DS1 is thinking of applying to Sheffield

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to read Medicine as one of his 4 UCAS choices. But neither of us has ever actually been to Sheffield. He says it should be nice as it's hilly.

Any information gratefully received.

Ooh, I go to Sheffield, but study English literature.

It has the best student union in the country. When I applied, this meant excellent social events & drinking. Now it means excellent support with going back to uni after having a baby

It is hilly, but personally I'd count that as a downside

The public transport is the best I've found anywhere (infinitely better than that in Birmingham, where I'm originally from) & people are friendly & talk to each other on the trams & things. I think that's really nice.

What sort of thing do you want to know about? I'm not an expert, as I've not lived in halls of residence & have only been here just over a year now, but I'll answer anything I can

Sheffield is great and it's hilly! It's a fab city with loads going on but you also have the countryside (i.e. the Peak District) on the doorstep and that's beautiful. I wasn't here as a student, but I believe that it has one of the highest 'staying on' rates post university. The teaching hospitals have imo a great reputation. HAve you any specific questions?

oooh thank you, sounds promising. He's v outdoorsy so the Peak District sounds promising.

Specific questions:

How expensive is it to rent or buy a house in Sheffield, somewhere within easy striking distance of the university?

Medicine course is 5 years long so it might be worth us buying somewhere and renting out the spare rooms to fellow students? If so where might we look?

I went to university in Sheffield. I had a wonderful time

Funnily enough I rented a room from a medical student whose parents had helped him buy a house

Ecclesall Road is (or at least it was when I was there 15 years ago) the trendier, slightly more expensive student area.

Alternatively there's Broomhill, Crookesmoor, Walkley, Crookes - all within walking distance of the Medical School. I lived in Broomhill and Crookes during my time there.

IME the rent was cheaper than many other cities, but again I'm talking 15 years ago.

When I was there, there were loads of outdoorsy clubs run by the Union - mountaineering, potholing, rambling, mountain biking. The University and the student areas of Sheffield are on the right side of the city for easy access to the Peaks.

Thank you TigerFeet, that's extremely helpful.

I did a one year postgrad course in Sheffield, er, 25 years ago. I absolutely loved it, especially the combination of busy city with easy access to gorgeous countryside. This was in the days of the Socialist Republic, so we could travel on the bus anywhere within the city boundaries for 5-10p (before trams!) and hear the Halle Orchestra at the City Hall for 85p; that may have changed a bit. And one of the greatest cultural experiences was listening to men from the pit bands busking at Moorfoot in aid of striking miners. Never heard anything like it.

God I'm old, and none of that's very helpful...

medics buying and renting out rooms is fairly common, or at least it was 20 yrs ago! (and I still live in Sheffield.)

However, property prices have rocketted in the areas that Tigerfeet mentions, and students do seem to expect more - a lot of uni owned accommodation has en suite, lots of the hals have been knowcked down and new ones built over the last few years. So it may not be as easy as it once was to get students in, not sure.

Sheffield is just great as a city to live in, the public transport is frequent and reasonably priced (though not as amazingly cheap as it used to be!). LOts of green space, excellent restaurants, plenty of venues.

Pyro - that is extremely helpful, thank you.

PandaG - Thank you too. That is really useful. Where precisely is the med school?

I second everything that has been said.

Great city loads to do, great student scene, great for city dwellers and outdoorsy people as well - the peak district is fab and very easy to get to.

Student areas can be very busy but easy transport links from there to city centre etc - You've got the two big hospitals, maternity hospital and western park as well so I guess its great for medicine.

I'm bias though as I've lived in Sheffield all my life and would never move - To me is has everything you could want.

med school is based at the Hallamshire hospital - maps linked to here. PLenty more info on the uni site about accommodation and Sheff as a city if you haven't already seen it.

Hallamshire is a 10 min or so walk from Broomhill, a bit more from Crookes. 30 mins maybe from Eccleshall rd area on foot. There are frequent buses from the hosp to the city centre, or is a brisk 15 min walk.

(I read English not medicine, but lived with medics)

Another vote for Sheffield. I moved her after finishing university elsewhere and it really is a lovely, friendly and vibrant city these days.

The fact that Sheffield has the highest number of students who chose to remain in Sheffield after their studies finish says a lot about the place IMO.

The hospitals, where the med school is based, are some of the best teaching hospitals int he country.

There are loads and loads of new student apartments and accomodation around the city. The Sheffield university or student's union will be able to provide you with information.

Sheffield is quite unusual in terms of student living IME. They all live in some of the best bits of the city.

I LOVED Sheffield! It has just about everything you could want, great Student Union, great nightlife, good city ( although there are some dodgy bits!) wonderful scenery, easy to get to, cheap travel, fantastic facilities. In fact I'm trying to persuade eldest son to go to Uni there, just so I can go back!

But on the buy to let front - a friend of ours has 6 houses and is always able to let them out. Probably because he keeps them in great condition. I think that if you bought a house your DS would easily be able to find a group of friends to rent it out. Have a look at estate agents like Blundells, Saxton Mee. Rental agencies include Broomhill Property Shop. Terraces in Crookes can go for 170000 or more. The med school is in Broomhill....

Ah thank you all. V useful. It sounds ideal in many respects.

Now all he needs to do is get a place.

One of my DS's friend's brother has just started at Sheffield doing medicine (both parents are doctors so should be ok!).

Bought up in Sheffield, only left to go to Uni elsewhere because it was elsewhere...

If he loves the outdoors he'll LOVE it - you can be in the hills so quickly.

Transport is great, the layout of the uni is such that it's very easy to get around.

Lots of recent investment in the uni infrastructure, including a fantastic 'information commons' building which is a brand new library-come-IT-come-study support centre

www.shef.ac.uk/infocommons/

Some very nice halls in complexes in convenient areas (took some sixth formers there on a visit last year). Not so sure about private housing though.

Also all my family have been treated in Sheffield hospitals and they are fine indeed, so a good place to be a medical student!

my dd wnats to apply to sheffield as well

went to open day in the summer and was blown away by it

Thank you all. He's going to go up to Sheffield next weekend and have a good look.