Bristol or Manchester: Computer Science

I'm from Bristol, and was interested in doing COmputer Science there, so I'd say BRISTOL.
But - accomodation shouldn't be a problem, there is a lot of rooms available for students near the halls.
Yes, the the halls are a bit scattered around the city but Bristol's bus line is very good, we even run our own Uni Link.

But really- just go with your heart, what ever you feel like doing, try and gather as much info as possible, make a table of prons and cons and just go with it!

Good luck!!

I'm from Bristol, and was interested in doing COmputer Science there, so I'd say BRISTOL.
But - accomodation shouldn't be a problem, there is a lot of rooms available for students near the halls.
Yes, the the halls are a bit scattered around the city but Bristol's bus line is very good, we even run our own Uni Link.

But really- just go with your heart, what ever you feel like doing, try and gather as much info as possible, make a table of prons and cons and just go with it!

Good luck!!

I said it before, and I'll say it again. Bristol. You'd be mad not to pick Bristol The department is the best and the city is even better. I personally prefer Bristol as a university and a city over Manchester. Academically/job prospect wise/the type of degree you will get/ city and night life wise, Bristol is the better choice.

And can you give me a source for international students not being guaranteed accomodation at Bristol please? As far as I know, every UG student, regardless of home or EU or international is guaranteed accomodation in Bristol as long as they don't live in the local Bristol area.

It sounds like you're really into Manchester so go with whatever you feel is best for you but Bristol has one of the best eye-candy in the country (check Whatuni.co.uk). Just saying And the place is amazing and you will find loads of people from your country there. Personally I find Manchester a bit too multi-cultural for my liking (rich coming from me, Im going to London next year ) which isn't a bad thing but you don't want to be in with the wrong crowd really.

Go with whatever you feel the best. I still maintain that Bristol is better but sounds like you're leaning towards Manchester. (Btw, direct flights are normally ridicklo expensive Just saying.)

According to http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010/subject-rankings/technology

Manchester is higher up for computer science.. so just choose the university you want to go to

Rankings for University of Bristol - 2010
Arts & Humanities: 57
Engineering & IT: 83
Natural Sciences: 40
Life Sciences: 70
Social Sciences: 65=

Rankings for The University of Manchester - 2010
Arts & Humanities: 48
Engineering & IT: 25
Natural Sciences: 52
Life Sciences: 39
Social Sciences: 29

In the first year, every body is guaranteed accommodation in the uni residences, not after that. I don't want to live in a flat.. This is there in the accommodation guarantee of the university. I'd e-mailed them for clarification, they said -

"Students who fall within the accommodation guarantee are only guaranteed accommodation for the first year, regardless if they are home or overseas students. There are a limited number of places for students in their second or third years within residences and all students can apply for these. The Accommodation Office offers help and advice in finding accommodation after your first year."

I find Manchester's profile to suit my personality. Damn, I wish I could just visit!!

And, ah, you're going to Imperial! I'm very happy for you! And, I totally see why you love Bristol, but love is blind and Manchester's blurring my visions against Bristol! Ah, Manchester's a jealous, jealous *****! :P


And, about the flight..it costs as much to go to London as Manchester..

This *points at above post* is the reason I'd applied to Manchester, international rankings. Then I looked at the UK league tables and was made to go - "WHAT THE.. HOW THE........" How can a university rank 30 in the WORLD and 30 in UK as well?! (personally, I've been told by students that they are happy studying CS in UoM..and I think their student satisfaction and job prospect % goes down because of the sheer number of students accepted, and some even below their typical offer range. Being an international student, I think it's more about the course and the international rep I should care about..).

Thank you to everyone who posted their opinion, I guess ultimately it does come down to me. I don't know if to blatantly ignore a university like Bristol, but..let's see...

Because league tables chat bullcrap. Simples.

I think you will find that every university in the country will not give you accomodation after the first year. But that's a good thing! You should learn to be independant after the first year, not just rely on university accomodation otherwise you're not getting the whole university experiences.

And whoever believes league tables will believe anything in my opinion. Everyone knows league tables chat a whole bunch of BS. You shouldn't be so hooked on league tables just because one places Manchester above Bristol. And international league tables are the WORST! They're notorious for being very biased and league tables take up to 25 different things into consideration, half of which aren't even relevant to the student at all.

These league tables place Bristol above Manchester:
Guardian League Table
Guardian CS League Table by subject
Complete University Guide
Complete University Guide CS Subject Table
Telegraph League Table
The Sunday Times League Table
Times Good University Guide League Table
And probably the one you're most interested in - Times World Rankings (International) League Tables

I still believe that league tables are not to be believed and that Bristol is better than Manchester and that ultimately the choice is yours but based on league tables, which you seem to want to know more about, I rest my case.

Most universities guarantee accommodation to students paying the non-EU fees. I want to keep my options open about the accommodation thing.

And, I agree with everything you said. That's what I said makes my decision harder to make. Bristol's the better university but my heart's going out to Manchester. Bristol's placed higher than Manchester every where but, for some odd reasons, my gut instinct is to go with Manchester. That's what the whole confusion is based on..I'm trying to find logic in my choice, not basing my choice on logic! I might just end up choosing one over the other and end up regretting it later...*sigh*

And, btw, I love eye candy.. (which normal person doesn't ? )..but my boyfriend wouldn't be too happy for me..lol!!

If you feel like going to Manchester, go for it. If you're happier, then you'll do well in your course regardless.
Oh is your boyfriend applying to Manchester/Bristol too?

Nah, my boyfriend's staying in India .

Would have left you a message saying this, but turns out you got yourself banned till end of exams (tsr is addictive, is it not ? )... I decided to choose Bristol after all, and I'm seeing what you were talking about all this while - it's gorgeous! Anyway, hoping you get your A*AA, Imperial awaits your girl power!

Most people's first instinct will be to scream : "dude, BRISTOL!!" However, I really seem to like University of Manchester. I can't go on Open Days since I am an international student, therefore I'm finding it hard to base my opinion on nothingness. These are the pros and cons in my head -

1. Bristol - very prestigious, the best students accepted, smaller numbers hence possibly more personal attention and value for degree. 4th best in league tables for Comp Sci after Oxbridge and Imperial. However, the fact that the university is so spread over and the distance of the halls from the university bothers me.. Furthermore, as I've written below, it doesn't guarantee accommodation to International students and I'm not too pleased with that.

2. Manchester:
a) Scores very well in the international rankings, like Bristol, so I may not be at a disadvantage there.
b) There's a direct flight from my city to Manchester.
c) Manchester's cheaper.
d) I do want to make friends from other countries, but it'd be nice to have a lot of people from my country at the university too and Manchester's *huge* so that's a given.
e) I like the sound of it (lol).
f) Accommodation is guaranteed to all international students throughout their stay in University.. Bristol seems to be the only one that doesn't!

I'm not overly concerned about graduate prospects since I will be doing PG. Manchester's got 81% student satisfaction for Comp Sci and Bristol's got about 90% (unistats). I like both courses...and hence I'm confused about what to do.

Any suggestions? What are the pros and cons according to you?