Which uni

[BikeMum8]

DS has offers from both Warwick and Manchester unis and is struggling to definitely which one to firm. I’d welcome any insights into student life at these, mostly the cost of accommodation in the 2nd to 4th years. TIA

@BikeMum8
Dont decide on cost! Decide on prestige of course and university. What one is better for DCs career? What course is it?

They are totally different by the way! Warwick is campus some miles from anywhere. Students go to Leamington Spa or Coventry to live beyond year 1. Manchester students always live in cosmopolitan busy Manchester. Presumably DC has looked at both? What offers better employment opportunities? Is Leamington Spa ok or does DC prefer the myriad of opportunities available in a very big city? Would Coventry be ok?

My guess is that Manchester will be cheaper but that’s such a narrow view to take. In my view!

For me it was really important to be in a vibrant city.

But Warwick is a good uni. It just depends if they are more a campus person?

What course is your child going for? Eg for maths, Warwick is one of the top unis in the uk, and maths-interested employers know this.

And yes, the major difference lifestyle-wise will be campus (insular, more quiet, fewer pubbing, clubbing and shopping opportunities, more of a DIY 'let's put on the show right here' ethic, you're pretty much stuck with your year group friendship-wise) versus major city uni (departments spread out and integrated into the city centre, other unis and thousands of other students all mixed up together, endless pubs and clubs and shops, a less integrated experience which can be exciting or overwhelming depending on how outgoing you are). Most applicants have a gut feeling for which kind of experience they'd prefer.

Both are very, very good universities overall - congrats to him for having the choice.

I am a former admissions tutor and, of course, personal tutor to a cohort each year in our (STEM) School. I agree that the university setting, particularly when choosing between these two, may be a significant part of the choice. Your DS really needs to visit both places to see how he reacts to them.

@TizerorFizz is right that Warwick is an isolated campus. However across several fields of STEM, in the UK there is COWI - Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial - and then everyone else. Warwick is a special opportunity. Employers and PG admissions tutors know this.

I emphasised above that your DS needs to get the feel of both places. My sense when visiting W is always that the students are on the whole happy and know how to make their own fun. But the setting would drive a real urban animal spare. And of course Manchester also has a lot going for it. There really is no wrong choice here. Congratulations to your DC.

Thank all. His course is physics , both courses are amazing. He wants to go into research. He’s been to both, likes both… and yes they are very different!

City man or campus man?

Student digs in Manchester will probably be cheaper.

I know someone who did MPhys at Warwick a few years ago, thoroughly enjoyed it and has an excellent job (in finance) now.

Coventry is a cheap city to live in and while it isn’t as busy or exciting as Manchester, it’s still a decent place to live. Easy to get around, cheap, friendly locals….

We’re having a similar issue in whether to firm Durham or Warwick. Did Warwick offer holders day on Saturday and it was very quiet on campus. Much quieter than on the open day. Students live in Leamington from 2nd year so I think this explains the quiet campus. I’m also wondering if some go home at weekends. Leamington is quite a drive or bus ride away. This all put my DD off. The accommodation is expensive (£170-200+ a week) unless you opt for the cheapest halls which were £85 a week but grim. I’ve suggested we do a weekday visit to see what it’s like when all the students are on site. Having said that, I know students who were happy there and they have great campus facilities. The course is also very strong here, arguably more so than Durham. We’re off to Durham offer holder day next week. Went to open day last year and it was quite a different option, so let’s see. The accommodation was cheaper and included full catering.

Manchester ranks above Imperial for Physics. Also above Warwick in CUG. So no problems with stature of course. Just where to live!

We are fairly certain to have sacked off Warwick due to 2nd year and beyond accommodation. It seems that sometimes the buses are full before they get to you depending on where you live so you miss lectures. There are YouTube videos of current students talking about it. I think Warwick would do well if they invested in some closer by affordable private accommodation or at least a bus service for students. I am not sure how walkable Coventry would be obviously Leamington Spa would be too far to walk.

