[rrrrjjjj]

Hello! Hopefully I am posting in the right forum...
I am a senior at an American University, and I want to study abroad as a 5th year in the UK.
I will be going abroad for the spring semester/terms (Jan to June).

I have a few options in schools that I can choose and I have been reading about the schools online, but I was wondering if I could get some real opinions from students that actually go to these schools.

My options so far are:
University of Bristol
University of Leeds
University of St. Andrews
University of Sussex, Brighton
University of York

I'm not really leaning toward one more than the other because they all sound great.

Some factors:
I'd like to go to a school that's near or in a nice city, with lots of things to do, and one that has easy access to transportation so that I can visit other countries. I am also going to be 22 by the time I go, and I wanted to know more about the "maturity percentage"? I believe that is the percentage of students over 21? I'm also going to be taking English classes, well at least two because I need two more to complete my major.

I'd love to get all the advice that I can get to get the most out of my abroad experience!

Thanks so much!

[swbp]

Firstly, you've got a great list of options there. All very academic universities.

In terms of city life Bristol, York, Leeds and Brighton are all ace places to be as a student. St Andrews is a gorgeous town, but it's pretty isolated and doesn't have tonnes to do.

Out of those, i'd probably choose Leeds or Sussex. Leeds is a student mecca, with 3 universities in the town, and people seem to have a brilliant time in terms of nightlife and student activites. I don't know alot about York and Bristol, however obviously York is beautiful in terms of its architecture, and Bristol is a pretty youthful/arty place to be also. I'm starting at Sussex in September and the location is brilliant - the university is situated in a national park, however it's only 5 minutes on the train from the centre of Brighton. As a city, Brighton is very bohemian, with some of the best nightlife and shopping outside London. Plus it's on the south coast, so ferry links to continental Europe are available.

On a side note, York and Bristol have a lot of prestige associated with their english courses, and Sussex's is pretty well known also. Hope this helps

[Origami Bullets]

University of Bristol - my hometown, it's a great city, often with a tendency towards the 'alternative'. The university has a fantastic reputation too. There's two universities, so very student orientated. It's well connected - it has its own international airport a few miles to the south, a trip down the M4 will get you to London in 2.5 hours, and there are also regular trains to London.

University of Leeds - also a big city, two universities, a bit more mainstream, a bit less well connected (has its own airport, but you'll probably still have to go to London for flights to the US, which is about 4 hours away).

University of St. Andrews - a small, isolated town on the Scottish coast with a nice golf course, and not much else. Doesn't sound like it's what you're after, although Americans seem to be magnetically attracted to it because Prince William went there.

University of Sussex, Brighton - Brighton is the UK's gay capital, our answer to San Francisco. Lots of alternative sorts, a beach and lots of fun. It's also the closest to London, and the closest to the Channel Tunnel, which will let you get a train / coach to France (Dover to Calais).

University of York - it's a nice, old, smaller city with a nice Minster. Less well connected than the others, but still a good option.

I think you'll be happy at any of them except St Andrews in all honesty. You'll also get lots of people of your own age there anyway - many people take gap years and then a 3/4 year degree, so they will be 22/23 when they graduate. Plus, once you get past school age, I find that it's very difficult to tell how old someone actually is - I socialise, through a society, with people of all ages.

[kljolliff]

If your wanting a city style university I would choose either Bristol or Leeds - I actually have grown up in Leeds and have to say its such a nice place ! Theres loads of students out, some are more mature than others, and probably if your doing your 5th year you will be interacting with the 'older students' anyways..roughly 22/23. Leeds is a massive city with loads of things to do and has a mix of people so you'll always fit in
Leeds has its own airport which you can get to by bus from the city centre which takes about 20 mins if that ! Most of the flights out there travel to europe and places such as ibiza/lanzarote - the canary islands, however for long haul flights - such as america, manchester is probably the nearest and is about 2 hrs away by car, Leeds has a huge train station which gets you everywhere! You can travel right up to scotland and right down to London ect which is pretty cool if you got the time (:

[rrrrjjjj]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the posts they are so helpful!
I really appreciate it!

I'm leaning toward Bristol, Sussex and St. Andrews, but just because it's so pretty! (Haha, I sound like an idiot) I've actually been hearing from other sources that it is quite boring too, but the campus is gorgeous!

Does anyone know anything about class sizes for higher level classes? My counselor told me they are all generally around 10 to 15 students?

Thanks again!!