Bath University for Politics and IR

[DinkyDaisy]

Some of you may recognise me from my previous threads on Surrey and Essex, both of which my ds has attended offer days for. He was impressed by both though Surrey has the edge at the moment.
He is going to Bath with his Dad next weekend. What can he expect from Bath politics and IR? What should he look out for? Is there anything about Bath University he should particularly check out?
I know Bath a favourite on Mumsnet but ds not sure yet as was so impressed by Surrey course.
He has an offer of AAB for Bath and an invitation to do their 18 hour access to Bath course before the end of July.
Any advice I can pass onto him before he goes is welcome. Thanks.

@DinkyDaisy
Some students are ludicrously slow to sign up for modules and then complain they don’t get what they want. It’s often “first come” but as adults they have to get organised with signing up. If they don’t get in, it’s often their fault. However modules might be repeated so it’s not necessarily terminal! Sometimes single honours take precedent so joint honours get another chance later on.

ds thought there were hopefully a lot of choices with options.
Bath seems to not give as much information on the website on courses as some universities, though ds still has a sheet from the open day.
He can be indecisive so if struggling to choose an option may be an external person doing it because of competition won't be so bad!

That is interesting to hear @TizerorFizz Ds is likely to be quick off the mark in that sort of situation.

I think very crowded on campus today and obviously, Politics is a big department at Bath.
Ds was suddenly overwhelmed by the whole thought of university. However, has a year to get used to the idea as is deferring and ticked that box on the form.

Once they have firmed, it's really non stop info. Don't worry now, everything is really well organised and nothing left to chance.
I must admit, as a first (and only) time university mum (and a teacher) I was initially constantly checking that DD knew what was going on etc what she had to do. Then quickly realised how different it all is now to in our day when we were literally dumped on the Sunday in our halls and told to report to the main building the Monday morning!

My ds used to being in a small pool...
In secondary where only few academic kids in his year then small sixth form.
How do your girls cope in a big politics pool like Bath?
(Surrey government department small in comparison). Is it time for ds to be in a bigger pool or stick to what he is used to? I think he would cope in bigger pool but not used to it...

Not sure really, it's definitely not been mentioned as an issue- plus there are seminar groups and presentation groups so much smaller groupings get formed naturally.
What was great for DD (and it was thanks to Tango's DD who added her) is that almost immediately after holders' day (iirc) the politics WhatsApp group started gaining momentum. So if they participated in that, they arrived already knowing people iyswim? Also, the "random" housing allocation also clearly isn't totally random. DD lives with 2 politics people, 2 maths people, 2 business etc etc.

Thanks. Good to hear.
Well, will chat to ds properly when he gets back. He is going to Roman Baths tomorrow with his Dad and being a tourist before long drive home.

DD didnt think that deep about TBH she just knew she liked Bath in comparison to her other options and that was that really. Her biggest worry was fitting in but that was unfounded. The world is big and they will have to get used to it so I think it is a benefit for them to be out of their comfort zone.

Anecdotally I have a DS who is due to go this year too (most likely deferring for a year now) and I relocated so he had to start a sixth form college in an area he did not know. He really really didnt want to move, he was the sort of kid who doesnt like to be out of his comfort zone. Two years later and he has absolutely thrived in ways I could never have imagined, he is a completely different kid (for the better) - he has so much more confidence and moving was the best thing i ever did for him. A change can be good, comfortable is not always an advantage in my experience.

I think they have to go with where feels the best fit for them at the end of the day.

The latest thought from ds is that he might firm Bath and have Surrey as his insurance.
He has deferred so has time to think as well. He did love Bath city...
Best start saving some money for accommodation, living, etc! He is certainly going to have to work in his year off...
And, get the grades of course...

@DinkyDaisy
Options change. If he’s not going to 2024 some new options might well come on stream. Lecturers go off and write books. Go to other universities. Go on maternity leave. Others appear with new specialisms. So it’s often a bit fluid.

My son is at Bath.
he’s doing science so I can’t comment on the course.
I noticed that your son could attend the pre semester taster thing.
Is that because he has a social anxiety or autism or something similar?

My son is autistic and went to the tater days and it was brilliant for him. He hit it off with another student there and they have both been incredibly supportive of each other.
He has been given an autism friendly tutor apparently who os very attentive and supportive. This is in contrast to another university my son went to for 6 months the previous year. He went to his tutor there to say he was struggling with his household and feeling overwhelmed and the tutor just talked about the topic!

Anyway, my son is in various clubs and is having a great time. I’ve not seen Ho so relaxed for years. He’s found a couple of friends and goes out to a couple of clubs each week.

He knows exactly how to get support and he feels he belongs there.
he was bullied out of his halls in the other university- who were lovely once he told them. But the damage was done and he couldn’t return.
He was totally upfront with all his stuff at Bath from the start and as a parent, o can see they totally understand The social communication issues.

I am so glad things worked for your son at Bath @VeryInteresting12 but sorry he had to go through a poor experience at another university.
Ds not been invited for residential type visits but has option to do Access course by the 31st July which is online. I think flagged up as from under represented area/ secondary school. Not sure which box he has ticked for Bath but he will do the course.
He was very taken with Surrey but something shifted in his head at the weekend. As his Insurance still on the list and not pressed buttons to firm everything yet.

How a university supports students with extra needs is very telling and so glad Bath seems supportive.

Yes, I agree.
They really do seem to understand and it’s a great reassurance for us, his parents too.
The other university was not at fault for the students being so intolerant and they were helpful as soon as it came to a head but Bath were super helpful and had this residential couple of days prior to the course starting that I think was the absolute key to his survival there (and that of his friend - when things went wrong for her on the very first night in halls, he was able to support her and it was just great)

Your son has a good choice to make here!
It all seems really positive!

