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Exeter vs. Birmingham

So, I am thinking about both- but want to hear from people who are at both what are the GOOD and BAD points about them- i'm mainly looking for points on the social life there and how their fresher's week went...

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Reply 1

subterfuge

My first recomendation would be to visit both universities, because it's by far the best way to decide which you like best.

Aside from that, I know very little about Exeter for comparision... but the social scene in Birmingham is very good.

There's a lot of different clubs playing all kinds of music, and the town centre is about 40 minutes walk from the accomodation, and the buses & trains aren't bad.
There's a lot of decent bands too, at various venues.

bad points... some areas aren't great and have high crime rates, buses are fairly expensive (and dont give change, which is useful to remember!)

Reply 2

ZigZag

Exeter is nice and homely.

Reply 3

slk999

ZigZag

Exeter is nice and homely.

good. though i'm a little disheartened by the crime rate at bham. but i s'pose exeter rivals that.??

Reply 4

hanadeka2002

It depends what you want out of your uni life.

Do you want to go to a large city or a smaller,quieter place?

Birmingham is very central and it's within easy reach of a lot of places, whereas Exeter is out of the way a bit.

Part of the reason I've applied to Exeter is the 'out of the way' ness.

Reply 5

slk999

cherrychocolate

I want one that's quite insular- i.e. that's not spread out all over the place, that's very friendly, modern outlook (not necessarily modern buildings), low crime rate in the city and not snobbish.

Reply 6

hanadeka2002

I don't think Exeter as a uni is 'snobbish' but it is considered as 'sloane central'....if you're trying to avoid 'posh' people?

I think it's just a stereotype however.

Reply 7

hallucination

From what I've heard from one of my friends who studies at Exeter, it is pretty snobbish. I'd say Birmingham has more of a mix of people.

Reply 8

tdg1986

Exeter has a lot of people that are either posh or snobbish depending on how to you want to describe them. Social wise there is always something to do or somewhere to go, but places like clubs are limited in number. In fact there's perhaps 3-4 in total! If you're more interested in things like pubs then there are loads around. Freshers week wise Exeter organises lots of different things each year and most societies organise socials and tryout sessions during that week.

I personally prefer Exeter to Bham (where I considered going) because it's much smaller, out of the way, lower crime rate and the summers are great!! There's usually a couple of weeks at the end of the summer term to enjoy the local beaches too.

Reply 9

Apricot Fairy

rich_

I want one that's quite insular- i.e. that's not spread out all over the place, that's very friendly, modern outlook (not necessarily modern buildings), low crime rate in the city and not snobbish.

Exeter has a low crime rate but is a little bit snobbish. Birmingham isn't snobbish but has quite a high crime rate. There's amazing scenery in Exeter, but amazing shopping in Birmingham.

That said, I had offers from both, and I don't think you can really go wrong. They're both campus universities, so they're not spread out, but both are within easy reach of their respective cities. They both have attractive campuses and are similar in terms of reputation.

I think they're both really nice universities. :smile:

Reply 10

hanadeka2002

Also,even though Birmingham has a high crime rate I think it's basically a question of having your wits about you and maintaining a good level of common sense. Don't walk down the street with your wallet in one hand and your phone in the other as you will be asking for it.

Reply 11

MNBStyle

At the end of the day its down to you, Like Katie said thoe birmingham has excellent shopping.
I wouldnt go to much into the crime rate as it is a big city so the chances are the crime rate would be high anyway

Reply 12

silence

lol.. the birmingham accommodation and uni campus are in edgbaston - the nice area! all those riots and these "crime levels" which people talk of are in areas well away from the uni. obviously, like most places in the uk, you should always keep your wits about you, but it's generally fine.

student nights out on the town tend to happen during the week, with the weekend nights out usually taking place on campus at the student union or in one of the bars in accommodation locations (the vale).

Reply 13

Sexy Plexi

well, being from down that way anyway, i didnt wanna apply to exeter cos it was much too much like home...and not far away enough! so can't rly speak for exeter, but the lowdown on brum. (since no-one else's rly defended r corner!)...

