Loughborough vs Bath

[Icelolly999]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any experience of the above two universities?

Dc has offers for both in natural sciences and is very sporty as well. We have visited both twice and both have a great feel. These seem to be the top two currently (still 2 more offer holder days to come though).

Any pros and cons or previous experience to help dc make a decision?

thanks!

Yes I agree, but is it better being a bigger fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?

Agree on location being nicer in bath but Loughborough more convenient!

Thanks yes good idea, will this be on the website?

@Icelolly999 No probable not - I would advising emailing the course director. Hopefully you can find the contact for the admissions person on the website, They should have the appropriate contacts. The answers to these types of questions will vary by course (even at the same institution).

Will do that, thanks.

Did your dd enjoy her time at Loughborough?

@Icelolly999 Yes - she loved it - as did the group of friends she was with.

She loved the social life, sport and the course ! She had her final year in 2020 and Loughborough did hold proper graduation ceremonies for all affected students a year later. (The same wasn't true for many of her school friends at different universities). I thought that was impressive - that the uni still wanted to celebrate the students' time there - even if they weren't going to get any more funding from them.

She benefited hugely from the placement year and gained a graduate job with no issues.

Of course - I don't doubt the same would be completely true if she'd gone to Exeter as well !

I don't think your DC can go wrong with either Bath or Loughborough.

It sounds great!

Tough choices ahead!

Just to throw a spanner in!

Have ds considered Leeds? I have to confess not knowing much about field athletics but I know for tri it's highly recommended so probably worth exploring?

I also have no idea what courses it offers.

My ds is a swimmer hence why he's trained at Bath and Loughborough!

Yes have offer for there too and offer day booked…..

Don’t know it well, it was a wildcard! Dc has a friend there who is enjoying it though!

Closer than Bath for us but not a campus so will have to see!

Don't underestimate what a pain it can be at the beginning and end of each term if the university isn't convenient for your home town. All other things being equal I would choose the one that is more conveniently located.

FWIW I also get a pretty good feeling from the students at Leeds. And I like the city a lot. All of this is on the basis of a comparable amount of time to what I’ve spent at Bath. Worth some queries to TheStudentRoom if DC is seriously considering it

DS is at Lboro. Great uni for anyone keen on sport. Athletics facilities excellent.

DS was a footy player when he started, but failed to get into uni team(s) (massive competition) so he switched to his second sport, American football - amazing team esp this year (his second year) and they have just won the BUCS final.

Lboro Athletics the winners of BUCS indoors. Bath very well represented there as well.

DS take fwiw on athletics (which he also used to do) is that the athletes are not very social!

Lots of opp to do other sport as well. DS also played football and ultimate frisbee (!) for his hall last year.

Halls - yes a lot are catered and thus ££ but I think ti is great that there are a few that are genuinely cheaper. DS's hall last year was £4k for the year.

Bath of course is a lovely city; friend's DD is there and loves it; also mate of DS's is in his final year there after a year in industry and also enjoying it.

Overall DS is happy at Luffers (esp this week!) does science subject btw; but he would agree that the town is small and not a lot going on. Of course you can easily get a train to Notts or Leics for a gig. But a mate of his hated it and left after 6 weeks and is now at Brum.

I think the key is to have a uni-centred interest, such as sport, music, or drama. Or uni politics, journalism, that kind of thing, as the offer of the town is v limited.

Loughborough town itself is small and hasn't got much going on.

I live in a village near Loughborough, and I agree completely. In terms of culture & nightlife, it’s very quiet, but it’s a town which feels much safer than a big city. Nottingham & Leicester are just a few minutes away on the train. The hilly local countryside, known as Charnwood Forest, is lovely and popular with walkers & cyclists.

Student body wasn't very diverse in my day. U.K. students tended to be white, middle class and either sporty or sciencey.

That’s still largely true of the U.K. students, but there are also quite a lot of Chinese & East Asian students around these days. Enough to support several Chinese supermarkets, eateries & popular bubble tea shops.

DD is at Bath, insurance was Loughborough.

For her, the final decision came down to the course and loving what Bath offers as a city and wanting to live there. If these thing hadn't been major factors, I think she'd have fit well into loughborough.

For her, the advantages of loughborough would have been the ease of having everything just there, on or so close to campus for all 3 years. Is that something that would be appealing and advantageous to your DS?

Intramural sports looks to be well established at Loughborough and less so at Bath. DD has found it hard to participate in sports at Bath (high contact hours degree) and intramural opportunities for her sport would have helped. Does your son want to be able to do other sports alongside his athletics?

Well that's a very good question, @Icelolly999, but probably one only your DC can answer as it depends on their personality. I can advise on the data/stats regarding sport but not on personal preference🙂

Convenience wasn't a factor for any of my 3 as they all wanted to be more than 2 hours away from home.

I'd advise going for the nearer uni all things being equal. Our dd is very independent, and I knew she wasn't likely to get homesick, but she's needed to come home a few times so far this year - for a couple of local holiday-job interviews and for her driving test, for example. We've been to visit her once and she came home for reading week/used us as a base to visit friends. We've also had to clear out her room for holidays - but even if we hadn't, we'd still have probably wanted to pick her up and drop her off. She's at a uni 1.25 hours away which makes all the to-ing and fro-ing so much easier. She's able to come back to meet local friends who are back for the weekend too.

Her other options were around 2-2.5 hours away and I've said on a number of occasions this year 'I'm so glad you chose the nearest uni!'. And that's before you consider that some students suffer with their mental or physical health in the first year and need more support.

Interesting @crazycrofter I actually think closeness to home is a key factor tho I know some on MN do not agree.

My DD had all kinds of issues at uni, related to her health and also Covid lockdown; I was very glad that I was able to visit her regularly, she could come home when needed and ultimately she could commute for a year.

DS in Luffers is very near, a bit too near he says but yes, it has been useful; he took his driving test in his first year, and also we have had to negotiate various bits of lifts (mainly related to sport) and that has been a lot easier, logistically.

Also I have been able to watch his matches (and he does like someone to be there) as they have either been at home or local to his uni. Not many parents can do that, or if they do there is a lot of driving.

A friend has DC who were/are at very far-flung unis and has found it a bit of a PITA as a visit (even to pick up the DC at end of term) usually necessitates an overnight stay.

Exactly, it's a bit like sending your kids to schools a fair distance away (which I did!). Now ds is at sixth form a walk away I can see how much easier it is. Obviously we managed with the further away schools, but all things being equal I'd go for nearer due to cost and convenience - same is true for uni. Cost is a big consideration, because even the petrol costs of picking up/dropping off six times a year add up to a lot more if the university is twice as far away.

My DS is at Lough .. he has been though halls and on his placement year.

He enjoys sport but is not great at it , there are 2 sports teams the Athletics Union which is the elite support and Varsity. DS plays for varsity teams and they have a full program of inter-hall and other competitions. In varsity teams they get to use all Uni facilities which are obviously amazing.

DS was also in the cheaper self catering hall and loved it, lots of social events, all halls have active committees and you stay an alumni of the hall throughout your Uni life so even if living in town you can play on hall teams.

What did you decide in the end? My DC has a place at Bath but still waiting on Lboro…….. it’s been a v painful wait to be honest and now wondering why it is taking so long when they submitted in November!

Hasn’t decided yet!

We only heard from Loughborough about 2 weeks ago.

Good luck!

If the sport's important to him I would investigate the coaching available.