Music degree: Leeds vs York?

[ButPerfectlyFormed]

DS has identical offers from York and Leeds to study Music and Music Tech and now needs to choose which one to firm. Having attended open days at both, he's very much on the fence at the moment. Sadly the only remaining offer holders days for both unis are on the same day so he'll only be able to go to one - I admit to toying with the mad idea of trying to do both on one day, given how close they are! Really grateful for any thoughts, in particular from anyone with insight into the two faculties.

I realise that York is an out of town campus whereas Leeds is a city campus. Although very sociable and would probably be happy to go clubbing, that sort of thing is unlikely to be a prime motivator for DS. He likes historical places (York!) but will enjoy having access to as many music opportunities and experiences as possible (Leeds?). His main instrument is the sax so his performing opportunities are likely to centre on jazz/blues/big band/modern, although he has an eclectic taste in music.
I haven't yet been to Leeds but thought the atmosphere on campus in York was welcoming and I thought it would be great to be able to walk from halls to practice rooms in a matter of minutes (but then only for the first year).

I'm wittering on! As I said, very grateful for any wise words/experience.

I went to York, the music Dept was very prestigious, even back then. The campus is just south of the city, a 10 min bus ride. Or a bike ride / walk if you're up for that.
The cohort of students is very similar between the two places as well (I discovered this as years went on and I met more and more Leeds grads).
I think its a tough choice.

Thanks for the speedy response @Wornoutlady ! Yes, realise that although the York campus is outside the main town it's really not far. We can obviously spend time helping him to explore the two cities and get a better feel for them, but I wonder whether the real decider ought to be how well he gels with the tutors. My other thought is that with Leeds being the bigger city and university population, he's more likely to find his 'music tribe'. But York is perhaps more highly regarded?

Have you compared accommodation costs? York has expensive 2/3rd yr student housing.

woukd he prefer a campus or town university? Living in a large city versus historical
one? All things being equal regarding the course, where doors he think he’ll prefer to spend three years.

For me, York would win hands down, but he may refer a big city vibe.

I'd say Leeds for student experience and also housing. Student housing in York is a real issue as it's such a small city, and last year first year students were being put in halls in Hull.

When I was at uni in Leeds all the York students used to get the bus / train over to Leeds for nights out as there naff all going on in York.

Thanks, all. We would happily support him more with housing costs if his preference is more expensive. More worrying is the idea of not finding something suitable after first year/being off campus in first year. He does need to decide what kind of vibe he wants. Hoping just revisiting, even if not for an offer holders day, will make things much clearer for him.

The Leeds course has is very good for music tech, so I would opt for that if he's into sound engineering. If he wants a more traditional course ... York.

I went to York and loved every second of it. Campus means youre in a wonderful bubble where everyone is together but its so easy to get to town. There is housing, halls as a first year and encourage him to think about second year housing asap. We left it to last minute but still found something. Thriving dramasoc/ pantsoc/ lots of other music or theatre societies and many people I went to uni with now work professionally in the industry.

That said my sibling went to leeds for music and.wouldnt swap it for the world. They are more outgoing and had the best time. Don't know as much about it but they always speak so fondly.

That's to say I know something of both unis and he can't go wrong. Congratulations to him for getting such great offers and there isnt a wrong answer, he can trust his gut.

You don't need an open day just go and wander round the campus/ city. Best of luck.

I went to York and never went to Leeds for the night! There was plenty happening on campus in the evenings and in the town. Granted it doesn't have as many big bands come through as Leeds but it was perfectly fine for a music lover as I am.

I studied opera at Royal Birmingham conservatoire. I hear good things about Leeds not heard of York sorry.

I don't believe it is accurate to say 'last year' students were housed in Hull. This was a temporary measure in the Covid bulge year, since then more Halls have opened on East campus.

Fair enough, it was late and I was going from memory rather than fact checking.

Housing in York for students is a big problem still though. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-66857653

https://www.nouse.co.uk/articles/2024/01/13/its-really-lonely-i-just-feel-so-isolated-the-students-commuting-because-they-cant-afford-to-live-in-their-university-city

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23292287.york-highest-demand-purpose-built-student-accommodation/

Also if you are driving, definitely try to do both open days in one day. You could get from one uni to the other in a hour in a car, so you could do a morning in one and the afternoon in the other. Then if you stayed overnight you could do a half day exploring each city the next day?

The OP was talking about offer holder days, though, which are more targeted and usually only run through the information once - however easy it may be to get from one to the other, this may be academic (sorry) if the sessions for the specific course are both in the morning or both in the afternoon.

