York University vs Birmingham University - tell me the pros and cons

[SeaGlassBlue]

DS is currently deciding which offer to firm for September. He has applied to study History. He's narrowed the offers down to two favourites - Birmingham and York.

If you have any experience of either of these universities please share (the good and the bad) to help him decide!

Both are excellent universities with highly regarded History Departments.

Has your DS dug into the History departments' respective websites (beyond all the Admissions/UCAS-facing frills) to have a look at how the programmes are taught?

Some things to look for:

• What core compulsory modules are required at each year level?
• What methods of teaching are used? tutorials, seminars, lectures, group work, and so on.
• What range of assessment types are used? eg does he like exams, or prefers group projects or whatever - will there be a range of assessment types?
• What sort of optionality is available? Not all options will be available each year, as they're dependent on the expertise of staff each year (research leave, secondment, maternity leave, leadership roles, can all intervene). But is the range of options in areas he's interested in?
• How is the dissertation supervised?

Birmingham has fantastic rare books/manuscripts collections, but York is only a short train journey to Leeds, for the collections there.

My DS & DD are both at York.

Not studying history. But social and political science and mental health nursing.

They live on campus east. It has good facilities. Good clean accommodation. Nice open space.

I don't have experience of Birmingham.

But mine are really happy at York. There are great transport links to the city centre

@uggmum dd is hoping to go to York in 2023. She is looking to study sociology and social psychology which is at East Campus and really likes the Langwith shared bathroom halls - our only question is whether this will feel v isolated from West Campus should she get in? Having been to the open day York will be a great fit for her!

interestingly her second choice is also Birmingham.

York = middle class
Birmingham = working class

York = white
Birmingham = more likely to be diverse

York = lovely city
Birmingham = not everyone thinks is looks too good

York = more private school pupils
Birmingham - more state school pupils

However about the same numbers of people go into law from each of them - in fact Birmingham is slightly above - if that is a relevant factor. www.chambersstudent.co.uk/where-to-start/newsletter/law-firms-preferred-universities-2019
I have no skin in this game as my children's father went to Birmingham and none of my children went to either of them not least because York did not have the course they wanted.

I agree with what you’ve said Xenia but would add that whilst York is a sadly predominantly white middle class Uni it is a very diverse and welcoming for LGBT people. Dd is a lesbian with a particular interest in womens studies from a sociological / social policy perspective and York is great for this. They have a very highly respected MA in womens studies.

I don’t agree with @Xenia on all those points - a quick google shows that Birmingham has 18% private school students and York 17%, so there’s nothing in it.

Also you can’t character a city of a million people as working class! Like any other large city there are wealthy areas and poor areas and everything in between. The university campus is in Edgbaston which includes some of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Birmingham. Whilst in the other half of Edgbaston, over the Hagley Road, there are some quite deprived areas.

Yes, Birmingham is much more diverse than York and it’s centre isn’t beautiful. Arguably the campus buildings are much nicer (and older) though.

I don’t agree with @Xenia on all those points - a quick google shows that Birmingham has 18% private school students and York 17%, so there’s nothing in it.

Ah, but the 18% at UoB were probably all on bursaries at their private schools?

Our DD had the same dilemma with History of Art, chose York in the end. Absolutely loved everything, currently doing her Masters. DH and I had a conversation a couple of days ago that we think she won’t ever come home and she will stay in York.

York is a lovely city to study but also has a bit of a accommodation crisis for students. I know some who have been placed very far outside York and travel in.

*an

We’ve looked at both closely for history and I was also a student at York many years ago plus I then worked in Birmingham for years.

The accommodation at York is not great. You only have guaranteed first year accommodation if they are your first choice and many of the halls need updating. Birmingham is better and their accommodation campus is very pretty. York is an ugly campus (although east is new but the two campuses need more integration). The lake is obviously attractive but the amount of duck poo everywhere is unbelievable and makes it difficult to use the lake area as much as you’d think. Birmingham has a better library, far far more seems to have been spent on infrastructure with more modern buildings. Birmingham campus has more living facilities (shops etc)

on the plus side for York the city is lovely (although not anywhere near Birmingham for range of nightlife and things to do). It’s a far more peaceful touristy vibe as opposed to Birmingham’s big city vibrant vibe (for DS who is not a clubber, this was good). The modules were better at York for DS who has a strong preference for older history circa Tudor period.

