Shortlisting the shortlist (chemistry and physics / chemical physics / chemistry).

[ChocolateFrog5]

Having never been to university I’m pretty useless with all of this. I know the unis on the list are very good ones, beyond that, I can’t advise and most advice so far has come from 6th form.

The short list:

• St Andrews (chemistry and physics)
• Durham (chemistry and physics)
• Edinburgh (chemical physics)
• Glasgow (chemical physics)
• Liverpool (chemistry)
• York (chemistry)
• Loughborough (chemistry)

Predicted 3xA* in chemistry, maths and physics. EPQ A* . GCSEs all 9s except English Lang 8 and English lit 7. At a very good sixth form but secondary was/has well below average P8. Likely to hit contextual flags on postcode and FSM.

Career wise - wants to do research/R&D in physical chemistry or where chemistry and physics overlap.

Prefers the courses at St A, Edinburgh and Durham but isn’t the biggest fan of Edinburgh as a place.

Prefers the place/general feel at York and Loughborough but not so keen on the courses purely because they are straight chemistry - the content is absolutely fine when talking about just chemistry. Depending on the day either sightly prefers the Loughborough course or slightly prefers the York course.

Liverpool and glasgow seem good all rounders but neither would be 1st choice/isn’t particularly over the moon at any one aspect of them.

And yes, this is the shortlist. Several others have already been discounted for various reasons.

@clary not to worry, thanks :). I’ll make sure the question is directed towards the university.
Good point about the fact it’s 4 years away and things change. I hadn’t thought (or realised?) things like that happened. I just assumed it was a curriculum and that was going to be what was covered (I did say I was slightly clueless about this). But good to know that things can change and it isn’t necessarily the thing decisions should be made on.

@JellicleCat It perhaps is the vibe of the place. I’m not sure. But we’re only a couple of hours on the train from both of them so I’m sure some more consideration into both can happen and a few day trips can be included in that decision making process.

Just a thought. Chemical engineering is a great degree. Employers love it.

I meant to say, with those predicted grades, I'd drop Loughborough.

@dizzydizzydizzy Imperial was considered on paper, and YouTube aha. I agree, grade requirements will be met and there is a good chance of a place. Plus the opportunities down there are off the scale. But it’s in London, it’s a different world. There is absolutely no love for the place and TBH, I think there was a definite decision to avoid at all costs. It’s quite literally the other end of the country. Definitely not a “home in time for tea” kind of place which is one of the requirements.

For those of you who have/had DC at Durham and York, do your DC feel like the college system enhanced their experience? Or were they just like halls at any other uni?

Also, after the 1st year. What is getting accommodation like in those cities?

@SpamhappyTootsie @DemonsandMosquitoes
sorry if I’ve missed someone off.

DC at Durham doing physics. Very positive about course, number of contact hours, feedback etc. Has your DC considered natural sciences to get lots of flexibility on options? Can start there and then move to dual or single honours.

College system has been a big plus - loads of college and inter-college activities and parties/balls/fun days throughout all 3/4 years so the affinity to college stays even once DC move out. I wld say most students only live in college in 1st year. Availability of accommodation in subsequent years has been fine (there was a squeeze in the covid TAG year), and there is a rush to find houses for year 2 already in October of year 1, although some waited until Xmas and were still fine. There’s a range of prices but most of it is quite pricey - £200ish/week all-in.

Although accommodation is pricey I would say overall costs have not been that high as there’s no travel costs once you’re there and lots of cheap ish socialising at college bars and society functions. My DC gets by quite happily on £100/wk on top of accommodation which is virtually starvation rations on mumsnet these days.. 🤣 (although it obv depends on your DC)

As touched on by PP above, Durham has generally been very very late making offers. Being contextual may mean you hear earlier, but it isn’t unknown for DC to be still waiting to hear in April! There is also often some shenanigans in college allocations after results day - so best not to set your heart on a particular college. But it all works out in the end.

Definitely a collegiate feel at York. Particularly during Freshers, lots of activities centred around the college. Some with their own bars. DS also plays football for the college team, it’s been a plus.
A bit of a scramble for accommodation in year 2, but i don’t think that’s unusual. It is expensive though. We paid £200 pw inc bills and for year three it’s £215 although it’s a sizeable house for just two of them (two extra small bedrooms used as ‘study rooms’), 20 minute walk from campus, 40 minute walk to city centre. No chance of staying in halls really unless there are special circumstances.
I would caution DS got his first pick of university accommodation three years ago as a fresher, it was fcfs. I don’t think that’s the case now and allocation seems pretty random.

DS definitely preferred the college system. He was allocated the Hill college he requested and was able to stay there for second year too, with friends from his first year. Some applicants don’t get a college near the top of their selection list, I believe, but the vast majority end up liking where they are allocated.
Housing can be tricky. Landlords are still whipping up a sign up early frenzy, but if students don’t panic and feel pushed into signing up for the second year by November of their first year (for example), there is still a lot of choice to be had.
DS and a friend found out they hadn’t got third year college rooms in Feb, but found space in a perfectly nice house in the May. Must admit, I worried about the housing situation a lot more than DS! If a student is very specific about where they want to live once out of Halls then they might be disappointed as certain areas go quickly (Viaduct etc) so a bit of flexibility goes a long way.
There’s a Facebook group called Parents Of Durham University Students that you might find helpful if your DS does apply. Lots of info on there about housing, which agencies are generally better etc. DS spent 2 years in houses managed by an agency that gets a lot of criticism but had no major problems, however.

@Notanorthener @DemonsandMosquitoes @SpamhappyTootsie
Thank you very much for those insights. They are very helpful and im really grateful for your responses. I think the collegiate system appeals so great to hear that it is a proper collegiate system with everything that goes with it.

I must admit, I too think I’m panicking more about accommodation in later years than my child is but I can see from you all that it will be fine and work out.

Well, open day and train tickets are booked for tomorrow for Glasgow and then Edinburgh for the 25th. We have been to both, but we both are in agreement that a 2nd look would be helpful.

Durham was surprisingly flexible with chemistry offer holders this summer in terms of accepting dropped grades. My DC is at Durham (different subject), and absolutely loves the college experience; it really does make a huge difference to settling them in.

That said, I'd now advise avoiding Durham as an insurance choice because the college allocation process is poor for insurance offer holders; they seem very much the bottom of the pile.

Edited to add that for us, offer holders days proved more helpful for decision-making than open days so you might want to save your train ticket pennies for those.