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Sheffield vs Nottingham

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Haz313

both highly reputable / red brick uni's but i'd say nottingham is probably deemed slightly higher in the eyes of your employers based on prestige.

the crime in 'Shottingham' isn't quite as bad as the media hypes it up to be. Every city has its bad crime rates and i doubt Sheffields would differ much. My cousin lives opposite a gun shop in nottingham (goes to trent) and he says he hasnt encountered any troubles as of yet.

im from a small town and i feel safer in the city of sheffield than i do in my small chav hole.
and nottingham isnt a red brick

Reply 21

AfghanistanBananistan

What i find funny is that the only people who are really qualified to state the safety of Nottingham are those who live there (ie students) and every Notts student on this forum says that crime is not a problem and as a Notts alum i can definately say that i have no idea what the papers are on about. But bar this go to Nottingham, it has a way better reputation amongst both students and employers and both have great cities/nightlife e.t.c.

Reply 22

Grapevine

AfghanistanBananistan

But bar this go to Nottingham, it has a way better reputation amongst both students and employers and both have great cities/nightlife e.t.c.

Really?

Reply 23

River85

Sheffield's a very good university, certainly respected by employers. You'll hardly be harming your employment prospects by going to Sheffield. I'd say Nottingham only has the advantage in IB (and possibly law, although it's still not a top elite law school). Outside of that, it's insignificant. Who cares which university is more respected amongst students? Why should that matter?

Reply 24

AfghanistanBananistan

River85

It may not matter for you but trust me it does for quite alot of people, especially on this forum, its all about the 'kudos' factor. As for employers, its not just for IB and law that Notts has the advantage, its more targeted for all professions than Sheffield, all the emplyers surveys and stats show it. As for Notts not have an 'elite law school', so you mean having the top 5 entry stats, consistantly above 12 applicants per place and being ranked top 5 in the UK consistantly doesn't make it 'elite' for law, what the hell does then? if and dont give me all your 'at the bar it's not' crap.

And as for students, if you asked the majority of them to choose which one was better between Notts and Sheffied on numerous factors which uni snobs care about (ie rankings, entry stats, competitiveness, etc) Notts has always won on all counts, although as a 'University' that does not actually mean its better, but just seen as more 'elite' by students because it has always statistically been harder to win a place there (even the Times guide says that winning a place at Nottingham is 'one of the most sought after in higer education'). Afterall thats half why the LSE and Oxbridge are more 'elite' than Bristol and Warwick, and why these are more elite than Loughborough and Sheffield.

Nottingham has for a long time been firmly within the Bristol, Durham, Warwick, Edinburgh, St Andrews, York bulge of universities, ie those that can legitimately claim to be or have been 'top 10' , whereas Sheffield has not and has been seen by students especially as in the Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Loughborough group, ie very good and close to the above, but not quite at their level yet, i dont mean in terms of research, but their ability to attract the best students, which is what all top universities want because it demonstrates the quality of their reputation (just as it very much does in the US). This is why uni's like Loughborough and Exeter give money to people with AAA, because they desperately want this calibre of student, whereas uni's like Warwick, Durham and traditionally Nottingham have had the majority of their students with these grades.

Its just the way the world works

Reply 25

River85

AfghanistanBananistan

As for Notts not have an 'elite law school', so you mean having the top 5 entry stats, consistantly above 12 applicants per place and being ranked top 5 in the UK consistantly doesn't make it 'elite' for law, what the hell does then? if and dont give me all your 'at the bar it's not' crap

Why not? It's my opinion (and the opinion of most other others, including law students who know more than I do). You talk about prospects and how "respected" places are, yet when I give my opinion you call that crap. Lovely. Don't be so rude.

Nottingham's probably as favoured as most of the top/elite law schools (Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, UCL, LSE, KCL, Bristol) by the city firms. I'd imagine you'd get more (as as many) graduates from Nottingham in the city firms than you would grads from Durham, KCL and Bristol). It's probably (and I have no stats on this) it's second only to Oxford, Cambridge, and London (LSE and UCL). But it still doesn't have that same tradition in law as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Bristol, KCL and UCL. Yes, that does make a difference in the bar.

