Which uni for v academic party child?

[Forev]

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.

My DS chose Warwick purely because it was the best regarded Uni.
He really didn't thrive there as it is as described by a PP soulless. He's not a party animal at all but was looking forward to being a student and having fun. Just didn't happen.

I think this is quite common at the moment. My son is not a drinker or a club-going kid, and he's found his first year a bit challenging/ muted socially even though there are tons of clubs and about 15000 undergrads to meet.

Think it’s definitely a decision to “follow your instincts” on. I remember feeling very strongly for and against places when I looked for myself. Warwick was a hard no for me.

Dd2 and I visited Edinburgh we both loved the city but the uni although on paper ideal she got a strong feeling against. We all left the Leeds open day absolutely buzzing with excitement

I agree about instincts. DD thought Bristol sounded ideal on paper, but really disliked it when we visited.

The journey back was awful as well. Apparently Cross Country regularly terminate trains at Burmingham when they don't have enough staff.

Newcastle was an instant yes for her.

If Manchester is a consideration do look at rent costs if this might be an issue. Dd is there and i assumed northern city would be cheap. Was delighted she picked Manchester over oxford and then had a shock. Has cost me a fortune in rent 🙈😄

If you are lucky enough to find the uni that just feels right, I agree that is the strongest of signals. It is usually worth honouring.

Making the most of the opportunities in front of you at university is the most important thing you can do - much more important than its name. Feeling enthusiastic about the place, feeling that you really belong there, makes this so much easier.

Mine had a great time at Sheffield. I seriously questioned it at the time because I was raised in Nottingham in the 70s and Sheffield did not give me a great vibe. I was wrong. I actually followed her a year later to do my PhD - but as I no longer live in UK and I was working mine was mostly online and our paths rarely crossed. She actually chose Sheffield because it gave her a year abroad. That was her priority.

What I learned from being involved in Uni choices for my two DDs (I had to have some say because living in Europe I had to drive them on a half-term road trip of their top choices), was that unis in smaller cities party in different ways. If there are not options in town, the student union is going to be more lively.

Eldest went to Oxford Brookes (she could have gone for a more prestigious uni, but went for the course). She spent most of her weekends in London with her boyfriend who was on a course there. She said that life in London was too expensive for students. She did her Masters at Leeds at loved it as a university. She stayed and worked in Leeds for a couple of years before the cold dark winter drove her back home.

Sheffield daughter did her Bar training in London. She said that she was working too hard to enjoy the city.

So bottom line - the course has to be the priority. If they love what they are doing the First comes more easily. Not everyone is made for Oxbridge, but there are a number of other great Unis where you can study and have fun.

Honestly though this is nice, but not entirely true. If you make the most of your studies at LSE, Imperial, Cambs or Oxford you'll be a lot further down the line than if you do the same at Bangor or Aberystwith, Coventry or Buckingham universities.

Choosing based only on a course seems a risky business to me

You choose courses first which narrows down possible locations. Then it's absolutely right to focus on the vibe of a place as well as cost of accomodation, access to home etc

I think there's an element of luck too.

I went to a party city uni. I didn't met those people I should have loads in common with. I just had the wrong accommodation, the wrong type of people on my particular course (wasn't reflective of the uni as a whole), a terrible relationship and tbh I didn't have the maturity and confidence to get out of those scenarios.

Ironically I found my tribe online at uni and they were people outside my uni life.

Don't get me wrong, I did my share of socialising, drinking and partying but I just didn't click at uni like everyone promised. My social life kind of started to work in my third year but it was despite where I was rather than because of it.

The city and uni were right for me. I just think it was the wrong time for me and the wrong headspace for me.

I look back with a certain amount of frustration that I didn't appreciate it more at the time which I put down to a lack of maturity and confidence. I thought uni would solve all my problems. It is a bit of a myth that you'd have the time of your life at uni - for many it is true but not everyone. I think there's a massive pressure to have the time of your life at uni, but sometimes that doesn't happen and I think it's hard to deal with.

I had a much better time socially AFTER uni. But I don't regret uni or my choice of course not city one bit. It was right. They are separate to my struggles with a social life.

There's a bit of a move with Manchester at the moment of students moving into the city centre in private halls for Year 2 and 3 rather than moving further away to Fallowfield direction and the more typical terraced type student housing.

DD lives right in the city centre, she can walk to the Arndale/Selfridges in 10 mins and can walk to the main campus in around 20 mins. Some friends of hers are in private halls even closer to the uni campus (but still in the city centre) and are maybe a 10 min walk down Oxford Rd. DD is having the time of her life. She hasn't caught a bus or tram once, walks everywhere which she says she enjoys. She could actually get a free mini bus from her part of the city centre to very close to campus but it takes as long as walking as it winds round everywhere.

A given applicant is unlikely to have the skills and interests appropriate to both types of universities.

If you are orientated towards practical studies you won’t attain the qualifications for the first type of institution mentioned, and if you did you would be bored to death.

I have seen repeatedly that learning whilst at uni to make the most of the opportunities you have is invaluable for one’s career. This comes more naturally when you feel good about the place.

BTW Coventry in particular has some wonderful degree programmes. For example their Automotive Engineering and Motor Sports programmes are internationally renowned.

My son loved Bristol so much, he got a job there after graduating and never came home.

you'll be a lot further down the line than if you do the same at Bangor or Aberystwith, Coventry or Buckingham universities.

But we aren't talking about those universities.
We are talking about universities with higher entry grade requirements than they require - Leeds, Manchesrer, Liverpool, Newcastle, Warwick, Birmingham, Sheffield etc.

Besides, many more employers recruit universiry blind these days.

Apologies, I meant to tag @FreddyFatso on this post. I was replying to her post of 10.27

We? I think you'll find that there was no finite classification on which universities were being discussed / suggested or otherwise. Also my comment was not for you, it was about what @poetryandwine said and she's given a far better answer than yours.

I hear this "many more employers recruit university (sp) blind" but I don't witness it. If it helps you to repeat it ad nauseam, carry on though.

OK

the social side is important , after all they will be living there or just studying and need to enjoy where they live . As far as student cities go , Liverpool , Newcastle , Manchester , Leeds , Glasgow have an excellent vibe and nightlife.

on paper our youngest thought Nottingham or Leeds were the unis and cities for her but she wasn’t excited after visiting . She was less keen on Liverpool but fell in love with the city when visiting and left the uni open day on a high . She instantly knew that was the place for her. The course was the one that least excited her on paper but loved it after visiting and attending the lecture talks.

Nottingham and Leeds are staggeringly popular for kids who go to the school DS went to. Back in 2023, around one third of all their students who applied to uni included one of those two cities.

DD went to Nottingham and it's reputation as a party city is perhaps slightly exaggerated, nevertheless, she had a great time there although the city itself is nothing to write home about.

Another vote for Manchester.

I had a number of friends at Durham and visited often - definitely a lot of going out/into Newcastle etc... don't think it can be ruled out for being geeky! I personally didn't love the vibe of Manchester when I visited but that's anecdotal. Frankly, I think if one wants to, one can find a party at any uni. With that in mind it makes more sense to consider other factors like academics surely...

I think that in Nottingham Trent is the party uni rather than UoN? Having said that my DD has just graduated from UoN and seems to have found plenty of nightlife to enjoy.

Not sure why Leeds University is considered academically inadequate, always seemed like a solid place to me!

Most of the despised unis have at least one department that's well-rated.

So instead of looking at the course to study, the reputation, links with employers and what career opportunities..... you look at what place to get drunk the most for 3 years?