Having been to open days recently at both neither has a private school vibe at all (strong contrast to Exeter for example where it felt like boarding school and we hardly saw anyone who wasn’t white and it was very much an unrepresentative private school bubble). In fact York was noticeably more balanced than other places we’ve been to. Birmingham was more ethnically diverse and I would say reflected the UKs cultural mix more accurately than York.

crazy, if that is so then we need to amend my post. I didn't check and just assumed Birmingham had more from state schools. Birmingham is presumably bigger (again I am guessing only !) so perhaps has more of everything too. It is also easy to reach from most places including London.

Currently typing this from DDs room on campus in york as I'm up for the weekend helping her move some of her stuff out. She has really enjoyed her course and she has stayed on campus for the full 3 years as she loves the area and the convenience.
What swung York for her over Druham was the vast choice of modules and very little core compulsory stuff. Shes picked up extras too like learning some latin and some Arabic.
Some of the campus is old concrete blocks but not all of it. Lots of rabbits and more geese than students!

Birmingham is better and their accommodation campus is very pretty.

Presumably you mean the Vale (which, yes, is in a very attractive setting)? It is only part of the accommodation offer at Birmingham, though - and not necessarily the closest to where teaching takes place (Jarratt Hall and some of the others in the Selly Oak 'Village' woukd probably win there, I think, but it does depend on the department). DS1 ranked his preferences on proximity and got his first choice, Jarratt- DD ranked on the accommodation she fancied (and, to be fair, price) and got Battery Park, which was her sixth and the most expensive and the only one on her list with a 4ft bed, sod's law or something there...

They’ve placed some students in Hull and Leeds this year - according to the accommodation office they were all people who applied after the accommodation deadline (through clearing). They have built 2 new accommodation blocks (Anne Lister & David Kato) which will be open for September and they say this will stop this happening again.

user it’s interesting one persons ugly is another’s beautiful. Dd and I found both York campuses really beautiful- I’ve always been a fan of 60’s brutalist architecture and I loved the new buildings.

We did feel that the Uni wasn’t particularly diverse which was a shame (and indeed neither was the City). The accommodation was eye wateringly expensive (certainly in comparison to Manchester where my other dc is) and I feel that will exclude some students- over £7k for shared bathrooms and self catering.

That said it’s a very good fit for dd and is her number 1 choice.

@KittyMcKitty there’s always been a bit of a problem with lack of accommodation as long as I can remember. I’m an ex Yorkie but still on local York FB groups and it’s full of students desperate for places to live.

We did feel that the Uni wasn’t particularly diverse which was a shame I went to the York offer holder day with DS this year. He was applying for biology and we were surprised many applicants were clearly European (given Brexit).

York have built new accommodation which will be open for this year.

It was meant to be available for 2021 but the build was delayed due to Covid.

The blocks are finished and ready for 2022.

Both my dc are on East campus and pay less than £6500 for a large en-suite room with a shared kitchen.

There has been a lot of new builds off campus that are due to open this year too.

This.

Although as the thread was started in April, I am guessing the student has firmed some time ago

Dd is at York (studying English). She loves everything about it. I must add having read a post above, whilst dd was privately educated, none of her friends there were. She has only come by one or two people who went to private school. Whilst a lot of the students tend to be white british, there are still plenty of students who are not. I love the fact that from what she has told me, they seem like a lovely bunch of young people who are not racist but very inclusive decent young folk. Fwiw there is a massive gay community/literally all of her crowd are bi/gay so if your dc is gay they certainly shouldn't worry about issues.

sadly it looks like they’ve hiked their prices!

on East campus there is one option of self catered shared bathroom for £6700 and another for £7300 With the rest ranging between £7400 and £8100 (all self catered).

on West campus there’s Halifax college which is between £4400 and £6500 self catered with shared bathroom and then the next cheapest is £7100 up to £9100 (these are catered).

These are for 2022/23 academic year and they expect them to go up for 23/24.

He has 😁

He chose Birmingham. He felt that there was a more diverse mix of students, that the campus was nicer and that the department offered modules that better suited his interests. He also liked the idea of living on the outskirts of a big, vibrant city - York felt a bit too small and touristy.

Uni of Birmingham or uni of Edinburgh? Thoughts pleas

Probably better to start a dedicated, new thread rather than resurrect an old one about a different subject