A bit early...but trying to narrow down choices

[Wornoutlady]

My DS wants to study History. He'll be coming from the Bath/ Bristol area. So he is looking at applying to

York
Bristol
Newcastle
Cardiff
UEA

And this order is based on each Dept's A level requirements for entry, York & Bristol having the highest requirements, and the rest in roughly descending order.

Any thoughts or advice on this list? Alternates / things to avoid (I know UEA is having a financial crunch ATM, etc).

I believe Bristol (tho I guess he could commute?) and York are among the highest for student accommodation (see a separate thread running on this). That's a factor IMHO unless you are very well off.

Newcastle and York but esp Newcastle are a long way from home if that's a factor - cost of train home, how often will he want to come home, will you want to go and watch his sports matches (I say this as it has been a factor for me!). A friend's DS was at uni a really long drive away (like, 5 hours + round the M25) and she said it really meant an overnight stay when dropping off at the start of term.

Otherwise all good unis with much to offer. All based in nice cities. Some campus, some not.

For anyone on a tight budget, I would be concerned about the accommodation costs at York and Bristol (unless living at home). One of my DCs' friends recently graduated from York and liked it there. (I think friend did joint honours philosophy and history). As you may know, University of York is a campus university not right in the centre of York.

@clary thanks yes, we thought maybe 1st year in Halls if at Bristol, the rest at home to save cash.
@MadridMadridMadrid thanks, yes, I went to York a long time ago now, when it was a lot smaller (3000 undergrads / 6 colleges) and all good points.

Haven't checked this myself, but have read that Bristol has a long list of state schools that qualify for contextual offers. So if your DS is at a state school, perhaps worth a google to see whether his school is on the Bristol contextual offers list.

Good point about contextual offers for Bristol, they seem quite unusual in their list of schools, others such as Southampton have quite different schools and contextual criteria. I'm in academia and know that History at Bristol is very good, they have a good early modern reputation for instance.

DS knows lots of recent/current Cardiff students (though not sure any of the ones he knows did history). Not aware of any issues with Cardiff University. Cost of student accommodation lower than in many other places.

@MadridMadridMadrid I wondered if your DS's friends have any insight into the potential town / gown conflicts in Cardiff, if there are any? Or if students feel fairly integrated into the city generally?

@jennylamb1 We won't be getting contextual offers. Good to mention it though, in case others reading the thread might benefit.

In terms of the subject, Newcastle isn't great for history and is a long way from you. UEA is quite a trek too and awkward via trains.

He should look at Warwick and Birmingham - both excellent for history and more accessible from your neck of the woods. I wouldn't go all the way to Newcastle when better unis (for history) are closer.

Was going to suggest Cardiff dc hss friends there doing similar courses but not history... All seem to really like it..not mentioned town/gown as its a city i guess so less concentrated
I would also consider ease of travel dc 4 hours away but its a straightforward train or coach... The coach actually stops at the uni which is handy when carting laundry back and forth!

What periods of history is your Dc is interested in studying, and do the interests of the academics at those institutions match?

I’d look carefully at the course content of each university as history degrees can vary enormously. Also, the cost and availability of accommodation from the second year onwards.

And as far as university finances are concerned, I think UEA was one of the first to be open about its financial situation, and how it was going to tackle it. York recently posted a deficit of £14 million and there will be many more out there, especially the ones who are heavily reliant on income from overseas students.

Based on my own experience, he should also look at Sheffield.

Can't comment about the course but I have a DD at Newcastle.

Accommodation etc is cheap compared to the south.

There's a lot going on (not just clubbing) and she has made good friends.

We live just outside Cardiff and have DC that socialise there frequently, there are no town/gown tensions, it's a nice place to study, buzzy but compact. Lots of students for the size of the city with 3 unis and a conservatoire. Just the kind of place mine might have considered if they didn't live here. I don't know what it's like for history though.

Might be worth considering Exeter? Again I don't know what their history dept is like but as a uni I would consider it in the same ballpark as Bristol and York.

Assuming he is year 12 when he gets tests back work out what he needs to improve that score. It might be a knowledge thing, exam technique, application of knowledge to questions etc. That will help him for his upcoming year 12 exams and then over year 12 summer go back over year 12 work, cement that knowledge to make life easier for year 13.

On the uni front, for his personal statement look at summer schools or courses he can do, read/watch/listen/visit anything History related and keep a diary of it all and what he learned/loved/enjoyed.

Cost up accommodation for at least first year, a spreadsheet is good to keep track of all the info. And definitely look into what periods each uni covers for History.

Yes, Exeter also good and Sheffield - but further away- although if York is in the picture Sheffield should be. Excellent for contemporary stuff and loads of choice.

Thanks everyone. I foolishly hadn't looked at the train times to all the universities, though it is the obvious and sensible thing to do, I am now finding.

You can fly from Bristol to Newcastle.

What does he want to do after his degree? Employers won’t care about what he’s studied within his history degree. They will care about work experience and the transferable skills he’s got. His knowledge on the Tudor queens probably won’t matter to anyone. Look at what grads actually do with their history degrees. The only people who rate courses are academics. The rest of the world has no idea. What they want is an employee who can learn quickly and whose skills meet their criteria.

How far does he want to go? Cardiff is a great option as respected, fairly cheap for rents and cheap national express buses back home.

Since you mention it tizer

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2024/university-of-birmingham-first-choice-for-leading-graduate-employers?fbclid=IwAR1Ql1imr6jDTOj7Vpbu3Wdx_6ZWlixsEiJ-9Y_K-DcuGC1ZGlreqM4p3f0_aem_Adx95Fl8MmoMj3qH35g7V6m-o9sa2Xk2wtALjVPkOnQPY7r-q1XLPH2eYa4nT9cCn95ZSW65MymyKuXxgss5Cm7m

Well they no doubt get plenty into grad jobs but I would expect Oxbridge grads to be very well regarded too. I would have suggested Birmingham too though and Warwick. Lots on MN worry about degree content and minutae but forget that dc need to get a job afterwards and none of the employers listed will worry about what you studied within the degree other then to initiate a brief conversation.

Cardiff is 35 in Complete Uni Guide and Newcastle is 40. Neither have great grad employment rates. Newcastle seems to be dropping like a stone these days. Cardiff isn’t great for RG either. No idea why not but other unis look better. Nottingham and Leeds worth a look.

@TizerorFizz You're right, those two, Cardiff and Newcastle are lower ranking, but they also ask for lower entry requirements and that's why they're on this list at the moment. I don't think DS applying to 5 universities of equal standing and if getting offers, having them all being the same, is going to give him any kind of range of options, unless his grades are a slam-dunk.

Newcastle wants AAB so not actually that low :pretty high - standard for history degrees.

I'd say at lower than Warwick and York levels but around AAB - ABB , Birmingham would be the far better bet. It's a genuinely renowned department.