Any feedback Southampton vs Queens

[Selok]

Hoping to get some feedback and perspective here! DD is between Southampton and Queens Belfast for Chemistry. Been to offer holder days for both, she equally liked them both! More so Southampton even though she denies this is the case but I believe it is because of her boyfriend's first choice as well. She strongly denies it. I am trying to say it would be a mistake to go to same university as the bf she says it won't effect her making new friends. My peri menopause mind is getting really cross about this whenever we start this choices conversation we end up arguing over this! Would that be so bad if they are in the same uni? Also, I have to note that bf is so lovely, he is very bright boy and so kind we have no problems whatsoever it is just me thinking this might limit her making new friends and she will be still in her little bubble! I must say I like the course but same as Queens really but I didn't like Southampton personally- the accommodation in Belfast is much nicer

I don't know anything about the relative merits of these two unis for chemistry. But it is usually a 'high contact hours' subject, lots of lectures and labs so she will very likely be spending a lot of time in her department and making friends there.
Does she have hobbies - with or without the BF?

@ErrolTheDragon Yes for hobbies, she plays netball, plays piano she wants to join clubs or social events, etc

@Selok
My dd ended up at same uni as boyfriend! Not planned but she fluffed an A level so went on insurance. It made no difference to making friends. They were in different halls and both made friends separately but became part of a wide group. They never lived in the same house in y2 either. Y3 was abroad for both and then they split up. University won’t be the same as school. I wouldn’t go to Belfast over Southampton .

I see they are similarly ranked but if you need to fly to Belfast, is it worth it? It’s not like it’s ranked 5 and Southampton 25!

Belfast is worth a visit if you haven't been.

Unsurprisingly, it's not like you see it on the news and Queens, and the halls of residence, are in the Malone Road area, which is the wealthy, established, middle-class part of town

My niece is at Queens and seems to love it, cost of living is low. A lot of the students seem to go home at weekends though, my niece does even though her parents are an hour and a half away. I agree the area around Southampton Uni isn't that nice. It would be quite a faff to travel from Belfast to Southampton to visit her boyfriend and back home to you if you live in England/wales/Scotland. I believe Southampton is generally ranked highest than Queens but I don't know about this subject.

The tricky part about following a BF to university is the breakup. You have a nice group of friends together. Maybe you even live in the same halls or flat. Then Boom! Messy...

Queens really does cater to its home market. Well over 90% of us undergrads there are from Northern Ireland. So emptying out at weekend not a great surprise.

probably a different picture for Southampton. Although near 2/3 of its UK undergrads come from the South East and London. Add the South West and well past 80%.

Thanks all for all your comments! We have been to Nottingham today for the offer holder day, been blown away- absolutely loved the city, the campus it is just not chemistry subject but more on biology- I just think although he is very nice etc still tricky to be in the same uni but on the other hand Southampton has a very solid chemistry course and by the look of the timetable she will spend majority of her time in the labs LoL

DS did Chemistry at Nottingham and had a great time. The campus is nice too.

DD dropped out of Southampton after a term as she hated it. It was during Covid but the level of contact with tutors was awful. She’s now having a great time at Bristol.

I followed a boy to Southampton, and I studied Chemistry. We didn’t last, but it didn’t matter. I also had uni friends who had come as part of a couple and again, it didn’t stop them making friends.

I get the comments about Southampton not being a great city, but I’ve found it to be a great place to live (so much so that I’m still here, and have lived within a mile of the campus that whole time). I disagree that the area around the uni is not great, it’s close to the common, has a quirky high street with reasonable amenities. The student area is adjacent to one of the nicest/most desirable parts of the city. It’s a campus uni but close enough to the centre tht you get the best of both worlds. It’s fairly accessible by train and has some wonderful countryside nearby. The uni has good sports facilities on and off campus.

The chemistry department looks after its students well and there is a good community feel. The academics are approachable and there were always good options for summer projects and dissertations.

the question for me about Queens vs Soton is more about where you live and how accessible Queens would be. It would be pretty lonely if lots of people do go home during the weekend.

@SotonLass in fact I spoke to two new graduates at work, who studied at Soton, different subjects and they both said very similar things that you mentioned! We live in the south east area. It is fair to say to go to Belfast (under an hour plane journey from Luton airport which is like 25 minutes from us- was way cheaper than taking the train to Nottingham today- shocking but true. Queens also has a scholarship to GB students if they hit ABB they pay £3k towards accommodation fees. Chemistry modules look more solid in Southampton but Queens labs were also very well equipped! One other negative of Soton is the course she applied hasn't got placement year, she can apply though once she is in! Nottingham seems to put a lot of effort into industry placement - personally I loved Nottingham everything about it but the course isn't chemistry - tough decisions!!!

@SotonLass also thanks so much for your detailed answer, very helpful

DH and I are both PhD chemists and don't quite get the enthusiasm nowadays for a placement year tbh.

@ErrolTheDragon isn't it better to gain some industry experience whilst studying? And also this experience could give a better idea as to which areas they would like to pursue a career in? I don't know the answer, just feels like a good thing to do!

Summer internships, sure.... I don't know how it works in practice for year placements for undergrads, if many companies actually offer them.

You might also want to factor in a cultural difference going to Belfast. The culture and the values are different to England. It’s a great life experience to have, but for some students that’s going to be a big ask on top of moving away from all your established friends and family. It’s not helped by the typical Belfast student who can chat for 5 minutes and find some mutual friend or acquaintance ( and as mentioned above many go home at weekends - another cultural difference).

From my admittedly ancient experience, I also think you’d be last in the queue for summer internships etc - they’d probably favour a local student.

@mellicauli yes I see what you are saying, my DD said she felt like she was out of her depth in Queens when students took them for an experiment in the lab but on the other hand she was came back chatting to another girl from experiment in Southampton- we will go to Belfast second time in March but thanks to all for taking time to reply- you have given me a different perspective as I was so pro-Queens, seen Nottingham which is great but DD love's chemistry more and Southampton sounds like a better fit for her! @ErrolTheDragon do you mind me asking your line of work, are in a chemistry related work?

I've PM'd you, @Selok

@ErrolTheDragon thanks so much! It has been very helpful