Bristol or Warwick for Philosophy?

[Coroico97]

DS has offers from both and slightly prefers the content of the Warwick course - with politics and law. Am wondering if anyone has a view on how different the two unis are with face to face vs online now? Also in terms of enjoying student life without a car maybe Bristol would be better? I know Warwick is spread out and he might have further to travel. Any views of any aspect gratefully received! Thanks.

*Coventry uni is in Coventry

Warwick university is at Westward Heath, 4 miles from Coventry and 2 miles from Kenilworth*

Surely everyone knows Warwick University is in Coventry. It doesn't try and hide it! It's obvious from a map and from its address. It's in Coventry. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Look very carefully at the modules on the Bristol Philosophy course - they are quite traditional and for some may be quite dry. My dc was offered Philosophy at Bristol last year but ended up going for Philosophy and Politics at Manchester which offered more of what they were interested in. Can’t comment on Warwick as didn’t apply there.

My dd is a 2nd year student at Warwick... Yes there were issues last term with a lack of f2f tution but all seems well this term. I would not worry about location it really isnt an issue and being on campus in yr 1 seems to work incredibly well (she loved her 1st year despite Covid) . My dd is actually living nr the campus this year.. 15 min walk at 100.00 per week. She socialises in Leamington, Coventry and Bham... Buses to the campus are regular, she does use quite a few ubers when out late. Next year shes renting a house in Leamington still cheap at 100.00 per week.. She does have her car with her but only uses it a limited amount of time.

@Coroico97
I just need to correct the notion that Bristol university is spread out. It’s not unless you choose first year halls in Stoke Bishop. There are halls in Clifton where the university is situated. It’s not campus but it is concentrated in one area of the city. In subsequent years it’s perfectly possible to be very close to the university. DD was less than 10 minutes walk and plenty of student digs are nearer.

Warwick uni is on the outskirts of Coventry. It’s not in the centre. It’s very obviously campus and isn’t the same as Bristol which is in residential streets with pubs, clubs, restaurants, shops and supermarkets all around. However it should be the course that matters.

One of mine did philosophy and had offers from Warwick and Bristol (and Durham) but chose Birmingham because of the course.

I would really recommend checking the course out thoroughly. Philosophy at Bristol was incredibly different to both Warwick and Birmingham so I would look at this v closely! It makes a big difference to the course (and therefore the enjoyment!).

When I said Bristol was spread out, I kind of meant the city. And maybe it is different now, but when I was at uni there you didn't have much choice about halls; the majority of people were in Stoke Bishop. I believe there are more halls in Clifton now which makes sense.

I would still maintain it is more sprawling than some unis; in my second year I lived very very near the student union building (like, three minutes' walk) but I still had a good 15-minute walk/7-min bike ride to my departments. That's fine tho; it's is a big city and it is not on a campus. It's just a different experience.

Definitely visit both, OP because the feel of the place is so important.
My DD visited Bristol and she hated it. She went to an offer holder day at Warwick and she felt at home straight away and is now in her second year.
Easy enough to get around by bus or Uber for the evenings now she lives in Leamington.

My DD visited Warwick and didn’t like it. Not everyone likes a campus without easy access to a variety of places to eat and shop as well as pubs and arts venues on the doorstep. So it always pays to analyse what you really want from your university experience and not everyone will come to the same conclusions.

Agree @TizerorFizz, Dd loved Warwick but I know I would have hated it. DS is at Loughborough and I wouldn't have liked that either. But then we live in a city; I was going from a tiny village so deffo wanted the city life. It really does depend what you want and enjoy.

We live in a small village too but close enough to London for DD to know what a city can offer. I think most people work out what suits them. The universities with the highest dropout rates are often ones that take more local students. People who consider a bit more carefully where they can go (and of course have options which allow them to do this) tend to get if right more often. That doesn’t necessarily prevent them from doing the wrong course!

Thank you everyone for such useful info. @Ribenery DS also has an offer from Birmingham. He is very interested in their course too. It will of course come down to which course works best for him ( if he gets the grades!). He has just been very bad at actually going to visit each uni/location! I think he now realises it might be useful to do this as they will all have their pros and cons. Very grateful for insights.

Dd had a great time @Coroico97 and would highly recommend it!

My ds graduated from Warwick last year. He lived in Coventry in years 2 and 3 as although there are regular buses to leamington, the journey can be a pain and he didn’t want to spend all day on campus if travelling back and forth was too time consuming.
I wasn’t that impressed with the pastoral care; seemed to be a box ticking exercise and his final exams were badly organised with the exam portal crashing twice. I really expected the uni to have its act together for the second year of online examinations.
Accommodation was decent and not horribly expensive. Student body was reasonably diverse which was ideal for ds as he had never lived in the uk before he went to uni. He made some good friends and sports facilities were very good.

