Birmingham or Surrey for CS with placement year?

[OuiOuiMonAmi]

DS is really stuck on what to firm. Both great unis - Bham is RG and more prestigious but Surrey also very well-respected for CS and placement support seems better...

Ignoring the RG bit (two of ours went to Birmingham, but as you say, Surrey also has a good reputation for CS), are there any other aspects which are important for him?

I don't know anything about the post- first year accommodation situation in Guildford, but for Birmingham (unless local landlords have run for the hills in their droves with the change in the law), there are plenty of private rentals within 15 minutes' walk of campus. Of varying quality, admittedly, but some quite well refurbished and even with en suite bathrooms - although in the house that a friend of DS1 was in in his final year, this did mean that one tenant had a room that was about 50:50 bedspace and shower cubicle...

@OuiOuiMonAmi Who finds the placement and how much effort is involved? Many students now struggle to find these placements as the world and his wife wants them. The universities are really just advertising hubs and help with cv and application advice but don’t have a matching service. The student can end up spending hours doing applications and get nothing. I would want to know success rate and whether they are seeing fewer options. Some dc get their own and move away for the year (go home) because they cannot commute from uni area or it saves money.