Cardiff or Swansea Uni

[holidaysaregreat]

DD has put Cardiff as first choice of uni & Swansea as insurance. She is going to study geography. Has anyone got children studying geography at either of these unis? How do they find it? I prefer Swansea (but it’s not my choice!)

Both good unis that fly a bit under the radar IMO.

Cardiff obvs is RG but lower-level RG if that makes sense (not in the league of Oxford or Imperial I mean). Swansea is an underrated uni that I would bracket (in that sense only!) with Leicester. Lovely campus and setting.

A friend's DS enjoyed Swansea so much he stayed there to do a master's and another friend’s DD was there for her undergrad tho she has gone elsewhere to do a master's. Neither did geog tho, sorry.

Not sure if that is any help! It’s your DD's choice tho. Of the two Swansea alumni I know personally, one didn't have the grades for RG and the other was doing quite a specific course not widely offered, hence choosing Swansea, tho I think their grades would have been good enough for an RG uni.

No experience of Swansea but my DD has been at Cardiff Uni for the last 3 years and has loved it. Great little city with a fab nightlife and very student focussed - has also felt very safe. She is likely going to stay there after she graduates as she feels so at home there. Uni is very good and she has really enjoyed her course (not geography though). I wasn't keen the first time I visited Cardiff but for DD it has been brilliant.

I went to Swansea and absolutely adored it. A lovely campus uni in a beautiful setting. It was many years ago, but the geography dept was very good, particularly marine. It was a small city but had lots going on, and the surrounding countryside was spectacular.

Do you come from Wales? Only asking because if you don’t, be prepared for her to never want to leave! 😁 DD, and other friends DC who have gone to both Cardiff and Swansea have loved Wales so much, they’re never coming back. DD is doing a Masters now, at USW and did undergrad at Cardiff. Cardiff has been an excellent uni for student experience, very well supported and just a great overall experience. Didn’t do geography though, sorry.

@ZookeeperSE DH family are Cardiff based so it would mean they are nearby if she had a wobble about something.

@Gingercar that’s my take on Swansea. The campus is really nice & they even have their own arts centre/theatre. Opposite the beach & Mumbles is great. Swansea is actually one place above Cardiff for geography. But on paper Cardiff as RG uni looks more aspirational.

@Titsywoo that’s good it felt safe. The halls don’t look great which is what is worrying me. But I guess they have wardens. DD can be shy so I’m worried she will feel a bit lost in massive halls.

My DD is a first year student at Cardiff (not Geography) she absolutely loves it there. It's a great city with good night life and student societies for just about anything you can think of. She is really enjoying her course and is happy with lectures, student support etc.

@claryit seems that Swansea isn’t top choice. I’m not sure how much employers look at which uni they went to. DD has turned down Bristol & Exeter which are pretty good unis. I liked Exeter but think perhaps too many private school kids go there.

I’m English, went to uni in Cardiff, now live in Swansea and have DS at Cardiff uni (not geography).
I have to say hand on heart I’ve always loved Cardiff, as a student and now. DS seems to be enjoying.
I have studied (as a mature student) in Swansea and I think it’s ok academically but can’t really comment on student life, great place geographically (!)

@holidaysaregreat it varies – more employers recruit uni-blind and a lot on MN say it’s more about your degree classification than where it is from. But I imagine there is still cachet for some unis certainly in some professions (law I gather, for example).

If she prefers Cardiff to Bristol or Exeter I am sure she has good reasons. Were the offers similar? I might expect Cardiff's to be lower than Bristol tbh – maybe that gives her some security?

What are you worried about wrt halls? Looking quickly at the uni website there looks to be a good range at some decent prices (quite a few around £140-150 pw). Not sure the warden has much input tbh – what are you expecting from them? pretty sure neither of my uni DC had any contact at all with the warden in their first year.

Swansea is a lovely uni with the most incredible setting. I did my degree and PhD there and a year as a postdoc. I live in Cardiff now and DH teaches at the uni. It's great, but I'd go back to Swansea tomorrow if I could!

