Campus universities

[PinaColadaBaby]

I know most universities have a campus of sorts but DD is looking for a traditional campus university - where all the teaching, 1st year accommodation and sport are in one place. So, by this criterion, Leicester and Leeds for example are not campus, whereas Nottingham is.

Traditional campus universities that occur to me: Nottingham, Birmingham, Exeter, Warwick, Essex, York. Do you know of any others please?

Lancaster definitely the bill!

Someone mentioned UCL earlier pretending it's not a campus Uni... that's sort of true but sport is very much not on campus (given it's Central London location).

Yes, I would approach UEA with caution these days. The plan for redundancies means the university is about to lose lots of great staff who are voluntarily leaving because of the instability and mismanagement. I expect they will take a huge hit in the league tables and REF in the coming years.

@WednesdaysPlaits Yes DMU is in the city centre but I would dispute that it is spread out. Teaching departments, leisure centre, student accommodation, library, health centre, food village, SU etc are all in a very compact area, exclusive to DMU? "Campus"??
Are you thinking of the old days when there were separate campuses at Charles Frears or Scraptoft? They are long gone and everything is in the city centre campus now.

Sorry, "there isn't much point going to Scotland"? What do you mean by that @TizerorFizz? I hope, charitably, that you are referring to specific courses, and not suggesting that Scottish universities are somehow inferior for English students?

Some Scottish universities waive fees for RUK students for 4th year, and some helpful scholarships, but there would still be extra living costs. Whether there is any extra value depends on alternatives and course I suppose. Strathclyde is a campus university - in the middle of Glasgow, but still self contained I believe (no experience).

I don’t entirely see the need to live, study snd play in one place. Getting out a bit can be beneficial.

Birmingham is good if you want a campus but also very easy access to the centre of a major city and rail links because of its own station. Not good if you like being able to get out into countryside easily. Lancaster is almost the opposite.

DMU is a campus in the same way that some people would say Leeds is a campus or Newcastle is a campus. Yes they have a cluster of buildings broadly in the same spot but they're not Center Parcs type campuses as a pp put it, completely separate and self contained with everything on one site and surrounded by green space.

Lancaster has rail links straight to Manchester but it is good if you like the outdoors, right on the edge of the Lakes

I think the poster meant that for RUK students, going to Scotland generally just means that they are taking on significantly increased debt and longer degree courses. As a result there has to be a compelling reason to chose that option. I made that point originally (and I have an RUK DC awaiting a St Andrews response)

I guess it’s the same answer as why fewer girls take Engineering. Fewer boys take English too. I think it’s informed by what subjects they like and are good at. Brains work in different ways don’t they

No, they really don't. Boys are not better than girls at STEM subjects because their brains work in a different way. In fact they are not better at all - there are fewer girls taking STEM A levels but they perform just as well as boys. Similarly for English and MFL, fewer boys choosing those subjects but they do just as well as girls.

Well the halls at Brum are a decent walk away. I mean only about a mile but not really on the same site. When we went for an open day a student advised us to take the bus! We walked from the furthest one in 20 mins but we are fast walkers, apparently. I wouldn’t have that as a reason for not going there tho.

And it is separate from the big city that is Brum so that’s really nice. Kind of depends if she wants to be near to a city tbh. Lboro and Lancaster and Warwick not v near anywhere really big, unlike Birmingham and Newcastle.
Shocked to hear no MFL at lboro – good mate of mine did MFL there about 20 years ago.

Yes there are only girls on MFL courses – twas ever thus. Another mate of mine, brilliant MFL teacher, was one of very few men on his course, which he enjoyed. I studied MFL at Bristol back when dinosaurs walked the earth (*NOT a campus hahaha) and my dept was at least three quarters women, and that was German. I can’t recall a single male student of single hons French tho I suppose there must have been some.

Warwick has got a lot of halls on campus, so there is the option to apply to be on campus in later years as well as it being guaranteed for first years. Some rent near to the campus in Canley after the first year, or live in private halls near campus. Some choose to live in Leamington Spa which is lovely. A few opt for Earlsdon in Coventry. Dd has chosen that as its cheap. It's good to have options.