Campus-

Gorgeous! Spec at this time of year- lots of pretty coloured leaves etc. It's all rly old, beautiful redbrick buildings (we have a huge clock tower- replica of one in Italy) exception: Muirhead tower, a 60s monstrosity..nuff said. But it's lovely, v green. Also got ur own art gallery, botanical gardens (get us!) Cos it's a campus uni it's got a rly good feel to it. Also v close to city centre

Social steez-

Well, i for one have made looaadds of mates here! People in ur flat, nr ur flat, in other accomodation, on ur course, in other years. There's also about a million and one (well, ok 150ish) societies/groups (go to www.bugs.bham.ac.uk, or summat like that) Think goth...battle reenactment..manga..indie...american football...film..rock..hide and seek. Spoilt for choice. Obv got newspaper, radio etc too.

Going out-

Depends on ur taste really- there's so many places to go u cud go somewhere diff every night for ages before you started repeating urself!I found freshers excellent for meeting ppl, but not exactly my kind of clubs, but this is a generla guide to popular places:
mon: Risa- cheese, rnb, club
tue:dunno, wherever rly-dont go ot on tues much :wink:

wed:according to popular opinion, 'wednesday's are the works' (a stonking great warehouse stylee club- see risa4 music style) BUT, Snobs is the place to go!! rock, indie, 60s pop. if thats ot enuf to convince u- 50p vodka anyone?
thurs: michu
fri:ramshackle at carling academy (indie)
sat: rando cool djs/groups @ medicine bar/old custard factory
got the guild, local pubs etc tooand stuff nearby/on accomodation. ive left out a lot, theres too much to say really.

People-

Never met such a diverse bunch from all backgrounds- and you can never judge a book by it's cover. May take a week or so but u meet so many like minded ppl too- theres 27,000of us and 4,000+ international students so go figure.

Facilities-

Awesome! They have something like 2million books- i think. go look it up

Crime-

No different to any city I imagine. There arent bandits on every corner, just exercise caution (ie dont walk home at night on ur own- laydees, dont flash ur cash/fone like sum1 said etc, avoid buses l8 night, avoid dodgy areas of the city, lock ur door- NB:burglars prey on students who dont)

hope that helps! as a final word, can i just say, if u want a big but friendly place)..come to birmingham! (in my humble opinion)x

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"bad points", by the way.... (for me personally)

- ****loads of work!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply 14

Lady_Muck

Exeter is a beautiful city, full of friendly people, in an area of beautiful countryside, near amazing beaches in the north and the south, 2-3 hours direct train to London or New street. The cathedral is really pretty, shopping is good, not amazing, but they have a House of Fraser, Debenhams, TKMaxx, Matalan etc. All good things. Taunton is half an hour away and that has good shopping too. :smile:

I love Exeter, I live an hour away now and I'd very happily go there! Infact, I know my mother will be devastated if I don't get an offer.

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Forgot the fact that if you come then you'll have the pleasure of 'Westcountry Live' - possible the most informal, laid back and lovely local news programme ever. They try so hard to make a big deal and headlines out of the shortage of sheep dip. It's so quaint and lovely - very reassuring to know there is such a small crime rate etc.!

Reply 15

Dj Nastie

birmingham has air club, that was enough for me.

Reply 16

slk999

I might add here: the statistics:for 2004/05

Birmingham--- Exeter--- English average---

Sexual offences 1--- 1--- 0.9---
Violence against the person 24--- 24--- 16.5---
Robbery offences 5--- 1--- 1.4---
Burglary dwelling offences 8--- 5--- 6.4---
Theft of a motor vehicle offences 7--- 3--- 4.5---
Theft from a vehicle offences 11--- 14 --- 10---

Crime statistics are per 1,000 of the population within the local authority area

so really, they're about equal.

Reply 17

Dj Nastie

i dont have any problems in birmingham, i go to digbeth quite a lot (which is suppose to be rough) but dont get any hassle. If you come from london or any other major city then you'll be fine, its if you come from a small village like in yorkshire that you'll be easily targetted and spotted.

Reply 18

slk999

Dj Nastie

seriously??!! I come from a village/town in Wiltshire, but go to places like Salisbury regularly. how can they pick you out?? maybe exeter should be a better choice?? :eek:

Reply 19

Dj Nastie

its easy, most people that ive met from yorkshire aint got a clue, they will walk into a club a blatently state at people (not being Provocative in anyway, just havin' a lil look), you just dont do that, especially to certain types of people.