Bath or Leeds for Maths and Economics?

[GreenSalon]

Just that really. DC has offers for both though Leeds requires slightly lower grades. They haven’t been to either -DC has ALN which is partly why and may be relevant re choice but has read lots online and spoken to past and current students though NOT for this degree. I feel Bath has better graduate prospects. Both myself and DH have experience of both universities so aware of differences in campuses and locations so question is more about the course…..thanks in advance

ALN?
Has DC looked very closely at the modules for each course and how they differ, flexibility and options, sandwich year etc?

Additional learning needs.
Yes they have which is why it’s difficult as quite similar- Bath initially because of the year out for example but this is possible in Leeds. Is one better uni than the other overall?

U of Bath offers placement years for all its courses and (if I remember rightly) around 2/3 of students take that route, meaning you are likely to be 'in synch' with most of your fellow students (ie when you return to Bath in year 4, so will your peers).

By contrast, most courses at U of Leeds are offered as three years without a placement year. You can request a placement year but means you will, typically, be 'out of synch' with most of your peers and be returning in your fourth year after they have graduated. This may or may not be a factor to consider.

Ah of course ALN - thank you for clarifying.
DD has firmed Bath for many reasons (not economics & maths) and the placement option was an essential for her. She wants relevant work experience so when applying for post grad jobs she’s something more to offer. Does your DC want similar? If so, Bath seem to offer a fair bit of help but I’d also be checking the support available at both universities for DCs specific ALN and also if your DC feels able to ask for support as & when needed.
Both universities have good reputations as far as I know. Do either of them rank higher on the league tables for graduate prospects in economics/maths. I’m thinking they’ll be similar.

Not that this is subject specific but I live right next to Bath Uni and went for a coffee today at one of their coffee shops- they have the banners up for Times university of the year and world Top 100 for graduate placements. !! It's a lovely campus - they were all sat round the lake- I think the biggie for you though is looking into what support there is for additional learning needs. It may be one is much better than the other- also I think you have to factor in setting in general- Bath is smaller and cozier and much easier to get around , but a lot less ramped up nightlife- would that suit??

Is one a bit nearer home so you can give F2F support if needed? Do they have a ‘gut feeling’ type preference?

@PerpetualOptimist good point

@NotDonna - yes, Bath. Not sure it’s a consideration for them at the moment but is for me.

@Crikeyalmighty nice to hear thanks!
the trouble is that with ALN support, it’s hard to find out the reality of what support is advertised/presented as being possible and the reality. DC has done their own research on forums and chat rooms but there’s not a lot yet that is up to date that we can find. Did see a recent thread on here about what a positive experience one mumsnetter’s DC had had at Bath with ASD support though

Also @NotDonna yes placement important though apparently Leeds have started to offer this too.

Leeds have started to offer this too I’ve absolutely no idea about Leeds as it wasn’t ever on DDs radar. However, Bath have been doing placements for a long time and say they have many links to industries plus a placement board where employers specify Bath students. Would they be in the ‘School of Management’ if studying maths & economics as that would be the same as DD and although they don’t guarantee a placement they do appear to give considerable help via placement coordinators, help with CVs, interview skills etc. They did emphasise that it’s a numbers game though and they need to apply to a lot. That could be pretty overwhelming for any DC but especially with additional needs - however, it could be good practice for them as they’ll need to be applying for jobs at some stage. I found it interesting (and healthy) how rejection was normalised. The students DD spoke to at Bath’s offer holder day had all done placements and found the support helpful. That’s not to say Leeds wouldn’t do the same.

I am a former Russell Group STEM admissions tutor. Leeds is RG and Leeds Maths is a very fine School; also I think Leeds is a wonderful city. Leeds is an excellent option.

But I would choose Bath in a heartbeat: the uni, the city, the size, the ambience, the reputation for supporting SN students and, as @PerpetualOptimist says, the experience with placements, to say nothing of the Maths Teaching and Learning programme. I don’t know so much about Economics at either uni.

Presumably DC is on The Student Room forum? If not, I highly recommend it.

Thank you @poetryandwine this is helpful and he is on student room and Reddit threads

I would also choose Bath for much the same reasons.
Bath has a very good reputation for maths - it would generally rank in the top ten for maths in the UK. Leeds is perfectly respectable but not in the same league.

I am less tuned in to economics so can't comment there.
I have friends who went to bath who loved it and spoke highly of it.

It's a really lovely campus Uni - I live on the doorstep so pop over there frequently to use their coffee shop and co-op. !! ( very cheap food too at cafe ) - it's not overwhelmingly big which I think helps and seems to have a very big mix of both home and international students. Whilst I think courses are very important- I do think the other aspects of Uni life matter a lot too - I would ask to speak to someone OP in admissions who can maybe tell you what provision they have for ALN.

@GreenSalon I’ve had dc at both Leeds and Bath. Both loved where they went but probably would not have liked the other one. They are quite different personalities!

Ds1 (Bath) was in first year when Covid started. When we finally went to pick up his belongings I was chatting to the pastoral team & they seemed very caring. Overall they were much better during Covid than some other unis. Ds liked that everything was available on campus so he did not need to leave at all until he built his confidence & gradually went further afield

@Decorhate it was a good place to be during covid too as masses of open space on your doorstep

We are very familiar with Leeds. It is a great, well respected uni, fantastic buzzing city. We visited Bath but discounted it as too remote a location and difficult to travel to, and a much smaller, cosier feel as a uni which would not suit DS at all, but would suit DD.

So, both great, but very different, options.

Thank you all. Your comments have been really helpful and I’ve shown them to DC.