Clearing: Chemistry at UEA or Loughborough.

[LittleWhippetFace]

Dd has been offered a place on BSc Chemistry at UEA and Loughborough. She's struggling to decide. Mayes not interested in Biology and is wondering if the UEA labs are more geared towards Biology whereas the Loughborough labs are apparently good for Chemistry.

I think she's thinking that for the course, Loughborough will be best, but for other considerations, like the nice town/city, attractive campus etc, UEA is best. And she still can't decide.

I think she's leaning towards Loughborough atm but she's a Norwichy sort of person so.....
any insight on either campus/town or course would be much appreciated. Tia.

Well my DS2 is at Lboro as I have mentioned numerous times on threads here

It’s a small town and there is not much going on in terms of clubs, bands, theatre – so if that’s your DD’s bag then somewhere else will be a better fit (not sure that Norwich is amazing for those things, but I am sure it is better)

BUT DS has found Lboro a great place to be a student. He does biology and is doing his masters there. He is very involved in a sports club and that has been a major source of social life and flatmates for him. Sport is big at lboro for sure, but so are lots of other things. It’s the kind of uni (small town, campus) where getting involved in student life – theatre, music, sport, NUS, journalism, whatever – is a great way forward.

If Lboro is good in other ways, remember it is a short train ride from what’s on in Leicester or Nottingham (and yes, maybe go to those unis instead then. But that’s not the OP’s question).

I love Norwich, it’s a great city, It’s isolated tho; unless you live in a certain part of the country it’s a PITA to get to by train or road. That might not matter, or it might; I have been glad for various reasons to have my DC at uni relatively close. My UEA-specific knowledge is very out of date (old friend went there and enjoyed it but that was 30+ years ago). Not sure what is happening with accommodation as it had the concrete issue.

Thank you so much. I think she's leaning towards Loughborough. She likes the sound of the sports, and facilities look superb! I think she'll be fine at Loughborough; her first choice was Bath, which is probably similar in some ways to Loughborough.
Just looked up the concrete issue at Norwich 😬

I also have a DC at Loughborough who loves it. Hates sports but very involved in other societies. A friends daughter a UEA also doesn’t want to leave there, they are quite arty and alternative.

I also knew one student who went to Lboro to do Chemistry through clearing and didn’t finish the first year, too tough. The ‘chatter’ was that Lboro dropped grades too low for the course, I think this person got a C in their A level chemistry and wasn’t strong enough.

My DD is at Bath doing a science subject and her insurance was Loughborough. I think the facilities at Loughborough are amazing. Has your DD visited at all?

My son did comp engineering at UEA. He loved it.Lovely campus, loads to do in Norwich,lovely area. Lots of students remain after graduation as they love it .
He declined Loughborough as the area was boring. He wasn't into sports.

My DD is at UEA and loves it. Really friendly and welcoming. Good support for students. Lovely campus and Norwich is a lovely small city with shops, pubs and bars.
It does have a bit of an arty/alternative vibe, and I wouldn't say it was party-central.
A huge range of clubs and societies, with brilliant sports facilities on campus, including a pool.
Accommodation for Y2 onwards is plentiful and cheaper than many areas.
They usually have halls accommodation for all first years, even through clearing.

DS is studying Chemistry at UEA. He likes the chemistry department and says the labs are modern and well-equipped.
It was his insurance choice but he has been really happy there. It's a nice campus and Norwich is great.
He has joined a sports team and seems to have a very active social life.

You see @LittleWhippetFace you are likely to get (as you have) positive views of both.

I would say btw that I find Lboro a great campus, whenever I have been there (a lot bc dc used to be there for sport often) there have been lots of students about, playing sport, chatting, busy and active. That may well be true of UEA ofc!

Where are you roughly? I ask bc if you are in the west of the UK at all UEA is a long way off. Plenty of ppl say that’s not an issue and it isn’t for some but it was for us, so it’s worth considering.