Yes, it’s bad luck that the only remaining Offer Holders’ days clash. He applied relatively late (not helped by slow processing by school) and I think the fact that he’s applied for 2025 may also have contributed. Annoyingly it is the one Saturday in I don’t know how long when we need to be back in London for the evening. It’s also a train strike day so we’ll have to drive which takes much longer! I suspect he’ll plump for one OH day and we’ll try to get him up to the other place at some point before he needs to firm to get as much of the vibe as he can, even if not an official event.

… but we’ll see what we can find out about timing of subject-specific sessions at each uni just in case we could somehow get to both on the same day!

No experience of music at either, but DD2 went to Leeds for MFL and DD3 went to an open day at York. They are very, very different in terms of uni experience. Leeds is a busy city, accommodation is relatively easy to find though back in 2017/20 crime was an issue. DD2 had a great time there. York is a campus uni in a quieter (except for the tourists!) and prettier city. DD3 loved the vibe there but ultimately didn't apply as they withdrew her course. As an amateur musician with a number of musician friends I have heard good things about Leeds, nothing about York. I don't know if there is any cross-fertilisation between Leeds Uni and the Leeds Conservatoire? That could be a positive for Leeds.

@CaptainCarrotsBigSword That never happened for the entire 3 yrs I was at York back in the 1800s and I was very sociable and out nearly every night. And now, the city has so many more things to do for students than just pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, I doubt it happens today either.

Back in the 1800s?!? 🤣

What can I say, we used to meet a lot of York students in the clubs in Leeds! Maybe it doesn't happen any more, and to be fair the clubbing scene everywhere is dying a death. But I was under the impression - from York students! - that if you wanted a proper night out clubbing, you came to Leeds.

Out of interest I've just had a bit of a google of nightclubs in Leeds and York. It seems York has a couple but Flares is consistently coming up in the top 5, which you wouldn't have caught me dead in during my student days! But I guess it all depends what he's looking for. From the couple of bits I've been reading it feels like York has a lot of nice bars and a couple of ok clubs; Leeds has a lot of nice bars and a good number of clubs as well.

I would definitely look at housing as well - York is a much smaller city, and an expensive one, so housing for 2nd and 3rd year could be hard to find & expensive. Leeds has become a lot more expensive since I was there but there is at least a lot of housing available - there are the traditional shares houses in Hyde Park, Headingley, Burley Park etc but also a lot of new private halls that have been built in the past ten years plus.

My daughter studied at York and had the most fabulous time. The campus is not far from the city but being on a campus is great anyway and loads of fun. A stepping stone to independence.
York have a great system to look after freshers, the STYKS who are second and third year students who mentor the freshers and organise freshers week and all the other stuff that happens on campus. No one is left out and they get everyone involved socially from the start.
Having spoken to lots of friends with kids at other unis, this is by no means the norm. York go above and beyond to make the start of Uni welcoming.
Music wise, the department is large and very well equipped. Music is a massive part of life at York, my daughter didn't study music but did a level music so was involved in the department.
Anyway, I'd recommend Uni of York to anyone!!

By the way, my daughter had no problem finding accommodation, those students who were housed in hull were medics who were part of the Hull/York medical school which are now joined.
As long as you get in early there are plenty of houses and flats for 2nd and 3rd year. If you wait to the end of summer you may struggle.

My daughter got into York on clearing and there was still plenty of accommodation left on campus then.

My son is at Leeds Conservatoire but he has played at events and with students from Leeds Uni. We also know someone who went to York and has gone onto RNCM.

Both are highly regarded. My gut feeling is that York has a very good reputation and opportunities for classical music. Leeds has more opportunities for bands and music tech, however you will be competing with conservatoire students for opportunities.

It is very expensive to live in York but it is beautiful whereas Leeds is cheaper, accommodation is plentiful and it is a large city.

My gut feeling would be York unless you are someone like my son who needs to be in a large city and hates the historical type places.

I went to York and loved it. I did occasionally go to Leeds for gigs or clubs, but it was really straightforward. I never would have wanted to go to Leeds instead of York. I have friends who went to Leeds who would not have chosen York.

If the courses are broadly similar and similarly respected then the main difference is really campus uni vs city uni. What I loved about campus was that you can interact and become friends with far more people. It means that you can more easily find your tribe even if they are not in the same halls or on the same course as you. That is much harder at a non campus uni.

30 years later, my closest friends remain friends from York. I have really noted as I get older that those who went to campus universities often have their uni groups as their closest lifelong friends whereas those in city universities (though admittedly often bigger cities than Leeds) often have school friends as their closest groups.

It’s so difficult isn’t it. My daughter had identical offers from Leeds and York in psychology. She very much thought York would be her favourite. After the open day she preferred the set up at Leeds. She wasn’t as keen on what she perceived to be the lack of central union social space at York with smaller social spaces based in each York ‘college’. Sometimes just small differences match your vibe.

Also Leeds university is located centrally but is still a campus university.