Thanks @ShanghaiDiva that is very useful information. It’s so difficult to get the right combination of right course in place to suit him. We will visit with all your thoughts in mind.

@Coroico97
I think his future career should drive some of his thought processes with regard to course. It’s likely he cannot get exactly everything. Bristol is very different to Warwick. He needs to know if he prefers a bustling vibrant city to a campus that isn’t in a city and is pretty much self contained. What would he do in years 2-3? Is he happy with travel in and out of uni? Or does he want the university a short stroll away from his digs?

Absolutely @TizerorFizz (I love your user name!). I shall spell it out to him when we visit. He is very independent and will absolutely make up his own mind but I am pleased to have some experienced views in my back pocket to throw into the conversation to make sure he has thought of everything. However, talking to him this morning, he is all about the course and the one he really wants to do is at Warwick. Thanks again.

In that case, he will make Warwick work! Everyone we know who chose it, liked it. They were not gregarious types but as long as you don’t crave what you cannot easily get, it’s perfect.

DD is doing maths and philosophy at Warwick and is loving her first year. She likes her accomodation, has made lots of friends, and gets buses to Covenrty and Leamington fairly regularly for shopping, clubbing, etc. She has a depisit on a house in Leamington with 4 friends for next year. She has enjoyed 2 of the philosophy modules, especially the ancient Greek one, isnt so keen on the logic one as she finds it easy/ boring. Modules are a mix of online and in person.
She didnt consider Bristol because we live here. Probably a nicer city than Coventry, with lots going on, would be a fun place to be a student i imagine. We love living here.

Thank you @pourmeanotherglass that is very helpful and reassuring. Glad your dd is enjoying her course. Maybe they will meet next year!! Sounds like Warwick will suit him. Is she okay with the online element? Seems a bit of a shame but what do I know!

There are pros and cons with the online learning. In her first term it enabled her to take a philosphy module that clashed timewise with one of her maths modules, as she could listen to the recording later. There is also the option to listen on double time if they are going over something you already know, then slow down if they get to a bit you want to listen more carefully to. Small groups are all in person and lectures are gradually moving over to in person.

@TizerorFizz "My DD visited Warwick and didn’t like it. Not everyone likes a campus without easy access to a variety of places to eat and shop as well as pubs and arts venues on the doorstep" But Warwick has a multi venue arts centre - theatre / concert hall/ studio/ cinema etc which has just been fully refurbished - right next to the student union. And Coventry has been City of Culture this year so I don't really understand this comment.
Coventry, which Warwick University is right on the edge of as one side of the campus abuts Coventry suburbs and the other side green belt land, is a very different city to Bristol. Warwick is a campus university though with easy bus links to Leamington and Earlsdon where students tend to live after their first year. I am a Warwick alumni from a very long time ago but have fond memories.
@LoonvanBoon glad that your DS is enjoying Warwick. We messaged last year, I've name changed since then.

@Philandbill

Lots of students want a big of choice of cafes, restaurants, pubs, music venues, theatres etc and not just campus living with the same races and ages. It’s a bus ride into Coventry and it’s not as nice as Bristol. It just isn’t. However I know plenty of people who went to Warwick and loved it. But as an experience, its not the same as Bristol. And why should it be? It is a much newer university and was never intended to be in the middle of a city.

races?? That should read “faces”.

My dd at Warwick and she's found that there certainly isnt an issue with shopping.. They jump on the train to Bham new street(20 mins and they are in the centre of bham shopping). The university run party buses from the campus to bham nightclubs... So if any students want more variety its available (door to door). We were in Bristol last year and it probably takes longer to get from Clifton to the Old Market area of Bristol by bus. Bristol has also become a lottery in terms of university accommodation (or should i say the lack of student accommodation).

I totally agree that Bristol offers more than Warwick on its doorstep, and Warwick isnt for everyone but being on campus in the first year is such a lovely experience at Warwick.... If you want to party there are lots and lots of house parties (im talking 100 plus students )... If that isnt your scene its so easy to mingle and find your tribe.... My dd shares with 4 londoners who are never in a hurry to rush back to the bright lights of London despite being a very social bunch who like clubbing and eating out.

Bristol accommodation is not an issue now. Loads of new halls built. Last year was a problem as they honoured all offers so were massively oversubscribed.
It's a lovely city. Easy to get around as electric scooters everywhere (& v cheap). Loads of clubs, bars, sports stuff etc.
Warwick is lovely too.
Students seem to have fun wherever they end up so course structure and content would be my way of making the decision.