Uni of Liverpool or Uni of Loughborough

[Spicycake]

For Product Design Engineering?

What are people opinion?

TIA

@TizerorFizz i think you tagged me in error? I’m very pro Liverpool and didn’t say anything about crime there?? Think you meant to respond to @SummerFeverVenice ??

Completely agree @TizerorFizz . My DS is not a heavy drinker and he doesn't like clubbing but he is really enjoying city life, particularly the live music and other cultural opportunities.
Plus of course city centre Universities do have plenty of societies and student centred activities too - those things are not unique to campus Universities (my DS's University has about 200 societies and sports teams). It's ridiculous, and frankly quite offensive, to suggest that students only opt for city centre Universities so they can spend every night getting drunk in clubs and that none of the fantastic University cities in the UK has anything more than that to offer.
There are pros and cons to living anywhere of course.I've lived in quite a range of places and in my experience there's always something positive to find but also always some downsides. How well somewhere suits you overall depends a lot on your own personality and interests. Same with the campus vs non campus debate. Neither is intrinsically better or worse but they will each suit some people better so a prospective student is wise to consider whether they're likely to be a good fit at a particular institution in lifestyle as well as academic terms.

Good post @MrsAvocet I hope it didn't sound as tho I was saying that about city unis. I grew up in the country and couldn't wait to get away to a big city for uni. It’s not (or doesn't have to be) just about clubs; if you want to hear classical music live, or watch a great production of a play or an opera, then for sure that is going to be easier to access in Manchester or Liverpool or Sheffield than in Lboro or Warwick or Lancaster. And yes of course big city unis can also have lots of societies and a great sporting offer.

Not at all @clary. Your posts are always rational and balanced.

@Summerbay23 Ooops! Got the wrong Summer! Apologies.

@clary Cannot say my DDs accessed opera, but liked ballet and students can often get cheap tickets. DD1 participated in a professional Christmas play for 15 performances as a singer whilst at university. There’s all sorts of great music available too. Cities are losing clubs all the time: many have closed. It’s definitely not true to say dc at city universities just drink. There’s ample opportunity on a campus too!

Just to add: this course is widely available at post 92 universities but hard to find at RG. Liverpool John Moores has its course accredited by the Institution of Engineering designers. This can award Chartered status but I’m wondering how many product designers actually bother. It was only from 2012 it could award Chartered status - so very new. It’s very difficult to see HOW you become a chartered engineer on their website. They don’t have the big London HQ and it seems more of a professional body and it’s quite difficult to see the breadth that’s offered by the other major Engineering Institutions. Loughborough is accredited by thrm. RG unis seem to not offer this course very much.

Looking at Glasgow, they partner with the Glasgow school of Art to deliver this course. As it now has its own Institution, I’m wondering if these courses were previously seen as not “hard core” Engineering so didn’t fit into the existing framework of the other major engineering institutions.

DS visited both (different course to your YP though) and much preferred Liverpool.

He's not a hugely social, drinking and clubbing type - he's got a small close friendship group at home.

He preferred Liverpool as he liked being on a campus right in a city and all that brings- nearby cinemas, bars, food, live music, festivals, part time job opportunities (he's going to have to get a PT job!), ability to hang out off campus if he wants, affordable 2nd & 3rd year houses really near to campus etc. He didn't really like. Lancaster either - for similar reasons.

I'm sure your DC will know which he prefers once he visits!

Thank you. It does seem to be relatively new

That is good to know. Thank you

My DS rejected Loughborough mainly because he disliked the "beautiful people" vibe. There is a lot of lycra and skin on show as you walk around campus and a higher than average number of very tall, fit and very sporty people. He said as someone nice looking but very "average" in terms of height, fitness etc he'd feel like a short fat person.

I think Loughborough is SO well known for sport, it’s difficult to see what else is on offer as there’s no city facilities. My DDs would have been stir crazy and I have no doubt they would have thought it dull to be stuck in a campus. Friends they had there came home a lot. It really depends on personality.

