Exeter: uni de jour ! Why ? Everyone we know wants it ?

[PaperTyger]

My DD is high achieving and has offers from all she wants but she's thinking of Exeter.,it was the most popular place at her school last year and everyone else I'm chatting to says their DC want it.
We didn't visit but I can see it's in a beautiful place. Any thoughts ?

I hope she goes somewhere she really wants not becsuee it's the fashion.

Why didn’t you visit if it’s so wonderful?

My son got his Exeter offer back in October but probably not going to firm or insure as there are alternatives he likes more which were not in clearing last year.

I would certainly visit. Doesn’t have to be an open or offer day.

Depending where you live it could be a bit of a journey (obvs not if in SW already). It’s not the biggest city so again, depends on what she is looking for.

What other offers does she have? What subject?

It’s a really nice campus , they do good open days and give out early offers (and state their intentions re clearing). My two were both delighted to get Exeter offers and would have loved it; one had it as insurance and the other had the clearing number on speed dial, although neither needed it on the day

One would hope that if your DD applied sight unseen, she at least chose to make Exeter one of her 5 options because of the suitability of the course vis à vis her current interests and future plans, plus the information about the university and the city / surrounding area freely available online (or by talking to friends etc who had visited)? If she has done a decent amount of research along those lines and is happy, plus she is at least reasonably fit, then 'Why not Exeter?'. It's a decent university

(The 'reasonably fit bit is pertinent, because if one haan't actually visited the university, it can slip one's notice that a) Exeter is very hilly a d b) the Streatham campus is on a sort of additional extra hilly bit of hilly old Exeter. 'Cardiac Hill' is not a misnomer. Apart from that, the campus is very attractive, as has already been said. And its got the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum on site, which is rather jolly).

Exeter as a city is ok. Some pretty bits. Not that exciting. A reasonable trip from a lot of the country.

The Uni has been a bit of a “we didn’t want to go to Oxbridge” posh kids’ uni. Think the southern St Andrews. It has one of the biggest UK uni TikTok accounts….so it sells itself well.

My state school child is very keen - we went to the open day last May half-term - weather was beautiful, campus was buzzing, we were with friends and had stayed overnight in a hotel, so all in all, it was like a mini holiday. Which is not a true picture. I have reservations - heard accommodation was a nightmare last year and could be again this year; a friend's privately educated daughter went there and even she felt pushed out by the Uber posh/rich kids; accommodation prices are relatively high. So we're going to an offer holder day, and will look more closely.

A reasonable trip from a lot of the country.

Not convinced about this but I guess it depends on how you define reasonable.

Unless you live in the south-west of England it’s going to be more than two hours. If you live in the midlands it’s as much as 3-4 hours; 4 hours-plus from places like Sheffield and Leeds.

I know a lot of MNers don't agree with me about this (fair enough obvs) but my DC went to unis that were a lot nearer and for various reasons we have all been glad of that. A friend's DC went to unis four hours + away and that was certainly a negative in terms of drop-off/pick-up/visiting. Not a reason not to go obvs but a consideration.

Ofc @PaperTyger may live in Bristol in which case happy days.

My dd was at Exeter a decade ago now. It really suited her. I think universities do go in and out of fashion for some reason.

We are SW London and it is a fuck of a long drive especially if you time it badly traffic wise. It such a beautiful drive though and worth it when you get there ime. The city’s size suited dd but for some it’s too small and pretty iyswim.

I went to Exeter in 2008. I wasn't keen. The city is beautiful but a bit boring. It was full of private school posh kids and had a really different vibe to other unis I have been to or visited. I also went to Uni of Sussex and loved that. It is in a lovely bit of the country. I lived in Falmouth and think it would probably be nice to attend the Penryn campus. Didn't think much of the Exeter city experience though, although it may have changed a lot since 2008.

My DS has it on his list for possible options next year.

But something to be aware of is the drive. My brother went there and my parents said it could be a nightmare doing pick ups/drop offs in the summer/easter as there was often a lot of traffic due to tourists. It should have been a 4 hour journey but was regularly 5+.

Older DC went to Lancaster and whilst that was also bloody miles away I think we only had one bad journey in the whole 4 years.

It’s 2 hours from Reading. 2 hours was our demarcation., DS loathed Bristol. Liked Exeter but not enough to chose it as firm or insure. 2 hours from a major hub is pretty accessible imo.