Also, not everyone goes to university just to enhance career prospects. There are far more important aspects. Sure, point out that you think Nottingham has a better "reputation" amongst employers than Sheffield but don't exaggerate it. The majority of career areas aren't so obsessed with university rep. Even those that are they'd recognise both universities as being very good universities indeed. Sheffield has its own links with employers.

If people are so desperate to get respect and "kudos" for going to a university with the right brand then they are insecure people.

So, why should Nottingham's level of respect amongst students matter?

Reply 26

AfghanistanBananistan

You may consider them insecure but people still think this way, just like people boast about which car they own or how much money thay have, unfortunatly it's just the way people are. People are often proud of their university, Oxbridge students are invariably proud to say they go there because it highlights their level of intellect and its the same for students at Warwick, Durham and even Nottingham, afterall you have to win a place at university, your not just given one, and its more of an achievement to win a place at an institution where you have fought off 9 other applicants for the place, and you should rightly be proud. Afterall, where i work i am often amongst very upper class and elite people, with the conversations often turning to their sons and daighters and boasting about where they go to university, and from that alone you understand which places are elite, and uni's like Durham and Bristol are considered elite now and the same goes with Nottingham because when i say i went there they know you must have a certain level of intellect, bit sadly Sheffield does not have the same level of 'wow' to these sort of people.

As for careers, yes some career areas are not obsessed with rep, but many top ones are, therefore, it is obviously better to go to a more targetted university if you can.

Reply 27

River85

AfghanistanBananistan

Afterall, where i work i am often amongst very upper class and elite people, with the conversations often turning to their sons and daighters and boasting about where they go to university, and from that alone you understand which places are elite, and uni's like Durham and Bristol are considered elite now.

If you accept there is an elite (and I think the only unversities than can truly be considered elite are Oxford and Cambridge), then when weren't they? Both have long been in favour with the upper classes and have had a significant presence in the "elite" sections of traditional society (judiciary, civil service). Before LSE came on the scene (who are more banking anyway) and slightly more of a presence than KCL and UCL. It's a large part of the superficial prestige that Durham in particular has (alongside its "deserved" prestige).

I doubt many of the people you're around are "upper class" as there's not really an upper class any more.

AfghanistanBananistan

and the same goes with Nottingham because when i say i went there they know you must have a certain level of intellect, bit sadly Sheffield does not have the same level of 'wow' to these sort of people.

That's just snobbery on their part (and I'm not naive, I know there's still plenty of snobbery about). The majority of students at Sheffield, particularly its strong areas (sciences, engineering, some arts like philosophy and social sciences such as politics) will be the equal of most students at the "elite" universities.

If the OP wants to be surrounded with snobs in future employment, go to Nottingham (or any of these "elite" unviersities).

AfghanistanBananistan

As for careers, yes some career areas are not obsessed with rep, but many top ones are, therefore, it is obviously better to go to a more targetted university if you can.

Define top? (This isn't me being awkward, it's a genuine question). Many of the career areas the demand the highest graduate salaries (eg. medicine, engineering) reputation is of little to no importance. I don't consider IB "top" (I'd rather throw myself under a ten tonne articulated lorry than go into IB) although I'm sure many do. The point is, we all look for different things.

I'm sure the OP's probably aware that Nottingham's growth and investment over these past few years have made it more of a darling in IB and possibly has better links in a handful of other "top" career areas.

Maybe the OP cares about this, maybe not. I think the point of this thread was more to gain an insight into the culture and student life at both universities (particularly safery and crime) than employment prospects.

Reply 28

Grapevine

River85

I think the point of this thread was more to gain an insight into the culture and student life at both universities (particularly safety and crime) than employment prospects.

Exactly. I understand that they are both "solid" universities and I appreciate the fact that Nottingham, in some ways, is better - albeit marginally.

Ideally, I want to find out about the students, courses and surrounding areas at both of the universities. Not how a few league table positions will have a bearing on the rest of my life, especially as I would like to go into a career related to geography where the difference in rep will be negligible, and where Sheffield's supposedly better geography department will be more important.

