University for Architecture

[Belsaff48]

I am sure this has been asked before but it doesn’t come up when I search for it.
DD 17 is looking at doing architecture at university. She is very keen on UCL but wondering if anyone can offer opinion on Loughborough, Kingston, Cardiff or Newcastle?
or any other unis with good courses. She doesn’t want to do an engineering based course
many thanks

Hi, my yr13 DS applied to UCL but withdrew before the interview as he decided he didn't want to live in London 🙄 He went to offer holder days at Newcastle, Cardiff & Bath and felt the BA at Ncle had a very different vibe to the other two, he wasn't impressed at all. Says the day was fairly disorganized as were the studio spaces, perhaps too many students crammed in? Student ambassadors bigging up the 'party city', which isn't a big sell for him as we live quite locally.
Cardiff was the complete opposite, he came back from there really enthusiastic about the course & the city. I think that's why he found Ncle so disappointing, he didn't expect there to be such a huge difference. In the end he decided on Bath, mostly because of the placement year.
Sorry I can't be more help, maybe have a look at the Architecture section of The Student Room.

Thank you so much for your reply. It has been very useful especially the info about Newcastle. Will look at the Student Room. I’d love her to consider Bath but we live here and she wants to go further afield and can’t persuade her otherwise.
thank you for your help

No problem, I'm very envious of you living in Bath. We only spent a few hours in the town after looking around the campus and it's so beautiful.

Hi I studied architecture at De Montfort in Leicester, I did my part 1,2 and 3 there so went on to qualify as an architect. Happy to answer any questions about the process if she has any.

@MillicentFaucet it is a lovely place to live
@Bigdreamer9 thank you I’ll ask her if she has any questions

Newcastle is known as a lively university but you really don’t have to join in! Their architecture school is first class. Offer holder days are not really how a course runs. Bath is near top of the tree and UCL is brilliant too.

My son is at UCL doing architecture at the moment. He loves being in London and seems happy with his course despite the interruptions due to the pandemic. He did go to a few open days and interviews and The Bartlett stood out for him - both facilities and the quality of the student work. It’s not easy to get a place though, there are several tasks to do, plus an interview where you take your art portfolio. Is your daughter doing art A level? He also liked Sheffield. It’s a great city and the architecture building is impressive. He had an interview at Loughborough which is obviously a bit different as you live on a campus but the course seemed well organised. I echo the advice to look at y The Student Room architecture forums for endless valuable advice!

I would start with the Complete University guide and trawl through the course content. Decide if she wants city or campus. I would also pay close attention to employment stats. Do their grads actually go on to get fully qualified snd get jobs? That’s the whole point of a vocational degree. Sheffield and Nottingham are worth looking at too.

@SarahMused thank you for your reply. Yes she is doingArt A level. She does have her heart set on UCL so it’s good to know about the process and that it is hard to get in to. Good to hear about other unis too

@TizerorFizz thabk you for your reply. I’ll check out the guide that’s very helpful. That is so useful about employment stats. So much to think about!

really appreciate all the replies thank you

I agree. I think the reputation about students constantly partying is unjustified TBH. DD is at Newcastle and isn't really a clubber or party goer but has made a lot of friends and has a good social life. Partying is optional at any university.