Engineering degrees

Is it true that the jump from gcse to a-level is bigger than the jump from a-level to degree?

Thank you for all the info, very helpful if the first year is the same for mech and aero, is it possible to switch If I change my mind? And are there work experience opportunities? Thank you

Can't believe I have to pay 9k a year to teach myself maths... :/

It's not worth £3k a year imo. We get no help, in labs if we're stuck the helpers don't really help they just tell you the answer. I'm not sure if you can switch. If you do it'll have to be early as mech engineers have more labs than aero engineers and we also have more topics to cover in the first semester.

Is it true that the jump from gcse to a-level is bigger than the jump from a-level to degree?

:L you really don't rate Southampton very highly, huh?

Not necessarily. There are many cases where funding brings in brilliant researchers who find teaching a chore, and therefore the quality drops.

I'm doing mechanical engineering at southampton but for the first year the course structure is identical, we are in the same lectures and all the labs they have we have too, we just have more labs.

Maths is self taught. You have 11 modules to learn per semester and a test for each one. Total is out of 44 (about 7 questions per paper, you can take the tests when you want but tests on different days are not identical so you can't copy someone elses work). A phD student will then mark your work and give you a score out of 4 (near 100% is a 4, majority correct is a 3, half correct is 2, most wrong is 1 and all wrong is 0). A pass is 3 or 4 and if you get 0, 1 or 2 you get a retry. I've gotten 44/44 but getting this score is not easy, I got A*s in maths and further maths and I had to work to get it.

First semester modules in which you have two hours of lectures a week include Thermodynamics, Properties of Materials and Mechanics of Solids. Each of these has between 2-3 labs per semester.

Thermodynamics started off awful. We had a terrible lecturer, no one understood what he was talking about as all we could hear is him chewing gum loudly whilst he spoke. This basically meant we all had to learn it ourselves and so was effectively self taught. Now we past half way, we changed lecturers and the new guy is quite good. You get a print out of each PowerPoint they use so that's not bad.

Mechanics of Solids is full on hard work. Concepts are not hard, however having a two hour lecture at 9 am on a Monday morning makes the subject harder than it needs to be. You get sheets which they go through, however I find it useful to take notes in this lecture and then go home, read the sheet and add bits of info onto it. Again, we had a lecturer swap for this (it was planned). Both guys are quite good, the first lecturer we had was quite funny and always has a story to tell.

Properties of Materials is a lot like Chemistry. You learn about bonding, defects in materials, failures in materials and phase diagrams. 20% of the course consists of online quizzes which you do online at various points over the first semester. You can do these quizzes as many times as you want and it's your last score before the deadline that gets recorded, not your best.

If you get below 40% in any module after your January exams, you'll have to retake it and if you fail the retake paper, you have to repeat the entire year. If you fail too many, they may consider asking you to make the decision to leave the university in the best interests of yourself and the university.

One tip - Don't buy a sports membership, 99% of engineers are too busy to even use it so it's a waste of £125.

Oh yes, for some reason aero students are jealous of the mech students because we get to design race car wings and they don't

Overall, I found Southampton to be quite overrated. I was expecting more and a lot of what they showed off during open days you don't get to touch until your final year or if you do a phD. It's still better than a lot of unis, but I can't help but think i'd of done better somewhere else as the teaching is not that good and so I spend so much time trying to understand what was taught outside lectures via wikipedia. I do feel if they just gave me a long list of what to study before exams and I did it myself, I'd be doing just as good as I'm doing now.

I'm doing mechanical engineering at southampton but for the first year the course structure is identical, we are in the same lectures and all the labs they have we have too, we just have more labs.

Maths is self taught. You have 11 modules to learn per semester and a test for each one. Total is out of 44 (about 7 questions per paper, you can take the tests when you want but tests on different days are not identical so you can't copy someone elses work). A phD student will then mark your work and give you a score out of 4 (near 100% is a 4, majority correct is a 3, half correct is 2, most wrong is 1 and all wrong is 0). A pass is 3 or 4 and if you get 0, 1 or 2 you get a retry. I've gotten 44/44 but getting this score is not easy, I got A*s in maths and further maths and I had to work to get it.

First semester modules in which you have two hours of lectures a week include Thermodynamics, Properties of Materials and Mechanics of Solids. Each of these has between 2-3 labs per semester.

Thermodynamics started off awful. We had a terrible lecturer, no one understood what he was talking about as all we could hear is him chewing gum loudly whilst he spoke. This basically meant we all had to learn it ourselves and so was effectively self taught. Now we past half way, we changed lecturers and the new guy is quite good. You get a print out of each PowerPoint they use so that's not bad.

Mechanics of Solids is full on hard work. Concepts are not hard, however having a two hour lecture at 9 am on a Monday morning makes the subject harder than it needs to be. You get sheets which they go through, however I find it useful to take notes in this lecture and then go home, read the sheet and add bits of info onto it. Again, we had a lecturer swap for this (it was planned). Both guys are quite good, the first lecturer we had was quite funny and always has a story to tell.

