UCLAN/Preston? What’s it like?

[theferry]

DD is looking at a course at Uni of Central Lancashire on the Preston campus. I’ve never been to Preston, but my sister says it’s a dump. What’s it like? The course looks fantastic.

I did a course at UcLan via distance learning but went to the campus for my graduation. I really liked it and having never been to Preston before, it wasn’t too bad. The hotel I stayed in was in a lovely picturesque square.

Preston is fine. It's a Northern City with the accompanying underinvestment.
The main square has the Harris Museum which is lovely.
Look at SpudBros on TikTok to get an idea of Prestonians are like.
Best things: Butter pie. Booths. Brucciani's cafe.
And proximity to Lake District and even nearer Ribble Valley & Trough of Bowland.

Thanks for those replies. DD loves big cities so I’m not sure if she will go for it, but the course is fantastic.

That

I've lived here since uni, never left! It's a fairly standard northern city with good bits and bad bits
I've never felt unsafe on a night out

Are you happy to say what the course is? I did a fairly specialist course there and it was worth every penny.

I wouldn't describe it as a dump. It has nicer areas and some not as nice but you'll find that anywhere. It doesn't feel unsafe there. It's just like any other northern city imo.

@WinterMorn it’s for film making

BTW, im a northerner (in Scotland) so it’s not a North/South divide thing.

Well, I am sending lots of good wishes for the future whatever decision is made 🙂

Great train link on the WCML! I’ve heard good things about the uni and student life. Obviously it’s not Monaco but do students care?

DD cares. She’s a big city gal. Wants to go to London or New York (neither is going to happen as we’re not made of money)

It’s a bit of a dump, and probably too provincial for your daughter. Surely there’s more suitable cities for that (quite general) course? Why is she thinking of UCLAN? Maybe have a look at the courses offered by MMU and Northumbria.

Preston is a dump and a city in name only in reality.

That can be advantageous as a student - I went to Lancaster, offically a city but in reality just a student town.

If she's a big city girl looking at Northern England then she should be looking at Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester or even Newcastle. Much more going on than somewhere like Preston.

If she's 'a big city girl' I don't think Preston will cut it really.

Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle perhaps?

F d is there and loves it, cheap accommodation and great academic staff.

Why not London? The loan is higher to reflect the higher living costs.

She wants to be a cinematographer so the generic ‘film studies’ isn’t what she needs. It’s mostly post-92 universities that do it. She also wants to spend a year on placement so that cuts it down more. She also wants to go somewhere that has the latest tech (which not all places do). UCLAN ticks all the boxes. We’re also locking at Manchester Met, Northumbria, Sheffield Hallam, Nottingham Trent. In an ideal world she will go to Edinburgh Napier so we don’t have to cover fees, but there are 800 applicants for 60 places and she doesn’t have brilliant grades so it’s unlikely she’ll get in. Other options in Scotland have been discounted. There’s really not much on offer up here.
If all goes wrong, UCLAN do a foundation year that she already has got the grades for.

@titchy I don’t think the loan is higher for London for Scottish students (which is where her funding will come tfrom). Also, she (& I) preferably don’t want her to be that far from home. We’re in northern Scotland.

Has she considered conservatoires eg LIPA?
https://lipa.ac.uk/courses/filmmaking/

I teach film.One of my ex students got a place at Edinburgh Napier. Definitely a stellar student so it's worth a shot. Make sure she has a good portfolio. Otherwise, I'd say she should be looking at London unis , maybe Salford, or possibly Brighton Film School.

Should read definitely NOT a stellar student!

It's a former market town that was wrecked by the Industrial Revolution and still bears the derelict scars. God alone knows how it's achieved city status.
I went into the centre only once since Covid officially finished because I had to visit my bank - it was disappointing. Boarded up shops, a proliferation of kebab and greasy chicken outlets, and UCLAN is now a sprawling monolith of plate glass add-ons everywhere.
I will only ever go into Preston again if I'm forced at gunpoint.

So very sad. I was born there and each year I've witnessed it declining a bit more......

Ah missed that! Wouldn't you prefer Scotland - paying £30k in fees seem pretty luxurious when you can avoid then.

@titchy there are so few options in Scotland that would work for her. We’re still unsure whether she’s going to apply for English universities, but it may be the only option for her to do what she wants.

Don't Stirling or Dundee do anything?