Which universities have a more quirky/alternative student body?

[cheeseclothshirt]

DS is in Y12 and considering either Music or Geography. We are hitting the Open Days soon and as well as thinking about reputation for subjects, I'm also thinking about where he is most likely to find like-minded people. DS is quite quirky, practical and creative and generally drawn to similar types. Not a huge party person, likes doing outdoors stuff. He really likes Falmouth for its mix of creative/outdoorsy.

I work at one of Durham/York/Bristol/Exeter and I know that DS would not feel at home in our student body (delightful as they are and much as I enjoy teaching them!). I gather Nottingham has a similar demographic and I imagine Warwick too?

London is probably out due to cost/size.

Anywhere we should be adding to our list? We are already visiting Falmouth, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Huddersfield. I am wondering about Lampeter?

Isn’t that the point of being ‘quirky’?

Dd is at York and is quirky in some similar ways to your ds and has found plenty of like-minded people. I live near Lancaster and it seems similar from that pov. I was in Durham the other day and I know what you mean - it gave the impression of being significantly less socially diverse than other university towns I've been to!

For some people, maybe. For a lot of others it's just how they are, and they don't necessarily want to stand out, they just want to find a group who they feel will accept them as they are.

Aberystwyth for the outdoors? Or UEA springs to mind. For both the city of Norwich and the University. UEA still has a music venue which attracts decent well known bands. I certainly thought my DC2 would suit going there and I'd put her in the quirky category.

I’d also say this advice is spot on. The higher ranked unis often have greater investment in facilities and strong industry links (York is well regarded for its Year in Industry option for a lot of subjects).
There’s a lot to be gained from being amongst a cohort of bright, ambitious students - they are often self starters, run lots of extra- curricular societies and develop their own career networks for after uni.
Much better for your DS to be ‘swept upwards’ at a good uni, rather than allowing himself to coast at a less well-regarded, unknown uni.
I have DSs and I think boys are even more at risk of this - they can be a bit lazy/seat of the pants and do the bare minimum if left unchallenged.

I know everyone is saying there are all sorts of people at every university and you can find your tribe everywhere but some would prefer to be at a university where they see more people around then that are like them.

I'm sure there are diverse people at the University of Bath but when I visit my dd1 and go on the campus or stand at the bus stop with her, most of the young people look the same. Having visited a range of other universities with DD2, that has not been the case.

I know someone at Exeter who is a fairly quirky person and although she has great friends, also a bit quirky, they all lean towards fitting the Exeter 'look', perhaps subconsciously.

Lancaster could be a good choice for geography and being close to the great outdoors and university with an excellent reputation.

Have a look at ACM (Birmingham, Surrey & London campuses) - they’re a dedicated music college with a fantastic reputation in the industry. My son is headed there in September to do Music Production.

Not read through all the answers but I am guessing the place you work is neither York nor Bristol!

Both are quite different form the others you mention. Sure, Bristol has a large cohort of quite wealthy to very wealthy students but is at the same time targeted by really very 'woke' types. It's that kind of city. York is known for being inclusive. York especially is nothing like Durham.

My DS is at Birmingham. It's huge so has all types but my overall impression so that is is quite middle of the road, anything goes ( EXCELLENT music facilities) and Warwick's overall 'vibe' is quite serious and staid (but has a thriving film department so does have culture!)

Sussex is the uni most associated with being quite hipster.

Depends what type of music they'd like to study, but Salford is a great choice for creative music courses, sound engineering etc, strong media and film courses which attract creative, quirky types. If outdoors is the pull, Bangor is a great option - small, welcoming campus just a few miles from the beautiful beaches of Anglesey and outdoor heaven in north Wales' national parks and around. I have a DC at each, bothe very happy with their choices of uni location.

Meant to say my DS does UniBrass (national champions!) and they come up against lots of the unis you mentioned. York stands out every year as fun, quirky, quite self effacing. Huddersfield is musical so takes itself seriously. Liverpool, Warwick, Sheffield , Bangor, Durham all there too. But York are the ones with the sense of fun.

The other musical uni is Chichester. It is also excellent for drama so definitely has its type.