Dd is really enjoying her first year on campus. Great facilities. A green campus. Dd has a 12 minute walk through a nature reserve to get to her lectures in the Life Sciences building.

They have the option to socialise in Leamington, or Coventry or Birmingham. But it's nice to have the option to socialise on campus too, and walk back home afterwards. Dd likes modern buildings. Some are very new, so that isn't a problem.

@WednesdaysPlaits

I think the poster meant that for RUK students, going to Scotland generally just means that they are taking on significantly increased debt and longer degree courses. As a result there has to be a compelling reason to chose that option. I made that point originally (and I have an RUK DC awaiting a St Andrews response)

OP's daughter is looking at 4 year courses with a languages element though. While they are not campus universities so will not be if interest to OP, I would just point out for general information that, in addition to the 4 year language degrees I linked earlier at campus universities Heriot Watt and Stirling, both Edinburgh and Aberdeen offer 4 year language degrees including the year abroad, while St Andrews has an optional year abroad which can keep the course down to 4 years.

For non-language subjects where the English course would be 3 years, I'd have thought that some young people might like the idea of an extra year at university! I wasn't ready to leave after three (l did 4 years at an English University). There is too much scaremongering about student debt in my opinion, it's not real debt.

Also, with high enough grades you might get direct entry into year 2 as year 1 is often a repeat of A2.

Well the halls at Brum are a decent walk away. I mean only about a mile but not really on the same site. When we went for an open day a student advised us to take the bus! We walked from the furthest one in 20 mins but we are fast walkers, apparently. I wouldn’t have that as a reason for not going there tho.

A pleasant short walk (or very short bike ride) morning and afternoon can be viewed as a positive!

Liverpool doesn’t meet this criteria

Lol at the difference of option on Luffers! Agree it is a small town but muddy field is harsh @Apollaine :) And DMU? Really?

Anyway no MFL so humph.

Yes agree. Brum is great for sure.

I thought the walk down to the Vale from Birmingham campus was really nice when we went on the open day. The path felt as though it was part of the campus.
Went to offer day at Loughborough and the campus did feel a bit bleak, was ok but nothing special much preferred Birmingham campus.

I have just checked as was on DD's 'possible' list. You are correct - a lot of first years live in Greenbank (bus ride from campus). Thanks

There is too much scaremongering about student debt in my opinion, it's not real debt

Of course its real debt. RUK students on full loans will accumulate £20k of debt per year of study. There is interest charged on that debt. Hopefully they will be high earners in the future and they will therefore pay off some or all of that debt. An extra year at university is a massive thing and simply not affordable for many families, particularly when the first year in many continuation subjects is a repeat of stuff RUK students will have covered at A Level stage.

Absolutely- I didn't do a masters due to financial considerations. I just couldn't see how to finance it at the time.

It absolutely is real debt and a real worry for many people.

@SoTedious
I didn’t say the girls didn’t do well! I said fewe studied it. Not the same thing at all. Boys don’t take English at uni in anywhere near the same number as girls. There must be reasons for this. Perhaps you know the answer!

Yes. Scotland does increase student loan so no compelling reason for non Scottish students to go there for MFL. Why anyone thinks I believe Scottish universities are useless is beyond me.,

Birmingham is a campus university with accommodation just a few minutes walk away off site. It also has access to a decent city with all the amenities, clubs, concerts shopping etc that might be fun for a student.
Keele is a lovely campus but the city of Stoke on Trent is in decline. I have lived in Birmingham and now live in a village just outside Stoke. Finding somewhere if you want to go shopping is a problem! One son went to Keele and I, and another son, went to Birmingham. I would recommend Birmingham above Keele for a more rounded experience.

DD seems to think Lancaster is the place now (outside Oxbridge)? But she may be biased because she wants a proper campus uni and Lancaster ticks that box. Birmingham seems great and, from reading other threads, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Nottingham are too? But I am no language expert - so thank you @TizerorFizz for joining this thread