Manchester is a bustling city with plenty of accommodation options and entertainment options too. As PP have said, congratulations to him on both offers, both are incredible universities.

@DurhamWarwick it is going to be fairly quiet in Durham when you go as we are collecting Dc this weekend as term ends Friday for 5 weeks. Durham is bustling with students when term is on, but very quiet when they are not there so bare that in mind when you go. This is especially true for the hill colleges and anywhere on South Road. At least in town where the Bailey colleges are there are locals in the town so it feels busy. With Durham everything is relatively close together so you can get somewhere easily. There is a Durham thread on here for anyone Durham, prospective, current, previous students and people who live there if you have not seen that already. Dc loves it, they are in their 2nd year.

@TizerorFizz On what components does Manchester Physics rank higher? It has the Graphene Institute and, possibly more important for some rankings, two recent Nobel laureates. Both of these have boosted its research status considerably, but in practical terms they may not make much difference to the lives of undergraduates.

Applicants can get a good sense of the real story, whatever that may be, by joining the online forum TheStudentRoom.

Thanks, sadly that wasn’t Warwick’s excuse. Students still working but the place seems to be dead on a weekend. Other than offer holders it would have been tumbleweed.

Visited Durham on open day last year but as you say, the town was bustling.

I think campus unis quite often are dead at the weekend - York certainly was when I was there. Students are still around, but anyone not in campus accommodation will be at home, and even students living on campus might be in town shopping/in the library/working in their rooms. When you're actually there it doesn't feel dead (unless you're finding it difficult socially) because you're with your mates or beavering away in the library, but to visitors it will look like nobody is around. If you go later in the evening you might find campus bars and bops suddenly fill up!

A great many students at Warwick live in Coventry not Leam. It is in Coventry after all.

Which has the course content they prefer? Warwick is on the edge of Coventry but many live in lemingtob spa

There’s nothing to choose between them!!

DS pays £414 a month for a shared house in Manchester, plus heating, which they don't use much. 'Bloody freezing, but cheap', he says.

@poetryandwine There is little between them but Manchester gets higher research rating. Manchester UMIST gave the university a head start in quality. It was always considered excellent. Warwick is 9th for physics.

At a Manchester open day we were told that Manchester was the most targeted university by employers. While that may not be true today, I think there is still some truth in it. It isn't as if you are comparing Warwick with a university at the bottom of the CUG table.

At the end of the day it depends on course content, whether your DS wants campus or city, and I'm afraid I have to disagree about cost because it very often is a deciding factor for many students.

ds graduated from Warwick two years ago and lived in Coventry in years 2 and 3 and walked to campus. Leamington spa is a much nicer place to live, but the bus to and from uni is a real drag and if your lectures are spread out you need to stay on campus all day as not worth going back and forth to LS.

The universities are very different. He really needs to visit both if he hasn't done so already.

If I were choosing, I would unquestionably choose Manchester. My reason for doing so it that is an internationally renowned physics department based in a vibrant city. Warwick would hold little appeal in comparison.

However, your DS might feel very differently. For example, he might prefer a campus university and have aspirations to work in finance. In this case, Warwick would be absolutely ideal.

I think Manchester is cheaper in terms of accommodation and would also offer better opportunities to find part-time work. However, the universities are so different that I would be surprised if cost was the distinguishing factor.

It is true. It's in this year's High Fliers Report.

Only thing that would make me wary of Manchester is accommodation issues.

It does sound like research might be driving Manchester’s ranking. Nothing wrong with that. But like I said, the Graphene Institute and the two recent Nobel Laureates (for the discovery of graphene) may be driving the research ranking. It isn’t clear how much this will impact undergraduates’ experiences. UGs on TheStudentRoom will be able to tell DS what both places are like, and to answer his questions.

@poetryandwine Quite possibly true. But true everywhere! I think it comes own to where he likes best and where he might live. I don’t like students choosing my cost. This could well mean poor choices are made. In this case, it wouldn’t. In general though it holds back social mobility.