Wasn't aware it had gotten so very popular but I guess as others have said, consistently well performing university without being unachievably competitive entry, campus in a nice medium sized city (not as big/urban/scary as your Manchester/ Birmingham/London RG unis but bit more going on than the more small city posh-ish unis like St Andrews, say), good sports and arts facilities, quite upper-middle-class Oxbridge-reject vibes in the best possible way, similar to Durham?

It’s been hugely popular for many years now! This isn’t new. People dd knew from primary went there en masse (all went to grammars with professional monied parents ) and loads went from DDs boarding school. Boarding dc love it. So that’s why it has very high private school %. However they are not a majority so anyone saying they cannot fit in is obviously not trying too hard!

It was described to us a huge boarding school on a hill. That’s pretty accurate in many ways. The cost of being a student there is high, but it’s similar at Bristol. Northern cities are usually cheaper. Exeter has always been fashionable with a certain type of family. It’s not new.

It’s not ‘fashion’ - it’s always been popular with private school students.

Google suggests Reading is closer to three hours away. I agree that two hours is reasonable. But Exeter as I (and others here) say is further than two hours from a lot of the UK.

Yes you can say that about other places too, but equally, if you are in the Midlands or North, a lot if other great unis are nearer. Which may just be worth bearing in mind.

I turned it down for my undergrad 2 years in a row, went to London instead and had a really tough time because I didn’t fit in with all the really rich kids.

Finally at Exeter for my Masters and it’s pretty good. The pastoral support and teaching is head and shoulders above my London uni. Campus is attractive and I like Exeter itself (don’t live there, commute down for residential lectures 8 times a year). The drive is slow but pretty! It can be a bit cliquey socially but overall I’ve had a positive experience and probably wouldn’t manage to juggle work and study without their support.

I went there and loved it! Long time ago now though…

It’s interesting. We live v close by and I had no idea of its jolly hockey sticks vibe until I went to an open day as a mature student. The parents seemed noticeably uncomfortable with my presence (I was 28!!). It’s not my bag - I went to Bristol and the financial support was 1000 times better. Lack of good student support for low income kids is usually an indication…

Popular with private school kids

I agree that it’s been popular for ages, especially with people from the southern half of England, for whom it is more accessible.

One of my daughters went and really enjoyed it (though two years were rather ruined by Covid).

She loved the campus and the city (she didn’t want a big city, although her second choice was Birmingham because she also loved that campus). She also liked being easily able to get out to the coast (by train) and onto Dartmoor (with friends who had cars).

We are in the south east and Birmingham and Exeter are both about three hours drive away so it didn’t make much difference as far as I was concerned. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to have much more than a six hour drive (for the return trip) so I was very glad that neither of mine fancied Durham, Lancaster or anywhere in Scotland!

Accommodation is expensive in Exeter, but I imagine that is true of most university towns.

Mine is there now- not posh nor private school and the same goes for their friends and alot of course mates. Campus is very green and some lovely older buildings. Great city- not too big and overwhelming and all walkable from the uni. Very hilly tho so good exercise! Really no need to use public transport. The Quay is also walkable. Lots of societies and a range of accommodation- on campus, private student halls and private accommodation in the city. Not the cheapest place but worth it if its the uni for you. 4 train stations in the city and walkable from campus. Less than £5 on the train to the beach. Been a great choice for mine. Its in the South West but it is an accessible city

My dc is there now. At first he found it a bit small as we live in London but now loves it. He says great course and teaching, lovely campus, plays a huge amount of sport and has made great friends. Clubbing is limited as the city is small. In the summer term a lot of time is spent at beach or in the country. Accommodation is expensive but everywhere in the south is, and it seems cheaper than his friends that are in London or Bristol.

DS is at Exeter uni but at thier campus in Penryn, Falmouth. check which campus your chosen courses are. Penryn suits DS as he is as far away from a party animal as you can get. Falmouth Uni which is next door is actually one of the top places for DD creative course but she would not be happy there in a million years so is going to cardiff met (has a unconditional offer)

It's very much NOT in fashion for the kids I know and work with: inner London comprehensively educated children. Can't think of hardly any who have picked it which is surprising as it's a good uni and only a couple of hours out of Paddington. It has a reputation of being too posh, too small and not cool enough. They seem to mainly want Leeds and Manchester (or UCL and Imperial if they're staying at home).