Should DN go for campus or city uni?

[Stringbean70]

DN lived in London all his life. Is sociable and street wise but not into clubbing or live music. His great passion is football - he wants to go to a uni where he can have a kick about with mates when he has a spare hour at lunch/between lectures.

With that as his top criterion, I’d have thought a campus uni is a no-brainer - green space and football pitches on site rather than a bus ride away? My friend’s DS is at Lancaster and thinks DN would love it - the sporting rivalry between colleges would appeal to him in her view.

Of course DN will assess courses in detail but, as a first filter, do you think he should be looking at campus over city? Londoners like him don’t always go to city unis do they (my DS seems to think they do)?

@thing47
I agree re MA. However getting started in a career can be difficult. The MA was TV production but it’s so competitive to get work.

Chucking in Durham. There is a second tier of collegiate league if he doesn't make a uni team. Most of the Hill colleges have a MUGA which is ideal for an impromptu kick about. The city is small so you can walk everywhere and will just bump into familiar faces.

Durham isn’t campus though. I did say it’s top 5 on the previous page.

@TizerorFizz the OP's question is should he go for campus or city? I'm suggesting Durham is a happy middle. The Hill colleges go up the road from the STEM & library site.

@EwwSprouts
Seemed to settle on campus - OP says “campus is a no brainer” if you read more than the title. A few of us suggested course and quality of university is paramount. I agree with you re Durham. Lots are being discounted as not campus though.

@TizerorFizz I read the post and full thread. The 'campus is a no-brainer...' you will note is followed by a question mark. Maybe it is rhetorical or maybe inviting other points of view.

@EwwSprouts Yes a few of us gave other points of view but campus won out I think.

Durham hasn't been discounted out of hand for English- I'm sure the DN could be swayed. It is, of course, a great great uni - but the subject league tables don't place it above campus uni York , so it's a moot point.

Generally, location bias operates both ways. I know several students who do the whole Oxbridge, Edinburgh, St A's Durham list because they think those are the best - without considering whether that is actually true for English.

Obviously CIG and GUG differ a tiny bit but it's fine toothcomb territory.

@Piggywaspushed I know you are well versed in the tables. I saw this today so don't know if there has been a shift or indeed whether this is a ranking with weight?
"Our other top subjects are Geography (14th), Anthropology (23rd), Philosophy (32nd), History (joint 38th), English Literature (38th)"
https://www.durham.ac.uk/news-events/latest-news/2023/03/twelve-of-our-subjects-are-ranked-in-the-world-top-50/
We visited Lancaster last year (not for English) and DS felt it was very isolated.

I think the metrics of the World Top 50 are very different?

I agree Durham is great for English - seen as a bit stuffy/overly trad by some perhaps and I do know quite a few students wo have dropped out of Durham lately (interestingly , English and history!) but I don't read huge amounts into that. I also hear of many happy Durham students ;)

Actually... just peeped at that table.

UK unis also in top 50:

Oxford (1), Cambridge (2) , and then - in order but with soem unis in between!

Edinburgh (I would dispute this for undergrads)
UCL
KCL
Manchester
Warwick (26)
Birmingham (27)
Glasgow
Leeds
York (35)
Durham (38)
Lancaster (40)
QMUL
St Andrew's

All top 50!

QS rankings are quite controversial, not everyone considers then academically rigorous in fact as there's an element of universities 'marking themselves' to the way they are compiled. Personally I wouldn't pay too much attention to them, but if you do, at least familiarise yourself with the metrics used and how they are assessed.

To give just one example (among several!), they are heavily biased towards universities that publish a large number of research papers. Nothing wrong with that per se, of course, but it's worth asking yourself if that is relevant to a teenage undergraduate. Having eminent professors who are conducting interesting research is really only a huge advantage if those professors are also teaching the undergraduates… Some do, some don't, as ever the devil is in the detail.

Thanks both. Interesting to learn.

Reading with interest as my DD is currently pondering the same!

The thing is, who really cares if somewhere is great for English? The student might want the course they want but will a standard employer care if they have studied Keats or Kafka? Probably not. What they might care about is transferable skills and what the student brings to the job. That’s rarely a great knowledge of literature. So look at sensible uk rankings of the university and choose one with decent employment prospects. English grads do have to compete with so many others for employment.

Thsi was you a few posts ago saying the course content did matter tizer

Trying to get a course tailored to a one aspect of literature that interests you, can leave great works untouched and other genres not explored. The better courses will be diverse.

DS2 is at Birmingham and likes the green space but more for running. He is in the halls football team and enjoys that. But no one these days just seems to go for a kick about. Maybe it's just the youth of today! By the time the weather improves for BBQs and footie and lolling picturesquely by the lake, they're all home as Birmingham has semesters.

Students are always up in the park on Raddlebarn Rd - opposite St Edwards, and next to the Hospice - where all the 2nd and 3rd yrs live, kicking a ball about, playing frisbee etc.

I think if you have grown up in a big City, there is a worry that you will find living on one of the 'outside of town' campuses a bit restrictive.
If where he can play football is important, don't forget in a big City, there will be hundreds of teams he can join, if he doesn't make the one of the Uni Teams. There will be leagues at all sorts of levels.
Cities like Birmingham and Nottingham have the advantages of both campus AND City life.

@Piggywaspushed
After I wrote my later comment, I did realise I contradicted myself. I considered posting again to clarify! Thanks for pointing it out though.

I think I’m trying to explain that breadth of learning is desirable for the student as a person who develops curiosity and intellect as they study. A good degree programme should challenge and therefore students should be open to broadening their outlook and exploring various options. Going to a high quality university to study English is about more than exploring an early interest in one genre. I think that’s why the best universities do require a breadth of study. It’s beneficial to critical thinking and development of the whole person.

However I’m not convinced employers will ask about actual books studied but that’s not to say breadth isn’t better for personal development. I truly believe it is. What a student acquires from expanding their horizons is something employers value. Just not the precise detail of what you studied. I think it’s quite good to be able to say how you rose to the challenge of studying something you hadn’t encountered before and what you gained from that which can be transferred to work.

Hope that’s a bit clearer!