2nd choice Liverpool or Newcastle?

[Supersoakers]

Dd is struggling to name her second choice. She finds it really hard to make a decision. She looked round Newcastle and loved it, but wasn’t able to go to Liverpool. First choice Edinburgh. Accommodation seems pretty similar as does the distance to uni buildings etc. Liverpool offer slightly lower. Anyone got any insight into how the 2 compare? It’s for law. She is academic but quite anxious and overthinks. Not a huge party animal, has never taken drugs, never had a boyfriend or girlfriend but does like going out with friends and music.

Great thank you!
Is it easy to get around? Do students tend to go to the beach?
I feel like Liverpool has such a lot to offer beyond the uni walls as well. I’ve only been on work experience at alder hey years ago and it seemed fab then, and also on a hen do (sorry)!

My DD has just finished 2nd year at Liverpool, doing Psychology. She loves the uni and the city.

My cousin (only a couple years older than DD) did English and loved it - has moved to Liverpool and lives and works there. Other cousin, same age as DD, is at Liverpool John Moores and loving it.

It's a great city, very easy to get around and great culture. DD hasn't been to the beach yet but she currently has use of a car and it's on her list!

My DD has been student at UofL for 5 years, great city, loads to do. Beach trips to Formby and hikes in N Wales and Peak District all easy if you have a car and that’s before you factor in music, parties and huge no of societies thru the Guild ( union). Accommodation rel cheap and reasonable standards in post first year houses. Happy to answer any questions. Good luck!

Really easy to get around, good bus routes and trains that cover the surrounding areas. There are beaches in Crosby and Formby, both can be easily accessed by train from city centre.

Formby is more of a summer day sunbathing beach (if the weather is good enough), lots of groups and families will visit on a sunny day. Train goes directly from central station in the city centre out there, about a mile walk from the station. Very nice area so very safe. My dd is around same age as yours and quite often goes with friends in the summer.

Manchester is also easily accessible by train, about 45-1hr journey, depending on where you get on train. Non-stop train so very easy, great for shopping or just a change of vibe, completely different city to Liverpool. So as a whole I think it’s a really diverse easy place to live as a student overall.

Forgive my ignorance but why does she need to have decided so early? Is this for 2024 or 2025 admission?

It’s for sep 24 admission.

Thanks for everyone’s help, Liverpool seems to be the one!

Is she interested in law at all post uni? I ask as there’s lots of volunteer opportunities to get involved with in Liverpool.

Its an easy city to get around. People are really friendly and chatty. Try to squire in a visit even if it’s not a campus tour. Park at the catholic cathedral and cross the road to be on campus, the guild and student services. Then take a walk down hill into town or walk to the other cathedral along Hope St.

Honestly, having lived in both then Newcastle. There’s things I’ve seen in Liverpool that I’ve never seen in Newcastle. People don’t go to uni and stay in Liverpool, they go, enjoy it, then leave. Students go to Newcastle and stay.

Liverpool is a fabulous city and the universities are excellent

What a ridiculous statement. I went to Liverpool Uni and stayed, as did many of my friends and work colleagues.

Liverpool is an amazing city OP, in so many ways. Its very rare to find people that don't love it and there's so much to offer in terms of student living. The cheaper travel home and better course ratings would also be major factors for me.

Liverpool, because it’s her insurance and the offer is lower.

I went to Newcastle and loved it. It's a great student place amd geordies are so friendly and welcoming! 2 unis in Newcastle then with Sunderland on the metro line there's so many students around.

Can also get the metro out ti the coast,lovely beaches etc.

I hsve visited Liverpool as friend went there and it too was nice and friendly

I can't comment course-wise, but Newcastle is a great city to be a student in. DD stayed in Newcastle for a couple of years after graduating but is now looking at Liverpool for post grad (the course she wants to do isn't available in Newcastle).

Newcastle has a party reputation but partying is optional. As far as drugs are concerned, sadly, they are available at every university. Three students died at DD's halls one year, but that isn't a reflection on the halls.