Reply 29

Broadsword

Some people on this thread need to stop reading the Guardian and Polly Toynbee, seriously its bad for you! The world isn't meritocratic, people judge you for what you have done, have, etc. This includes university. Having a more recognised degree can only be a good thing cant it? maybe not 20 years ago when not many went to uni, but now everyone seems to have a degree so employers will start to distinguish between WHERE you got it, particularly in the city for a whole host of jobs i.e Consultancy, marketing, law, accountancy, civil service (and not just IB)

Both universities are very similar, then again most unis are. No doubt you'd be very happy at either after 5 minutes on the first day so asking people on here which they prefer means nothing.

IMHO Nottingham is 'better', since I've never considered Sheffield very hard to get an offer from, its an ABB kind of uni, whilst Notts is generally an AAA one (although its slipping a bit), and given both have excellent facilities and social scenes, that counts for a lot.

Reply 30

River85

Broadsword

Some people on this thread need to stop reading the Guardian and Polly Toynbee, its bad for you! The world isn't meritocratic, people judge you for what you have done, have, etc. This includes university. Having a more recognised degree can only be a good thing cant it? maybe not 20 years ago when not many went to uni, but now everyone seems to have a degree so employers will start to distinguish between WHERE you got it, particularly in the city for a whole host of jobs i.e Consultancy, marketing, law, accountancy, civil service (and not just IB).

The civil service is an interesting one. There was a time when Oxford and Cambridge had a stranglehold, with a small number of other universities getting a look in (Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh etc.) The old boys network has now gone, pretty much. The fast stream is, as far as I understand it, largely meritocratic.

Law has been opening up for a long while. True, in the city firms and bar it still matters (some would argue the bar has regressed and has been "closing" ). Regional and high street firms aren't so obsessed.

But not everything is "the city". Many people don't care about "the city". For the vast majority of career areas, in the public sector especially, university reputation matters very little (often, like the NHS, very little).

Of course, going to a university oozing prestige will never be a bad thing (if you like the location and course, obviously) but, at the same time, I just don' think it should be a major factor in deciding a uni but, that's just me. It's not the case for the OP so I think we should respect that and give more info on student life and the surrounding area.

Grapevine, if you want to know more about Sheffield then you could try posting in the Sheffield forum (if you haven't alread). Usually a thread in choosing a uni is a good way of comparing the overall student life/social environment of two cities. It's just there aren't a great number of Sheffield students. I'm also not sure how useful this thread has been, particularly my spouting crime stats :p:

I'll try and give an overview of Sheffield, but I'm no great fan of the city so don't know how much use I'll be. There's nothing particularly wrong with the city, so don't read much into that, it's just never really felt right. I'll be careful not to bias you. It's fairly safe, I think we've establised that. It's a green city and having the Peak District so close does provide some great recreational opportunities. From what I know, accomodation is reasonable. I know my brother (who lived in three houses during his time, sharing with three to four people) only paid aound £40-£50 a week which is quite reasonable compared to many places. They were quite decent size houses as well, especially the first although that was owned by the parents of one of his housemates so he probably didn't have to pay as much rent as he would have done otherwise. It has a good student union, from what I know. The Octogan provides a good music venue (one of the best gigs I've been to was there, seeing Interpol).

I'll see if I can try and get some Sheffield students I know to give more info.

Reply 31

TheLogitian

Hi there, I'm a fresher and I had exactly the same struggle choosing between Sheffield and Nottingham. I'm a mature student, so if you want to take advice from an oldie then read on...