I would ask Liverpool about accreditation though but I would also love to know how many product design engineers ever get chartered. It’s just not like standard engineering which has a long pedigree and offered at RG and elite unis just about everywhere. I suspect few bother to get chartered. Plus what further education and training are needed? What exams? Or just time in a suitable job? It’s difficult to know.

I do agree that it depends what you're looking for, and I think you do need to be willing to get involved which not everyone is up for, but it does annoy me that people who haven't studied at Loughborough / don't have children there, dismiss it as "dull" with little to do without first hand experience. You're not "stuck on campus" either!! Even if you ignore the masses of stuff put on by the uni / each hall / more clubs & societies than most unis / opportunities everywhere for sport at all levels, Nottingham (with all the "city centre" attributes previously mentioned) is 20 mins away on the train (running pretty much all day and night).

As everyone is advocating OP, if you go to the offer holders days and speak to current students / look at the details of the courses and the pathways after graduation, that might highlight which your DC prefers. Please don't be swayed by negativity unless thats real experience rather than perception.

I actually know Loughborough University very well. That isn't quite true about trains running day and night. The last Nottingham Loughborough train is at about 11.30 and they don't start again until about 5am.

The journey only takes 15-20 minutes but it isn't the case that you can flit back and forth easily between the two. A taxi costs a fortune.

My DD's friend was at Loughborough and they headed into Leicester for a night out, frequent buses in the day and cabs are cheap in those parts to get back after midnight

I was UG at Loughborough and did Materials Engineering and Design (when that was a thing). Not that sporty myself but enjoyed hockey and stuff

Loved the place for so many reasons.

Bit of a bubble yes but in a good way. It felt half sporty / half engineeringy. You had to laugh at the Jocks with their spandex and perfect abs, didnt bother me or my (more normal) friends at all. Couldn't play Hockey for the Uni (because most clubs want country+ standard) but the intermural sports were great. So many good society's and a well run Student Union too

Enough stuff in the town, Nottingham is close by if you need more

BTW the course was really good too, good employability support and lots of help getting a placement

The sport situation won't be an issue for everyone of course - when we visited we saw that there was a lot on offer at different levels and the facilities are indeed excellent. However if you are a fairly serious athlete but not creme de la creme then the extremely high standard of participants is something to consider, especially if you do a mainstream sport. If you're a solely recreational player then I'm sure the opportunities are fantastic, as they are if you are an elite sports person. But if you're just "good" and playing for your University is important to you then it's possibly not the best choice. My DS has several friends there at present who were county or regional standard at school and haven't made it into even the lowest level BUCS teams. For young people who have been very committed to their sports and imagined that playing for a University team would be a highlight of student life that's quite a disappointment. None of them was daft enough to think they'd be in first teams or anything but they didn't expect to be rejected completely. Inter hall competition isn't quite the same.
Obviously it's not an issue for everyone and not relevant to the OP who has said her DC isn't really interested in sport but I think it is worth pointing out as L'boro is so heavily promoted as the place for sporty students. Lots choose it particularly because they believe it will give them the best sporting opportunities, whereas good but not outstanding athletes may actually get more elsewhere.

that's does sound annoying, as an engineer with amateur interest in sport I was happy (I didn't really know LBoro was considered sporty til I got there, I liked it for chilled vibe and engineering reputation) - but does sound misleading for others

Good post from @MrsAvocet . The issue with Loughborough sport is the strength in depth, so even the fourth and fifth teams, for example, contain very talented players.

At the very, very top Loughborough is not the best at everything, far from it - it's only really athletics where it is totally dominant - but it is highly competitive a long way down the teams.

How many students truly want all this sport? None of the things my DDs enjoyed are at Loughborough. What they wanted was on the doorstep of their city universities. No last train back issues and a more bouyant city atmosphere. Liverpool supplies this but every student should reflect on what makes them tick. For many, it is not sport.