Also, the MFL department at Newcastle is highly rated, although on a recent thread I read that the German department seems to be winding down.

I'm from Newcastle originally and did my teacher training there but currently live on the other side of the Pennines (not Liverpool sadly though I love to visit). Both cities are friendly and relatively cheap with plenty of personality, great architecture and loads to do as well as generally great people with a well developed sense of humour and real spirit).

You might want to factor in public transport though, depending on where you're travelling from the M6 and all roads in the north west south of about Lancaster are full of trucks and maniacs and I've lost count of how many times trains and buses get cancelled.

Newcastle has a more compact city centre than Liverpool (or maybe it's just I know it better) and despite my friends moaning about it the public transport is not bad.

Best of luck to your daughter though, and I'm sure she'll have a great time whichever she chooses.

My son was at Liverpool and loved the uni and the city so much he stayed on for his gap year . Unfortunately it was lockdown and didn’t work out as planned .
As a musician it was a no brainer for him, and he liked that it was so easy to get to Manchester for the scene.
Good luck to her, wherever she decides OP.

I went to Liverpool for law. It was a great experience and had some excellent teachers.

if she has any interest the legal advice clinic is fantastic and I worked on two high profile inquests while there. They provide a lot of opportunities for students to do different things and explore avenues they may not have considered. Also, Liverpool is a fantastic city and she’ll have a great time there.

Hey @Supersoakers I see you have said "Liverpool seems to be the one" and ofc you may simply mean the uni preferred by most posters on this thread, obviously fine.

But bear in mind that most of us will not have direct experience of uni in both cities. I would really advise your DD to visit Liverpool - is there any way she or both of you could get there this weekend - just to get a feel for a place? I don't think I would want to semi-commit to three years in a place I had never been to. And it is her choice after all, whatever MN says

I do agree btw that the cheaper commute and also the music sene in Liverpool itself and very nearby Manchester, where most big bands will play, are both very important factors for your DD. Best of luck to her.

That would be a vote for Liverpool for me too. I have lived in both cities and I'm familiar with both unis.
Having said that Newcastle is not a bad choice so hopefully your daughter will be happy either ways.

If the course is better but the offer lower I'm not sure why she's even struggling to choose really. It's a no brainer

There’s no evidence the course is better at Liverpool. It’s ranked 27 on CUG for law so not stellar. Course is commensurate with offer. Newcastle and plenty of others are higher!

Also these are insurance choices. What might really matter is accommodation in halls for insurance students. Thats often the big problem. Do they have it? If not, what then? There’s a huge difference in entry requirements between these and Edinburgh. Also DD doesn’t want to practice law so presumably not doing legal volunteering to aid her career in any city.

Any work experience is good experience. And useful for next steps. Whatever that maybe.

Liverpool is full of private halls. There’s a central office for all students not far from campus - liverpool student homes. Could be worth having a visit to check the accommodation info.

Better for her to chose the second choice she liked rather than an unknown. She only has a few days left to register her choice.

Unless you don’t think she’ll make the offer in which case Liverpool.

She only has a few days left to make this decision. Is there a reason you think she won’t make the Edinburgh offer?

As an aside get her accommodation booked for Edinburgh if you haven’t already as halls are filling up.

Why are you being so rude to the poster? She isn't asking whether her DD should do a Law degree or not. And she doesn't need a lecture from you on the supposedly morality of it! She has been offered an RUK Edinburgh Law place, which is quite an achievement, and it is entirely her prerogative whether she takes it or not. An Edinburgh Law degree is rigorous and well respected and can easily be flipped on to many career options.

How many Oxbridge students go to study a subject because they have such a "passion" for it and then flip their degree on to a completed unrelated City finance job? I'll answer that...Lots.

If it’s a second choice I’d make sure it’s a proper backup and look carefully at the grade requirements. I know a few kids who were super confident last year of achieving the grades and just put very a slightly lower offer as an insurance then missed out on both choices.