In the end I chose Nottingham as it was closer to home and I liked the look of the campus based lifestyle, despite Sheffield impressing me alot. Some things you might like to consider though, do you mind going catered instead of self catered? Annoyingly all the halls on the main campus (University Park) are catered, so I opted to live in Broadgate Park (just off the main campus), since I cook all my food. Broadgate is more like flats than halls, which seemed fine at the time, however this could affect the social side of things. The main halls look far more sociable if thats what you're looking for, the blocks seem to intergrate far better due to the way they are layed out. On Broadgate it's flats within blocks, which means knocking on flat doors and then getting to know the people inside the flat. Hence why there only seems to be a several really sociable blocks here where people have made the effort. I had visions of lots of kitchen parties as this is what it is like at UEA when I have visited, but I guess my expectations have let me down. The bar here is quiet too, which is dissapointing since Broadgate has 2000 residents. The bar on the main campus (Mooch) is loads better and has it's own small club. Things are picking up on Broadgate though, it's just a bit of a slow start. It's more like a villiage, and it just takes time to get to know everyone. But if you want to maximise you're social opportunities from the start then it looks like you'll have to go catered. Be warned though, I have heard lots of people complaining about the food!

Also, the students here can be quite rowdy, especially the first few weeks. There is lots of chanting and banter which is fun when you're drunk. But this may not be your thing. The banter creates a stong bond with the people within their hall, but also means things can get a bit pretentious. I take it as tongue and cheek, but some people seem to take it a step further, sometimes it's not nice to be snubbed from which hall you're in when all you're trying to do is make friendly conversation. Perhaps this is the old git in me not feeling the love, but you learn to ignore it quickly. However, I hear it can be like this at many Uni's but apparantly Nottingham has a reputation for being especially cliquey. But maybe thats part of its charm, and I'm sure you'll appreciate it in whichever hall you're in, because your hall is the best, right?

If you want to know about clubs, then Nottingham is full of them. Oceana is good, very big, lots of different rooms, and great on a Monday. Ocean is my favorite, it's smaller, and great on a Tuesday. Isis is another good club, great on a Wednesday. There's Gatecrasher which I haven't been to yet but is meant to be good on a Thursday I think, and Rock City, only been there once but it was great. All have exclusive student nights, the nightlife here is awesome you'll have no problem having fun. One thing to consider though, apparantly Sheffield has the best student club, but I havn't met anyone who's been there. There are also the Rag Raids here every Saturday, it's a charity fundraising thing, you goto a different city and get horribly drunk in the process. Good fun.

From what I can gather, Sheffield seems to have a more friendly vibe, and in hindsight it might have been more on my wavelength as I'm from a friendly city myself. But I guess I'll never know (unless I do the unthinkable and change). I don't think it matters which Uni is more prestigious, I think it's better to enjoy your degree. I thought I'd enjoy my degree more at Nottingham, I was wowed by the beautiful campus Nottingham had to offer, the nicer lecture theatres, the first class facilites and all the great things I have heard about the nightlife. Sheffield felt too close to home. I guess Nottingham mostly hasnt let me down, just the slow start in my halls, but thats mainly down to luck at the end of the day. I have no doubts my 2nd year will be awesome though. If you want to know more PM me for my MSN. Good luck deciding.

Reply 32

Grapevine

TheLogitian

Hi there, I'm a fresher and I had exactly the same struggle choosing between Sheffield and Nottingham. I'm a mature student, so if you want to take advice from an oldie then read on...

Hey, thanks for all the views - it's exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm kind of thinking that if I do choose Nottingham then I will go catered. I don't want to really, but I have heard, from you and others, that Broadgate is a bit "cut off" and that it doesn't provide the best of places to make loads of friends which is the main thing I want to do in my first year. I understand that the catered food sucks, but I would imagine this is a problem at most unis, and I don't class myself as a fussy eater so I should be fine on that front.

Anyway, I still need to visit Sheffield - I will do in February. It would make my decision easy if I got there and hated the place but that probably won't happen!

Reply 33

Hiphopopotamus

Grapevine

Hmm yeah, I suppose that the slight reputation difference is maybe worth considering and it is something I'm wary of.
QUOTE]

It's not slight tbh, Nottingham is pretty much considered by everyone to be a very good uni, Sheffield may well be as good, maybe even better, but it's reputation is nowhere near.

Anyway, don't go for reputation, go for the experience and the course. I know that sounds like useless advice, but no matter how much prestige your uni has, if you don't maintain a passion for your subject and have a good time there, of what value is your degree?