Best unis for maths

[Dangermouse999]

DS is in y12 and we’re looking at going to some uni open days.

He’s planning to apply for Maths and is probably on track to get 4 A stars in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Comp Sci.

He's considering the following:

1st tier: Cambridge/Oxford, Warwick
2nd tier: Bath, St Andrews, Durham, maybe Edinburgh and Bristol
3rd tier: Exeter, Lancaster, Southampton, Loughborough.

He prefers a smaller to medium size town, definitely not London and he's not a big partying kind of person.

Does anyone have any experience of these unis / other suggestions / any advice in general for Maths degrees?

If deffo not London (bc Imperial, UCL and LSE spring to mind) then his list is pretty good.

Mate of DS had a very good experience studying maths at Bath – did a year in industry and has a good job. Bath has a great rep for Stem subjects.

Bridling a bit at Bath and St A being a tier above Loughborough haha, also I am not sure Exeter would be happy! DS is at Lboro (not maths) and it’s great (he doesn't seem to want to leave) but it is a very small place so a lot of emphasis on student life rather than big city experience.

The places on his list are very different. Is the city aspect the reason not to include Sheffield/Leeds/Brum/Manchester? Bristol is probably as much a big city as Sheffield or Leeds, tho I agree his other choices are not. I might add York as a smaller city?

St A - smalllllll place on the coast, beautiful, far away (unless you are in Scotland or northern England. Accom can be a problem I gather (no personal exp)
Lboro - central, very small town, very sporty with lots of opportunities, big big campus, cheap accomm available in halls and in town
Warwick - lovely campus near a smallish city, again pretty central; accom in ater years can be far away
Oxford - gorgeous city in the south, very specific student offer with intensive tutorial system, cheap accom
Cambridge as Oxford but East Anglia and not as lovely IMHO haha
Durham - very small city with collegiate system - fair way away from the action imho tho I guess Newcastle is near
Bath - another lovely city, nice campus, ££££ accom

Don't know the others well enough to comment. I guess the theme is big town/small city so that's pretty consistent. I think when he visits he will see a lot of variation tho.

hahahahah cannot believe I omitted to comment on my own alma mater!

Bristol - big city, really got a rep as a party town. No campus, uni is in one very attractive part of the city but a lot of halls are miles away and the uni itself sprawls – I used to bike between lectures as it was often a 20-30-min walk. When I was there it was very posh and full of people who didn't get to Oxford; I am sure it is very different now. Good at contextual offers so that should have improved the social mix. Lots to do in the city and around.

dd Is at Bath - very nice campus, good sports facilities, accommodation is expensive, often very big queues to get the bus into the city.
ds graduated from Warwick 4 years ago- campus can feel a bit remote, good range and price of accommodation, living in leamington in second and third year can be a pain with getting the bus to and from campus. Ds lived in Coventry - cheaper and more convenient, but not as pretty! Sports facilities were upgraded when he was there, easy access to Birmingham for nights out.

Dd is doing maths at Bath and having a great time. She's just completed a year in industry which has been a brilliant experience and I have no doubt will be a massive advantage when it comes to applying for jobs or funding for masters.

i don't think Bristol or Warwick offer year in industry. Exeter does, but not that many kids go. In Bath about two thirds of the year go, so when you return, you're still with your friends.

Yes this was also DS's mate's experience – it's a genuine positive I think (speaking as someone who did a year abroad and came back to find a lot of people I knew had left).

I wouldn’t choose Bristol if he’s not a big city fan, it’s very busy, some bits are a bit gritty and very expensive.

on a completely separate note, Warwick enjoys a good reputation among schools and parents but, and big but, of the youngsters I know who have started there only one has actually completed, all were either maths or physics and all struggled mentally and got no back up from the university. My indirect experience is now 4-6 years ago and things change but I do feel that the dc that do well at Warwick are celebrated and they forget those who go by the wayside, it also isn’t in Oxbridge territory despite their great self pr, it’s on a par with Bath and Bristol academically. Loughborough is excellent for anyone that really wants a top notch science university and a small town/campus vibe (Leicester is close enough if they actually need city type services and Leicester is a smaller city) Southampton is good, my dd went there, and isn’t as expensive as most south based universities.

@clary bristol is full of ex public school oxbridge rejects still, some living in lovely apartments daddy bought them - my friend (home student commuting in) has found it quite hard as she is a mature student on a budget!

Oh that's disappointing! I do tell my DD much to her horror that while I was there I met not one single uni student who was not white. Also I did joint hons and across two departments, there was one ONE! female lecturer. She taught feminism in the Phi dept.

Let's hope those aspects have changed at least. I meant to add to my PP but was too late to edit that accomm is also £££ @Dangermouse999 - this may not be a factor but I know of a couple of ppl at uni in Bristol who are paying £10k for a year's rent of a shared second-year house.

Some of the other places you mention will be cheaper, or at least have cheaper options.

Interesting to hear the comments about Bristol.

Visited with DS a few years ago for a city break so he's seen its grungier side.