O yeah and if the Great Outdoors matters, not Birmingham. Beautiful campus but the countryside isn't a draw. I feel a bit sad really that DS hasn't explored the city much or the surrounding area at all like I did when I was at uni.

Bath Spa Uni?

UEA has always been a little quirky. Good music scene, diverse student group. The city is beautiful, safe and plenty to do. Campus is built on a broad so lots of outdoor space.

Aberystwyth is also delightfully quirky. Great little town, live music in pubs (DS seems to go out on a Sunday evening for this) and an amazing location. Last weekend his girlfriend was on a trip to climb Snowdon, his best mate was canoeing and he was chilling out on the beach. It isn’t the easiest place to get to, but I think this means most students stay there all term, they aren’t popping home for weekends. I believe the geography course is great because everything is right there. (Also it’s not an expensive place to be, so the student loan goes further!)

I think Manchester has most of what he wants. There’s a whole city to find quirky people! Countryside via transport is great. Or Sheffield. Didn’t see quirky vibe much at Bristol but most larger unis have this side to them if you look. My DD would run a mile from woke. Not sure woke is quirky either.

Keep an eye on university finances too, particularly for music. “Expensive” to teach and can struggle to attract either the international students or the research grants to offset the loss made on home student fees. You don’t want him to end up somewhere that needs to make half its music staff redundant while he’s there.

Bangor for music, Aberystwyth for geography

Funny you should say Lampeter as I was going to suggest Aberystwyth. Huge amounts of nearby countryside and hills full of aging hippies. Quirky, weird student body and a strong geography department.

Amazingly enough bright, motivated and happy students can be found outside the Russell Group.

My first thought too. And maybe Bangor, though no idea what Bangor is like for those particular courses but draws a lot of outdoorsy types. Manchester? Again close to good outdoors stuff, peaks and Lakes and north wales…big city so plenty of different types.

I was going to say Bangor. I know both Bangor and Aberystwyth unis well, and they both sound like they'd suit your son (who sounds ace, btw!) Bangor feels a bit more homely, has Eryri and Môn, so mountains and the sea, right on its doorstep, and students tend to be quirky!

Can't be a very high uni then. Think how many societies most unis have, there's something for everyone

Hi OP, sorry I've not had time to read the whole thread, but if he does decide to do a music production type course, your description of him sounds very like a DC I know went to Bath Spa and has a lot of similar friends studying music production (I think that's the course, definitely something technical to do with music).

What is it about Durham / York / Bristol / Exeter that you have decided your ds won’t like? I’m assuming it’s something to do with the % of private school students and extrapolating stereotypes to do with that? Or maybe I’m making assumptions like you are 😂

I think your ds should decide where he wants to visit. It’s his choice not yours and if he’s considering that level of uni he’s more than capable of making a short list!

Fwiw my dd (2nd yr Durham) hated Bristol and Exeter but liked York - proving nothing more then that you can’t just lump places together. Loads of people questioned why dd applied to Durham - they said the student body wasn’t her kind of people and would she fit in. She loves it - even a uni as small as Durham is full of a multitude of different people and there is someone for everyone. From what you say about yr son I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t fit in and actively love Durham.

Whilst I’m sure you didn’t mean it this way I am rather saddened by your view of your own students as some homogeneous mass and indistinguishable from each other. Applying stereotypes is never helpful.

@cheeseclothshirt You listed 3 large city universities. Now posters are saying Bangor! Aberystwyth? They are nothing like Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham! Could you be clear about what the priority is?

Tiny university towns seem to be cropping up (based on the Falmouth idea?) but they mean social life is pretty much based at the uni. There’s nothing like the diverse city vibe the major cities you list have. Nor employment prospects afterwards (thinking of music here). So it seems your list and recommendations are chalk and cheese so he might have to think about what matters most. Is it music production? Music? Meeting fellow creatives?

Falmouth is also very different to the other city universities. I think you have a very mixed bag and possibly need to decide if he wants a small and remote town or a much more vibrant city with far more going on. Musicians I know love gigs. So getting out to gigs or making music with others matters too.