Campus/Collegiate/Smaller Uni ideas

[nacras]

Hi - my anxious DC wants to go to smaller collegiate type uni. Keen on Durham because of collegiate system which makes everything less intimidating. However its 6 hours away. Also liked Bath but doesnt do sugject. Any suggestions of campus type Unis appreciated. Thanks

York and Lancaster are campuses that have a collegiate system.

Kent, UEA and Exeter campus based in small towns though no college system.

what subject does he want to do and whereabouts are you based (in terms of what is too far away)

I don't think York and Lancaster have actual colleges?

Royal Holloway?

Thanks!
@xmasdealhunter - we are South coast hence distance to Durham. Looking at Geo/Geoscience

Lincoln Uni might be worth a look, I'm not sure if it does his course but it's a smaller uni and not as far as Durham. Lancaster Uni also might be worth a look ( its a collegiate uni )

@Treeoutside

I don't think York and Lancaster have actual colleges?

It depends what you mean.

Lancaster has colleges that provide pastoral care, accommodation and in some cases catered dining (I think 3 offer this option).

Each college has its own social space bar/games room/common room and some have music rooms.

Also has geoscience courses.

Just dropped my DS off there today :-)

It's a campus Uni and has great facilities on site (everything from bakeries, restaurants, hairdressers and food store).

Reading is based around a central lake so very much a campus and some halls are catered.

Just to add OP we chose Lancaster as DS is quite shy/introverted.

We were worried about today but he was fine.

The accommodation is fab.

In his college they have buildings that contain 8 flats - 2 per floor.

Each house 8 students - all en-suite rooms (great for a child who values privacy) with a shared (large) kitchen/diner.

As a start it was great because he just had to meet his flat mates and everyone was super friendly.

So it's quite "small" as you have flat, building, college, university which makes it far less overwhelming.

Everything was super organised today and everyone incredibly welcoming and friendly.

In his college the bar and common room is fabulous, plus his has in college dining with a big dining hall and you can book out dedicated music rooms with pianos/drums etc etc.

Earth sciences or geology at Oxford? Earth sciences at Cambridge?

www.worcester.ac.uk/courses/geography-bsc-hons

Of interest? Maybe still a bit of a pain to get too from South Coast, but if you were looking at Bath anyway it’s not much difference.

Looking at accredited courses for that subject, I would look at Exeter or Bristol if he’s likely to get the A levels required for Durham. Bristol has catered collegiate type accommodation in y1.

He should look very closely at course content because some courses are more engineering leaning so content and options might be more important than small university. I think course size and type of accommodation keeps a university feeling small even if it isn’t! Sometimes everyone on a huge campus actually makes it feel enormous!

York is a good option. Very good but smaller uni on a lovely campus. All students are assigned a college where they will have halls, JCRC's, college sports etc.

Aberystwyth for excellent Geography/Earth Science degrees and a small university town.
Or Exeter (Falmouth campus)?

Does York have this course?

Aberystwyth requires BBB-CCC. Is this below his capabilities? Do you want universities which compare with Durham? Or will anywhere do.

Surely if Durham is considered too far, Lancaster and York are little better?

I would suggest a smaller city perhaps, do choose courses with a range of entry tariffs to cover different eventualities.

Loughborough sprung to mind, campus based, small town 1 hour 20 mins from London. Nottingham I think is campus too. Don't dismiss living at home too, it works better for some students

I worked at Lancaster on a secondment for a while and loved my time there. There’s a really strong sense of community due to the relatively low student population and collegiate structure, and it felt like a very “wholesome” place! The campus was really nice too.

Bath Spa? Chichester?

If she's aiming for Durham, she might want to consider some of the smaller cosier Oxbridge colleges too. Could be a gamble but the tiny ones are very safe and welcoming.

I don't know about the course specifics, but what about Exeter ? Small City and not to far.

Or you have Bournemouth, Southampton Brighton, Portsmouth, Plymouth all on the Coast (though I realis in travel time, moving along the South Coast can take forever, so, depending where you are, might not be any 'closer' in terms of time.

What about Winchester?
Or Bath is another relatively small City.

A friend's son went to Aberystwyth for something similar - I think the title of his degree was Environmental Science but I'm not sure.
He had a lovely time. It doesn't have a collegiate system but I think it's a fairly small campus university so probably had a similar feel?
He loved it so much he's bought a house and got a job up there.

Exeter or Kent?

Environmental science is available at lots of universities. The course this DS wants isn’t the same. Chichester and Bath Spa really don’t do these courses. They are not similar to Durham either. Courses recognised by the Geological Society should be top of the list and there are a few within easier reach of the South coast than Lancaster. Southampton is another option , as well as Wxeter and Bristol, but I wouldn’t dumb down on the course to get a certain type of university. Most university courses and halls are friendly. Catered halls especially and Bristol has these.

Thanks all. Prob favouring Geog rather than Geoscience. Unfortunately had place at Ox for Geog which missed out on (complicated story). Durham geoscience was insurance but decided not to go at last minute primarily due to distance.
Southampton is closest & looking at that along with Exter/Bristol but everywhere else at right "level" seems a long way (North). Have discounted London as think too stressful. @TizerorFizztizeror how does Bristol work in 2nd year? thanks