Man Met or The University of Liverpool?

I have applied to study English Literature at University, I applied to UCL, Manchester(twice), Manchester Met and The University of Liverpool.
I have finally received all my offers, conditionals for Liverpool and Manchester Met, UCL and rejections from The University of Manchester.
I decided against UCL due to the expensive nature of living in London as well as my desire to remain in the North West.
So I have whittled it down to, two, The University of Liverpool and Manchester Met. I originally wanted to go to the University of Manchester, as I love the city and the course was very appealing, however I was rejected by them thus I am now unsure of what to do.
As Liverpool is classed as a more upstanding university and I do like the city, the course looks good and the accommodation is vastly superior. Nevertheless I am still draw towards Manchester Met, as I think I would prefer the course there moreover I would love to live in Manchester.
But will it hold me back in my career and degree if I study at a lower class of university?
Also is Manchester Met as bad as many people make out?

Reply 1

evantej

Original post by Nicoke

How well you do depends upon you alone. Of course, it would be hard to judge whether any university will hold you back seeing you do not state what you would like to do in the future. However, that is not to suggest that prejudice does not exist, and in this sense Manchester Metropolitan University might not be the best option for certain careers, but if you were to apply for postgraduate study, for example, then it would not hold you back whatsoever.

I have studied at both MMU and University of Manchester, and used the University of Liverpool's facilities. MMU will not have the best students, but if you want to live in Manchester then that is unimportant. I do not particularly rate the UoM; I took a language class there and the facilities were crap, the admin was bad, and the university does not seem to be concerned with the area it operates in (unlike the universities in Liverpool which all work together for teacher training, for example), which you could attribute to an over-inflated ego; I fail to see why you were rejected by Manchester, but received an offer for UCL, for example. But the academics are friendly and esteemed in both areas I am interested in. Liverpool's library facilities are great, and the English department is good as well.

I cannot really offer specific advice about MMU's English department because I studied computing for a year in Manchester, then moved to MMU's campus in Cheshire to do English there. However, there is one member on this website who could answer any questions you have, and I could point her to this thread if you required that.

Reply 2

Warrior King

Despite the cost I still think you should go to UCL. Surely you can get access to bursaries etc. if cost is an issue? UCL is a very good reputable university and in all honesty I think you'd be silly to decline UCL especially for Manchester Met. It's a no brainer really.

Reply 3

wdywuk

Love the slagging of MMU and their English Dept by so many clueless people. I wonder how many people know that the Poet Lauriate, Carol Ann Duffy is a current lecturer within that dept at MMU.

Reply 4

Warrior King

Original post by wdywuk

Love the slagging of MMU and their English Dept by so many clueless people. I wonder how many people know that the Poet Lauriate, Carol Ann Duffy is a current lecturer within that dept at MMU.

Didn't she study at Liverpool though?

You'll find I haven't slagged off MMU anywhere but merely pointing out that UCL is a highly prestigious institution not only in the UK but also abroad and with all due respect am baffled as to why anybody would want to decline the opportunity to study at one of the world's "elite" institutions.

I can appreciate the concerns about cost but the OP wouldn't be the first student wanting to study in London under such circumstances nor the last and there are funding options available for students finding it hard to meet expense needs. It should be viewed as an investment in a future career.

The career and networking opportunities available to UCL students/graduates especially with it being a "target university" by the top IBs and City firms make it a prime alternative to Oxbridge.

But I appreciate you should also go somewhere where you'd be happy. But for me education always comes first and if it were me I'd go for UCL but that's just my personal opinion and may not even come anywhere close to reflecting the OP's wishes.

Reply 5

honestly

lets face it manchester met is terrible, liverpool is down the road and so you will not be missing home, you could go back anytime in the holiday or weekends.... University of Liverpool MMU have no comparison, uni of liverpool would wipe the fioor with it, support at liverpool uni is excellent! and job prospects as well as post grad prospects at the uni fo manchester is fab!

I still dont understand why you turned down UCL espceially for english, as the UCL department has a notorious reputation for being really really really x 10 strong (which reminds me liverpool is also respected more so than MMU).

you WILL earn enough money to pay back UCL especially with 2:I or higher as grads from their are recruited into Big Four accountancy, Law Firms, Barristers chambers, consultancy, management, oxbridge post grad, fashion, politics, publishing the list goes one.

no disrespect to anyone who goes to mmu, just that for your calibre of students its far too weak,,

peace out

honestly

Reply 6

username474976

UCL
Liverpool
Man met

Reply 7

amelia1990

I think it really depends on what interests you the most. Look at the module descriptions and see what you prefer. Don't make the mistake of attending a uni that's higher on leauge tables just for the sake of it, if you prefer the course and the location of another.

That said though, if I had an offer from UCL i wouldn't go to MMU, but that's just me personally.

I don know someone that's just started English at MMU, and she proper loves it. From your post it seems that you aren't too fussed about uni rep or anything, so I'd defo make course content the decider :smile:

good luck!

Reply 8

aarora

I think you should go to UCL its such a fantastic university. If you really don't want to i'd go for Liverpool as its waaay better than Manchester Met.

Reply 9

Blemish

Rejecting UCL, I don't get it. :O

It's by far the most prestigious university to make you an offer.

You should seriously consider it. I know too many straight A students who got rejected this year, you don't know how lucky you are to have an offer. Their English department is outstanding.

Remember that loans/grants take into account the higher cost of living associated to being based in London.

Reply 10

Warrior King

Wasn't UCL ranked 4th in the world by one league table? That was above the likes of Oxford, Yale, Princeton and light years ahead of Liverpool and MMU.

Frankly I think you're stupid to even be considering turning down UCL for MMU or to even think of going to MMU in the first place. It begs the question why on Earth did you bother applying to UCL if you didn't want to be so far from home? If you wanted to stay close to home and go to a decent uni then (assuming you're from the North) you should have considered the likes of Manchester, Durham, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle or even places in the midlands like Birmingham, Warwick, Nottingham.

UCL is pretty much strong in every course it offer hence it's a good university in general. That's not to say the above mentioned are inferior it's just they may be strong in some areas but weak in others. I hope for your sake you haven't declined that UCL offer. If you have then I hope you don't regret.

I mean come on UCL vs MMU? It's a no brainer!

Reply 11

dibdobmichaela

Original post by Warrior King

Hi there,

Do you think UoM's buildings are dated?

Reply 12

Warrior King

Original post by dibdobmichaela

Hi there,

Do you think UoM's buildings are dated?

Reply 13

mckenna

I have just finished my second year at Salford Uni after transferring from Man Met. I feel that most of the first year did not prepare me for the second year- apart from a module named Writing Skills, which no longer runs. The majority of the lectures (definitely Renaissance Drama and Identity and Difference) were tedious and uninspiring; the same can be said about some of the seminars too. When writing essays at Salford, I have had to go on my own knowledge, the lectures I have had, meetings with my lecturers and my own research. As for Writing Skills, the only reason why it was useful is that my lecturer was not afraid of discussing things that were interesting and relevant.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 14

RonnetClaw

I got offers from man met for english + creative writing but decided against it for the course modules are leaned more towards critiquing works rather than creating them. Besides it is a 2 year course rather than the usual one. And 2 years in the heart of london could just ruin me financially.

To turn down UCL is utterly is not wise, well its dumb actually!! So do reconsider it.