It's probably borderline whether he would really want to apply there, same for Edinburgh maybe, in terms of perhaps being a bit too big a city for his tastes.

Thanks, some interesting observations there.

I think DD has Cambridge as his first choice over Oxford as we have a lot of family connections/history with the city and university.

The tiers are just approximate going by the various uni league tables which seem to vary quite wildly in parts for maths!

Cambridge is better than Oxford for maths.

Accommodation cost is a factor but not a major one in the grand scheme of things. We're currently paying over £8k p.a. for DD's accommodation in Nottingham in a shared house.

I was always under the impression that it would be quite cheap in the Midlands but how wrong I was!

Bath is probably the university that I consistently hear the best feedback on from my circle of friends and acquaintances. It was the first uni I thought of for DS after the usual COWI for maths.

DS of a friend is doing maths and CS at Bath with a placement year and has loved it.

@Dangermouse999 there is cheaper accomm in Nottingham tho, whereas I hear only of very £££ house shares in Bristol and Bath. That's just anecdotal tho.

Cambs instead of Oxford by all means
Both lovely and amazing places to study.

Think you’ve got the main candidates listed there, if ruling out London (UCL eg). DD about to start at Warwick but we looked at most of those - I really liked Bath but she did not and insured Bristol and am relieved she got her firm because I think she would have found the city too big etc. We both loved Exeter as a city and campus but she was put off the course because they don’t require FM.

With maths, the main thing is the admission tests. The main decision being Ox or Cambs… and there’s the TMUA for Warwick plus some others. STEP (Cambs) is particularly tricky because it’s ofc difficult but then on top of that the timing and process (loads of info on here if you’re not aware which you can search so I won’t rehash) is such that it means they could end up a lower tier uni than the YP could probably attain iyswim and uniquely to C the chances are 50/50 or so that they’ll end up there. And add to that is the accommodation challenge for insurance students so unis like Bath, Bristol, Exeter can be a scramble.

I agree Cambridge over Oxford for Maths, and don't bother with Edinburgh or Bristol, your list is already strong and they are not known for it as a subject. I would not discount Imperial, often the second choice for those applying to Cambs.

If considering Cambridge bear in mind only half of those with Maths offers will make their offer even if they get the A levels as there is also the STEP which is sat at same time as A levels and the curve ‘fails’ half of the Cambridge offer holders. That is my simplistic explanation- someone will hopefully come on to explain better than I am able.

Yes, I'm familiar with STEP etc. DS already started doing a little bit of STEP practice just after GCSEs (for fun!)

The main thing for him is he's now at a specialist maths school which allocates a considerable amount of time for uni admissions and test prep including STEP, TMUA etc.

Oh excellent - am sure he will be really well prepared then! GL to him!

Fantastic student satisfaction at St Andrews.

You and your ds sound very well organised and prepped @Dangermouse999so I am sure it will go well. Cambridge as top then whichever he likes from the list. Sounds as tho he can’t go wrong. All the best to him.

Bath is great for maths and is not too big

For the poster who said that when she attended Bristol she didn’t see any non white students . Glad to inform you that this is not the case anymore .

DD is at Sheffield doing Maths. The uni halls aren’t too expensive but there are private halls in the city centre that are more affordable. DD lives in one of those and is 10 mins walk from the maths building and they are a decent standard. This might not suit everyone but her and her friend both chose Sheffield but her friend had to go through clearing to get a place at Hallam.

She enjoys her time there and doesn’t find it expensive to live in a tho she’s good at economising and is not out all the time.

Of the others, we went to Durham and Lancaster. Durham was never going to be for us as they insist on further maths, the facilities were v modern and there would be a lot of walking up and down hills (no different to Sheffield really). It did feel quite small and congested as a city and the colleges were geared to sports in many cases.

Lancaster is just down the road for us (well, 30 mins) so a lot of people from here end up going there. The campus is self contained and has just about everything you need which can make it feel a bit isolated from the city. I like the colleges there and the accommodation was on the whole nice but it was a lot more expensive than what we pay. Most people live out in second and third years but they run an accreditation scheme for student housing so it meets certain standards and good landlords. The city itself is quite small and quite studenty due to there also being part of the Uni of Cumbria there but it’s a short train ride to Preston.

From the talks we went to, it seems like most of the courses are much of a muchness. Not been to open days at the other places mentioned but having lived in and near Southampton, I wouldn’t call it a small town. It’s a busy port, particularly for cruise ships so it can get very busy traffic wise on change over days. Parts of the city are quite rough but it’s nice to be on the coast. I’ve been to Warwick for events and it’s a nice campus. I went to uni near Loughborough and it is very small town like but handy for Nottingham and Leicester. I like Exeter as a place but no experience of the uni.

Thanks, some great info there on several cities and unis.

Luckily, DS has visited most of the large cities in England outside of the Midlands and I've visited/worked in quite a few of the ones he hasn't.

It's particularly the smaller or lesser known places like Lancaster, Loughborough, St Andrews and Durham that we have no idea about.

agree with @clary about accommodation, and others seem way more clued in about Maths, but have you considered Leeds?