Really useful thread, thanks.

I was at this offer day on Saturday with DD. Love Bath generally but first time at the uni which was also impressive. We got the most from speaking to (interrogating!) the current students who were very enthusiastic - I presume they cherry pick them to represent the uni but they were all fantastic ambassadors for the setting. They were able to give us much more insight into the placement particularly, which had been a cause for concern previously for DD, and now she views it (rightly) as a great selling point.

I felt the taster lecture was pretty dry, surprised it wasn't more "exciting" to wow the students, but hey, not my area of interest so what do I know?! Didn't put DD off and maybe some realism on what course content will actually be like is a good thing.

DD still has more offer days to attend and the decision needs to be hers but overall thinks this would be a fantastic university and course; friendly and welcoming.

I do have a couple of questions that I didn't manage to get answers to if @So1invictus and @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango could help (or their DDs), I would be very grateful:

They body-swerved the question on the amount of learning/ lectures which are still delivered online (and I get that it is appropriate to still have online lectures from experts in different parts of the world for example), but after hearing that some unis are still doing the majority of lectures this way, it would be great to get a steer about Bath from your daughters please (and if they are happy with the balance).

You both also mentioned a WhatsApp group that was set up after last year's offer days - how did that work? Do you know how the students got each others details please? From what I saw, there wasn't a lot of interaction between the actual offer holders! It was a very busy session.

Thank you all!

@Crumpetsforsupper Hi there. I have just messaged DD and all bar one of her modules have been face to face. She chose an optional law module (hated it) and that was online last semester but all others have been FTF both last semester and this.

The Whatsapp group came about from The Student Room last year under the Bath Uni section. They had a general one for Politics and then one for their accommodation once they knew where they were going to be living - it was great as DD felt more relaxed knowing who her new neighbours were going to be before she even got there. On the day I dropped her off at hall she was very excited as she had been talking to these kids for weeks prior, just took the edge off the nerves

Re the taster lecture I too thought it was boring and you are right what do we know?! DD has had some modules she has really got stuck into and others that she just has little interest in but that would be the same with any subject at any Uni I think. I believe next year there are more optional modules that she can choose. DD loves American Politics and Political History so will go down that route when she gets the options. HTH and if she chooses Bath I am sure she will love it 🙂I don't think they cherry pick the students but they are paid to be ambassadors so that may explain their enthusiasm 😂 That the said I had one sat next to me on offer holders day during the talk who was on her phone all the way through and couldnt have looked less interested if she had tried!

Offer holder days are odd things. The only genuinely really good ones I went to were Hull and Aberystwyth. And then DS1 didn't chose either of them!

This is true. DD burst into tears at the Liverpool one as she so wanted to love it but didnt. I loved the Nottingham one the best and could have signed up for the degree myself I was so impressed!

@TangoWhiskyAlphaTango that's incredibly helpful, please thank your DD for me. Good to know that in reality, course provision is pretty much F2F then. Also makes sense that the student ambassadors were paid! Tbh they were the most useful part of the event for me as we got some brilliant insight from them, especially around the placement year. Possibly need to be paying the poor ladies extra who had 30+ people crowded into their bedrooms scrutinising their personal possessions though! If she firms it, I will try and shunt her towards The Student Room for the groups after results day.

@Piggywaspushed that's a very interesting point too as it was the first offer day we've attended. I thought I would need to be blown away by every aspect - as I said I found the lecture/ review of the course comprehensive but frankly pretty dry - but I still came away with a very favourable overall impression. It's of course different for everyone, but I felt the whole package would suit my DD. It's her choice at the end of the day but Bath does get a very strong vote from me although holding back on communicating that too strongly until she has seen her other offer sites 🤐 Do you have DC on this course too can I ask or just at Bath? Apologies if I've missed that somewhere on the thread.

Hi crumpet. Mine applied to Bath for a similar course so did all he offer days etc but (slightly against his better judgment, and mine) didn't choose it. One thing that put him off was the lack of course info and the dryness, as you say (plus it was the only single subject course he applied for). He also seemed to find the canteen a sensory overload and I think was a bit overwhelmed by it all.

As it goes, he went to Birmingham , and swapped to history after 3 weeks! Wonder what would have come to pass at Bath.

I would say , Bath is almost unanimously popular with parents who visit it, and it's hard to take a step back.

I deliberately didn't go to Bath for offer day as knew liked it. Sent his Dad with him instead...
I worry a bit about dryness. Surrey sold themselves so well!
However, ds history /politics epq the dryest thing I have ever read so maybe I don't need to concern myself!
Surrey has loads of course details on their website and Bath lacking on their politics page.

I think all that is true but Bath's NSS student satisfaction scores put almost every other uni in the shade so they must enjoy it!

You can see those stats on Discover Uni.

Thanks @Piggywaspushed - it's so helpful to get this insight from other parents who have been through the process already (our first DC to attend). So different in my day - first time I set foot in my chosen uni was the first day of term.... 😳

@DinkyDaisy these organisations are such slick marketing machines these days, it feels hard to sort the fact from the "glossy brochure" which is why I've found it helpful hearing about other people's experiences (and chatting to the actual students). Not quite sure on DD's ultimate decision making process though, but she needs to feel control of that whatever I think

Hi! Can I join? My son has received an offer for a STEM subject at Bath. Booked in for an offer holder day at the end of the month.
@DinkyDaisy Not sure if you’ve already seen this, but there’s detail on the compulsory and optional credits for each year of courses on the “Undergraduate Programme & Unit Catalogues 2022/23” site. We found it helpful (sorry if you’ve seen it already!)
Here’s a link:
www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2022-2023/pl/UHPL-AAB30.html