Which uni for v academic party child?

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DC is predicted 3 a stars. They want to study history. They are highly social. They love parties and dancing. They have grown up in a big city and they love big cities but not London as they don’t like that idea.

they so far have visited Cambridge and said it was too small with too many serious academic types, Durham too geeky and no clubs, Bristol too diffuse and spread out, St Andrews they cried while there as so quiet, Leeds they loved but worried it’s aiming below their academic potential, Newcastle ditto.

they really want to go to the USA but I can’t afford that. They want to research trinity Dublin which we will look into.

Agree - it’s soulless and is in Coventry rather than Warwick which doesn’t help

Exactly. My ds chose Warwick partly because it was quiet!

Partying is optional at any university.
DD went to Newcastle and fell in love with the city. She discovered that she doesn't care for clubbing, but there is plenty going on regardless.

Choosing a university based on its party reputation is a poor reason for going there.

I'm not sure about your comment about clubbing, I went clubbing regularly as an undergraduate in Glasgow and it was only curtailed by going to Oxford as a postgrad where the nightlife was more sedate and college based (still went out dancing regularly). That was the 90s though.

London? UCL/Kings?

I totally agree but let’s remember this is a 18 years old….
i picked Cardiff university because i wanted to surf… i never dipped my toes in the water there…but i did get a good degree out of it!

OP what does your DC mean by parttying? I wonder if they would prefer somewhere in-campus (unlike bristol, more like bath)?

I hope it doesn’t also feel too spread out with students living in different areas like Bristol

Is this your first DC going to Uni? All city universities are spread out but they have vast number of students, literally thousands so they tend to live in certain areas. 1st year is usually uni accomodation and Manchester has amongst others the Fallowfield area which is away from the Uni buildings but is party central.

Is your daughter basing Uni on her home life because it's entirely different. Get her to focus on the course first, genuinely the most important factor because if she doesn't like her modules she will utterly miserable for 3 years. All students find parties..although I do accept that Cambridge is way more intense and that does leave much less time to socialise. Some say you can do both but realistically when your workload is really high it's stressful to go out knowing you have to be up early to write yet another essay.

Surprised not to see Liverpool mentioned. One of the best nights out in the land! And the uni is fantastic. There are also a lot of unis all in the same 'quarter' so it feels full of students.

Liverpool would be my first choice for a student with those requirements.

Are they really choosing their university based on the clubbing scene of the town or city it’s based in rather than the types of courses it delivers and whether they’re going to enjoy studying there? And they really cried because St Andrews was too quiet?

Good grief.

I totally support them looking at the whole picture of where they will live for three years. I do not think it’s odd to want a city with activities and a set up that you love. Choosing based only on a course seems a risky business to me. I have always chosen jobs based on the bigger picture, is that also immature?

I came on to say this. Or Manchester.

My daughter is also predicted 3a* and wants to go to a northern party city and I think it’s a great reason to choose a uni, alongside the course of course. I think she might not act the interview at oxbridge but would likely get into Durham (and get the 4am kebab train home from Newcastle). However, she’ll likely go to Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester or Liverpool. Bristol doesn’t do the course she wants. I loved Sheffield. Manchester is great and students live in fallowfield mostly but the uni is about 1/2 hour walk further into town-not an issue-there are night buses.

I feel your child needs to be a bit more realistic and less snobby about universities they feel are beneath them. Places like Leeds and Newcastle will have thousands of students with her grades and who are just as smart as her. That’s actually what stuck out for me from your post.

Nottingham or Leeds

To be fair DD didn't want to go to a campus university. She disliked Warwick and York because they felt too isolated.

We live in a village with poor public transport so she definitely wanted to be in a city in the middle of things.

Both Newcastle and Liverpool have the advantage of access to the coast as well.

“Most young people tire of clubbing by 18/19”. Speak for yourself! I’m 50 and still line the odd club night.

Some universities seem more sedate (oxbridge Warwick Durham York Bath). Party cities Nottingham Leeds Manchester Liverpool Cardiff. Just anecdotal from kids and their friends.

Is it a girl or a non-binary child? You persist in using ‘they/them’ which is pretty tiresome. Echo all the comments that ‘they’ sound immature.

To be fair, I grew up on a Scottish island and I never considered St Andrews because it's in the arse end of nowhere. I do not understand why it's so popular with the English private school crowd at all.

Manchester is not only great for nightlife but has a dynamic energy and career openings for graduates getting their first job. My son loved it and met his wife there. My very extrovert dd went to Nottingham and was out doing sports and associated socials every week. Am surprised Liverpool hasn’t got more mentions-small city centre and extremely friendly and welcoming. Wherever she goes, she’ll have thousands of other students but she’s wise to pick her place . Dd friend went to Durham under pressure as it’s a prestigious university but hated every minute-it just wasn’t a good fit for her. Yet everyone told her she would be mad to turn it down. Poor girl-spent her time there dreaming of the day she would leave.

“Never considered” is a bit different from crying though.

Edinburgh!

Nottingham, definitely. Trent has a reputation as a party uni, but Uni of Nottingham is equally as busy. So much going on for students.

Leeds also a lot of fun, as too is Liverpool.

Southampton is worth considering, it's a great city and has a thriving live music scene and plenty of great places to go. It's also Russell group and the history building is new and pretty high tech. I'm a psychology student and visited the history block recently for work, seriously so much nicer than our old block!

What does she mean by wanting a party city? Clubs? Spoons? Or actual parties? Students have parties, even if there is no nightclub. And they travel to cities if there is no club nearby.

To be fair, nothing about your OP suggests that they are looking at the whole picture. Both Cambridge and Durham appear to have been rejected because they might have academic young people there who were interested in studying.