Physics at uni

[dearydeary]

Hi everyone

My son wants to study physics at uni and he is predicted two A stars and an A.

Anyone care to share their DC experience? Any good tips?

We have looked Durham/Warwick and he is also thinking Edinburgh/St Andrews/Lancaster/Exeter.

Still debating between them and also considering accommodation costs.

Thank you 😊

Question University of Edinburgh about year abroad opportunity as I believe the number of students getting this chance is below ten a year.

Is anyone going to Birmingham Open day on Saturday. We are thinking of doing the park and ride or any other recommendations for parking are welcome.

What did people think of Birmingham?

DS2 loved it, really approachable staff, unfortunately didn’t get to see the accommodation.

We were at St Andrews open day yesterday and my son aboslutely loved the Physics department. They were all much more welcoming and enthusiastic than Manchester.
I think it helped it was a gloriously warm sunny day and the town was buzzing. Takeway was that the personal statements are a major part of the application process. They said Edinburgh don't bother reading them and as Manchester seem rely on the interviews - it really is a mixed bag.

We did Nottingham and the physics department itself was good. The rest of the open day seemed a bit disorganised which as alumni disappointed us.

Has anyone seen Exeter?

The accommodation is all fine. I haven't seen any of the brand new stuff. That seems really nice but very pricy.

My DS was there and was in Aitken which was one of the cheaper ones and is often overlooked as an option.

Birmingham is a lovely campus to study at for three years.

Yes, we went in the summer. Lovely campus, enthusiastic staff - DH very impressed by the physics staff. Unfortunately it doesn’t do particle physics beyond the required minimum - ie no researchers or specialist staff - so DS has discounted it. DH said it was a nice department and the profs they spoke to were really happy to talk physics for ages. As they went in the summer there were few students around, though.

We did the uni visits for physics last year.
Birmingham really does have a great program
and lab space. And, it’s close to town, but feels like a proper campus. My DC spent several hours chatting with the professors/students in the labs talking to the applicants. A very different feel than in Imperial, for eg. But it’s to be expected.
It also seemed that it has great connections to the industry - CERN, etc.
Durham - I think is more known for astrophysics as it has a cosmology center and has a famous astrophysics professor
Manchester is also a highly ranked uni for fundamental physics.

Your DC has the grades tor the top physics programs - so he should also look at the rankings as part of his selection.

Thanks everyone I really appreciate your views.

DS predicted 2 A stars and an A.

We have not looked at London (too expensive), instead he has looked at other well regarded courses countrywide.

As he is unsure of any speciality, he is keeping it broad in the beginning.

Good luck and thank you again for your responses 😊

Just curious, which classes did he take at UC and how did they compare to Manchester?

Durham - (Computational) Cosmology
Bath - Particle Physics

Just listing the specialties/strengths of unis as I learn about them

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Sorry, I have no idea, physics leaves me cold. I do know he had a great time though 😁

We did Cardiff today and were very impressed. Excellent research groups and lots of flexibility to change direction at the end of the first year.

How does the strength of the research groups matter for undergrad besides modules selection and availability?

It made a big difference to the amount of choice for the fourth year MPhys projects, some of which sounded really exciting! It has an excellent reputation for physics and collaborates with other universities. Ds really liked it which is most important to me.

My DS did the 4 year combined masters at Exeter and had a great time. He found the tutors very helpful with good teaching and facilities. He also had a great time, made good friends and enjoyed both the campass, the town and being able to be on the beach in 13 minutes on the train!
Accommodation in general was quite expensive - but there are some that were reasonable if you didn't need it to be fancy/all ensuite.
DS is now enjoying working in physics.

DS has a first and Masters from Cardiff. He loved it there.

Yes, it does! Often the student loan doesn't even cover the tuition, never mind the maintenance. Any student thinking about going on to do research in their subject, should choose an integrated masters. Bad advice above.

It’s good advice academically - certainly a better prep for PhD study than an integrated Masters.

I did acknowledge the issue of the lack of maintenance loan for Masters and possible shortfall in fees in my post on 4th Oct.

But for most young people without wealthy parents, or who don't fancy having to work at the same time, a postgraduate MSc is financially prohibitive. An integrated masters is perfectly adequate preparation for a PhD. It's only relatively recently that a masters (integrated or PG) before PhD has become common. I went straight into my PhD from a BSc.

Yes I know - I agreed. BSc straight to PhD is a much much rarer route these days. Possibly because so many have BScs. Hence an MSc. I’d also recommend an MRes or MbyRes - gives you a decent quality of research to demonstrate, and fees are often much lower so with a PT job the Masters loan may well be enough.

When did you take your graduate coursework? I thought going straight from Bsc to PhD while taking your grad courses during the PhD was an American thing as UK/European PhD programs are 3 or so years of pure research?