, decided that he preferred the course at Warwick to Exeter, realised he really liked Warwick and was excited about going there, and so has firmed Warwick without going to visit Exeter. @presentingpercy from talking to him I think he also decided that the demographic of Exeter was too close to the demographic of his boarding school and wanted something different. Anyway he has made a positive informed choice so I’m really happy for him, as he had been all set to firm Lancaster without visiting any of them and I think that would have been a mistake. Hoorah!
Thanks everyone for yall yoyr input, much appreciated x

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PresentingPercy · 14/05/2021 16:56

@Delphigirl
I am sure he will be happy at Warwick. Decison made!

RandomMess · 14/05/2021 21:42

Great that he's made the decision!

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