Bristol or bath for biology ? Any experience please or thoughts ? Also on the towns for a less streetwise more gentle girl.

[Itcantbetrue]

So after a long haul on choices she's come to bath or Bristol.
She likes both but said bath locks her into a choice of some boring modules at the end.
Bristol doesn't .
Bath is famous for it's work placement which i think is essential in this job market.
Bath more gentle as a city and she still has Bristol close.
I prefer bath and the campus I think it's easier to make friends .
It's her choice and both expensive.

Are we missing anything that I can pass onto her ?

I studied at Bath (years ago) and loved it... so much so that I now work there! It's a very safe campus and a lovely city. I also visited Bristol, but didn't like the fact it wasn't a campus (although my husband studied there and loved it). Bath is good stepping stone for those who are not too worldly-wise. The Security Team on campus are incredible and student support is generally very good.

Most dc can walk to lectures in Bristol or get a short bus ride from their halls. It’s hardly difficult or impossible to navigate.

Bristol is big, odd, and rough in parts but great fun. Bath is a real tourist trap - horrendously busy on Saturdays. Bath is more cloistered. Both cities are a hassle to get around as very hilly with inadequate public transport, although you can use the trains to go between the two cities and to hop from one area of Bristol to another. Both cities felt a little bit aloof/unfriendly to me; both expensive. Ultimately I'd choose the uni course more than the city - if she ends up hating the city itself then she can always move to the other city in second year and commute.

Bath is a lovely campus and would probably suit a “quiet type” better I think. When you say “famous for its work placement” - do they actually help students get into placements? Most unis aren’t much use beyond offering help with cv and interview technique, and the onus is very much on the student to get themselves a placement in a very competitive market.

That said, the modules are very important too. I’m sure Bristol will have plenty to offer.

My ds is at Bath and there are certainly lots of positives. The placement has been an absolute nightmare though - he’s spent most of his second year trying to get one. Sorted now but it’s definitely overshadowed the year and I’m
not sure if I, or he, would recommend it if he had his time again.

@plsdontlookatme My DD was a student at Bristol and never got close to a tough area! The students simply don’t unless they actively choose to. Bristol doesn’t feel big to the students because university buildings are in a very expensive part of the city. Stoke Bishop, where lots of halls are, is leafy and middle class.

There are always description of Bristol on MN threads that are not reality for students. As a result the impression given is wrong. Bristol has a lively drinking area but again, as in all cities, it’s optional and you don’t have to live there!

Bath is dead. Send her to Bristol to toughen up a little

There’s lots of evidence that placements are very competitive and ludicrously time consuming. Too many people think the universities find them and match students to them. They don’t, they just advertise them or you find your own. I’d also agree with looking at modules and tailor study to future work interests.

This is true, in fairness - I should clarify that I absolutely love Bristol and would move back in a heartbeat!

I haven't been a student in either, but I will say although bath is a calmer and smaller city, the student enclaves of Bristol Uni are in the poshest parts of the city!
Certainly won't see the "grittier" side of Bristol much over in Clifton and Cotham I don't think!

I would agree with this regarding the placements. Just hoping it will have all been worth it in terms of his employability later. (Not biology though op)