AI just gave me the following, which I think is worth considering"

• Flexibility: Swansea allows students to change between BA and BSc up to the end of Year 2.
• Specialization: If you are interested in Environmental Policy, Urban Planning, or Social Geography, Cardiff may be a better fit. If you are focused on Physical Geography, Glaciology, or Coastal Environments, Swansea has a very strong reputation in these areas.

@clary I think that as she is quiet & not a party animal the halls might be a bit wild! But yes you’re right they just have to get on with it. Swansea just seemed to feel quite safe in comparison.

Offers from Exeter & Bristol were similar to Cardiff. I really liked Exeter & they talked a lot about doing a language alongside geography which I really liked. I’m not sure why Exeter wasn’t first choice. They even had an open air lido on campus 🤷🏻‍♀️

Swansea is a bit dead as a city. Cardiff would be preferable tbh.

@clary I’m unclear about selection process for jobs. I actually work in education & students get fixated on applying to RG unis. But I keep seeing on Mumsnet that it’s no longer a thing. My friend works in university sector & accreditation of courses & is telling me that in theory all unis offer the same level of education once they are accredited. So we did look at courses which had accreditation from Royal Geographical Society.

I have a family member in her first year at Cardiff (not doing geography) who is not having a good time. I mostly can't attribute that to the university, and nor is she, but her university accommodation is poor - small (and it's not the cheapest), and constant problems with the hot water and heating failing, which she's having difficulty getting the building management to do anything about. I also see online that the university is really being hit by cuts to staffing. She has a friend at Swansea having an amazing time (geography-adjacent subject). And another friend at Exeter, not geography, also having a good time - I had slightly veered my family member away from Exeter, to the extent that I had any influence, because of comments I'd seen on here about its cliquey tendencies, which I feel a bit bad about now. Don't know if any of that is helpful, but adds to your anecdata, I guess.

@reallyalurkerDS’s accommodation is also not particularly good - rats in the downstairs flat (luckily he’s on 2nd floor) and very institutional. He is in the cheapest accommodation though, and his friend has much better but is paying a fair bit more.

My DD stayed in private halls for the 1st year - Cardiff is so cheap that they are a similar price to uni halls in most other places we looked. Her boyfriend was in Taly South halls and it was fine. It is only the first year and a bonding experience - plenty of people in halls aren't party animals.

DD is currently in her second year studying Biomedical Science at Cardiff and loves it. She chose it over York because she fell in love with city. It’s just a short walk from her accommodation to lecture halls and then into the town. Lovely coffee shops and it’s very affordable. She was in Senghennydd Hall in her first year which is a lot quieter than the Talybonts. She doesn’t drink so has joined the Coffee Society who are a great bunch of very friendly students.
The city is very safe even at night (although you may get knocked down by one of the many Deliveroo cyclists!) and often walks back alone from the library at 10ish.

DP is from Swansea and even he prefers Cardiff.

It’s not about what you like though, it’s her that is spending three years there and doing the studying.

I can’t imagine halls in Cardiff are one long party and halls in Swansea are all super quiet. IME there’s usually a mix of people. You can often switch accommodation early in the term anyway if you are not keen (DS2 switched flats within his first-year halls after a few weeks). Cardiff is hardly a huge metropolis – I wouldn’t worry about that.

In terms of the jobs market, I do think it varies. More and more companies are recruiting uni-blind, apparently; but everywhere I have worked we have known what uni a prospective employee attended. I think your uni and degree class makes the most difference if you are going after very prestigious jobs like big law or city firms. For most roles, again, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. She needs to like where she is going and that way she will get the most out of it.

My DD is is her third year at Cardiff. She absolutely loves it. She wants to stay.

Excuse me.

DS did BSc Geography at Swansea, achieved a 1st, then went to Cardiff for MSc. He preferred everything about Swansea - the uni, the accommodation, the location.
I remember at the time Swansea being one of the only unis that selected new students for halls by reading every application and matching up their personalities and interests.

I have trouble believing that. Bristol and Exeter are so much more prestigious and competitive.