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?

I would strike Huddersfield straight off your list. Huddersfield is a hole. My nephew goes there and spent most of his time socialising with friends at the Leeds Unis. Huddersfield does not strike me as a place for the quirky.

Alternatively son went to Brighton Uni and that would certainly fit the bill.

I imagine they are visiting Huddersfield because of its exceptional reputation for music.

Huddersfield is well known for music courses but it depends on whether its course or town that matters most.

@cheeseclothshirt my DS is studying electronic music production at BIMM Brighton and loves it.

He really enjoys the alternative vibe of Brighton and the course suits him very well as it is practical rather than overly academic. He is very creative and really doesn't enjoy the academic side of education.

Thanks all for your suggestions and comments - loads to think about there.

@KittyMcKitty That's so great your daughter sensed that Durham was the right place for her and is so happy there! That's the dream. Yes I probably was a bit glib lumping all those universities together and a lot of posters have pointed out that I've got the wrong end of the stick about York so I'm happy to hold my hands up and say I got that wrong. I def don't think my students are a homogenous mass - as I said they are delightful and I love teaching them. I just don't see many types like DS (and other DC described on this thread) - that's not an insult to my students or a value judgement, just an empirical observation based on 20+ years of teaching.

@TizerorFizz Yes we do have a bit of a fruit salad of different kids of universities at the moment, I think part of the mission of going to Open Days is get a feel for different kinds of universities/campuses/cities so that DS can make an informed decision about where he wants to spend 3/4 years.

Very strongly disagree. It's sensible to be encouraging your kids to consider where they are most likely to be happier for three years of their life. Significant numbers of students experience poor mental health, the numbers experiencing suicidal thoughts is really alarming. Part of it is the huge cost of university now putting on a significant amount of pressure to be perfect. Don't add to it. Someone will always do better if they are happy. And no, boys are not naturally more lazy.

@cheeseclothshirtI think if it’s music, a music culture locally might matter. DH played in a (rock) with fellow students. Although not a music student, a uni with a great music scene mattered too and he was on the Ents Committee. (That dates him!) The city also had (and has) larger bands playing as well as the university booking bands on the way up. So I would not solely look at the university offering, I would definitely look at the local music scene. Everyone I know who likes music wants to see professional musicians from the great bands to the lowly pub gigs.

UEA and Norwich University of the Arts - both in Norwich. Full of creative quirky types and the vibe in the city would suit them down to the ground.

It's fair enough to encourage your child to choose which environment they would feel happiest in from a shortlist of similar quality universities with good reputations for the chosen subject, but absolute madness to choose a low-ranking, poorly funded university based entirely on an 18 year-old's 'hunch' , which is probably derived from a single article they've read in The Tab about it being good for partying!

I know it's popular on MN for people to shriek 'they're 18, they're adults, leave them to it, to make their own mistakes decisions' but they're making a massive £50k+ decision and they really do benefit from a helping hand checking the course content, graduate employability stats, the cost and availability of local student accommodation etc...

My first thought was Lancaster ( worked there forever ago) but their Music degree is not particularly mainstream …. It’s part of a larger contemporary arts programme. But when I was there, it was a place where hippies still existed decades after their general demise!

Bangor in North wales. Strong on environmental subjects and does have a music department, very outdoorsy. Good mix of people.

Agree with @LlamaDrama20- I can’t see the point in spending three years and tens of thousands of pounds to go to a low-ranked university that won’t help your chances of employment thereafter. (That being the main point of going to university in the first place, surely).

i went to a very high ranking uni with lots of super posh people but there were also plenty of indie kids who absolutely did not conform. Intelligent people tend to be more open and accepting, as they understand we are all different.

He should go where the course is right for him and the rest will follow.

Anyone else think the word quirky sounds odd now?

Manchester? All human life is there. My quirky dd2 graduated last year (and i Went there in the 80s though I wasn’t interesting enough to be quirky) and we both loved it. Huge student population to find someone who’s just up yurt street.

There is no music degree at Lancaster.

Look at Gloucestershire - outstanding for Geography!

Bangor, Lancaster, chester. How about LIPA in Liverpool for Music. Guildford has very good music tech course. I’ve had students who loved Swansea and Cardif. One of mine is at Plymouth and loves it. I wouldn’t say Chichester is particularly quirky. Brighton for sure.

Lots of my DC’s school class went to Warwick across a range of subjects and all are very happy, despite some being quirky and in a few cases ND. It’s big but there are a lot of clubs to join and they’ve all settled very well. I met one of the mums who was very happy their child had met their people and were enjoying it so much.
Clearly it’s academically strong but if your comparisons were Bristol/Durham types, it sounds like that is the level you’re aiming for.

I got that impression when I visited with DD too!

What are his likely A Levels @cheeseclothshirt

I work at one of the universities you mention you're at. Frankly, if his A Levels enable him to enter a degree at a RG or research-intensive university (eg Lancaster, not RG but academically high ranking) why would he go to a university asking for less?

It's going to be about the student attitude. Hard working and not afraid of achieving and wit the range of interests that go with that mindset. There will be more of that at an academically more intense place. But then, I prefer to be a small fish in a big pond, still, as a professor because it pushes me.

Falmouth is pretty and all that, but the degree programmes there wouldn't be challenging enough given other places on his list.

And then there's the reputational value of higher ranked universities. We know, as fo employers, that not all 2, i degree results are equal. It's not something I'm comfortable with, but it's true.

You're right @Urbanrenewal - there was a good one when I worked there. Ahhhh, cha-cha-changes

i went to a very high ranking uni with lots of super posh people but there were also plenty of indie kids who absolutely did not conform. Intelligent people tend to be more open and accepting, as they understand we are all different.

That's my experience also @Perfectlystill (I was one of the posh kids). I teach some posh kids, but really, they struggle along with everyone else. And I take no nonsense from them.

It might be different sharing halls with them, but I think people can find their friends outside of halls and tutorials.

Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff or Sussex - all seem v friendly places with lots going on and countryside nearby.

If it’s a music degree, what instrument does he play, and what kind of music does he like? That could also affect uni choice.
None of the music students we know were remotely interested in the gig culture in their uni towns as they were classical and jazz musicians playing harp, piano and saxophone.
Oxford/Cambridge/York all good for classical and choral.
Birmingham has a good reputation for a wider range.

If it’s rock/ pop/ techno stuff then yes, a less academic, more vocational course may be the best route (although I have a feeling York now has some strong musical technology courses too?)

@LlamaDrama20 We knew ones who were classical musicians but also loved gigs! They are not necessarily separate! If you get a choral scholarship at Oxford it doesn’t mean you only sing church music. The world of professional musicianship is very broad.