Properties of Materials is a lot like Chemistry. You learn about bonding, defects in materials, failures in materials and phase diagrams. 20% of the course consists of online quizzes which you do online at various points over the first semester. You can do these quizzes as many times as you want and it's your last score before the deadline that gets recorded, not your best.

If you get below 40% in any module after your January exams, you'll have to retake it and if you fail the retake paper, you have to repeat the entire year. If you fail too many, they may consider asking you to make the decision to leave the university in the best interests of yourself and the university.

One tip - Don't buy a sports membership, 99% of engineers are too busy to even use it so it's a waste of £125.

Oh yes, for some reason aero students are jealous of the mech students because we get to design race car wings and they don't

Overall, I found Southampton to be quite overrated. I was expecting more and a lot of what they showed off during open days you don't get to touch until your final year or if you do a phD. It's still better than a lot of unis, but I can't help but think i'd of done better somewhere else as the teaching is not that good and so I spend so much time trying to understand what was taught outside lectures via wikipedia. I do feel if they just gave me a long list of what to study before exams and I did it myself, I'd be doing just as good as I'm doing now.

Would i be better off going to lower ranked unis

As long as the degree is accredited you won't be any worse off. The most important thing is accreditation, anything after that is merely a bonus

So will i have an easier time at a lower ranked uni?it willbe easier for me to do well?

You may well find that the first year starts more easily, but you will end up studying pretty much exactly the same things as you would at a higher ranked university. So yes, you may find it easier to settle into the course initially.

Ok. thanks. but will the exams be the same? difficulty and style of exam..

Hi thanks for loads of valuable information

I am considering going to southampton to study aeronautics and astronautics but from what you have said, I am a bit worried.
I got all A's at AS and am predicted all A*'s.
Do you think I should study at Southampton? My original opinion was that I liked the course there the most but didnt like the accomodation lol.

Other offers I have are from Bristol A*AA and Loughborough AAA. Durham is Pending. And Cambridge are gits because they didnt even give me an interview and when i asked for feedback they said they dont have any, and they just preffered other student who do chemistry as there fourth subject, (i do product design).

Reply ASAP. Also whats your opinion on accomodation?

Thankssss

wow, you have sort of put me off doing engineering
Ive got offers from birmingham and manchester for foundation years because i only got CCC at AS.
But am just worried if ill find the course hard and that maybe i shouldnt bother going to a uni which is ranked high and usually asks for high grades.
If you got good grades at a level and still had to work really hard then it should b alot worse for me right...
Would i be better off going to lower ranked unis

Firstly i'd like to apologise for the late replies as i've been really busy packing and moving back home to do some serious revision.



WOW! Those are excellent grades. I know we have one mech eng student here who got 4 A*s and an A and he finds the work really easy so far. I'll tell you that Bristol are AMAZING for aero and I did get rejected by them as they didn't feel I could get two As and a B last year. I did visit Bristol and it's an amazing city. It's more lively than Southampton, but also more expensive. At the end of the day, what you pay for with any university (talked to some of my friends at other unis doing engineering) is the universities name on your graduation certificate once you graduate. The word's 'University of Southampton' and 'University of Bristol' will NOT close you off to any employer (apart from investment banks who seek oxbridge graduates). Graduate opportunities should be the same AND be amazing.

You have until May I believe to choose, so take your time, maybe revisit the unis to make your decision. My sister does Chemistry at Loughborough and i've visited the place. There is nothing there that Bristol and Southampton cannot offer (in terms of engineering) that Loughborough have. I would definitely say that if I was in your position, I would definitely firm either Southampton or Bristol over Durham or Loughborough.

As for Cambridge, well there's no doubt you should have got an interview. I got AAAB for my AS and got an interview with Downing college, but got rejected unfortunately. You should complain to Cambridge about it, as unless your personal statement was diabolical (as in a person waffled on on how they're better than Cambridge etc. which I doubt anyone would do) there is no reason for them to reject you without an interview.

There's accommodation for everyone at Southampton and it's all reasonably priced. If you want aesthetics in student accommodation, i'd advise applying to Glen Eyre student accommodation in Southampton, but if you want student atmosphere and a lot of block parties, monte is the way to go. You can choose to live in corridors (standard room), or flats of 7 (enhanced room), en suite flats (en suite) or premium rooms which are slightly bigger than en suite rooms. There's also catered option but that's a bit of a rip off. Your rent also includes a year bus pass on unilink buses which are quite good and definitely the best buses in Southampton without a doubt!

Accommodation is good. We get cleaners everyday so the kitchen is always tidy and room inspections once a semester so nothing unreasonable. Reception is open 24/7 and they sign and collect all your post.

Firstly i'd like to apologise for the late replies as i've been really busy packing and moving back home to do some serious revision.



WOW! Those are excellent grades. I know we have one mech eng student here who got 4 A*s and an A and he finds the work really easy so far. I'll tell you that Bristol are AMAZING for aero and I did get rejected by them as they didn't feel I could get two As and a B last year. I did visit Bristol and it's an amazing city. It's more lively than Southampton, but also more expensive. At the end of the day, what you pay for with any university (talked to some of my friends at other unis doing engineering) is the universities name on your graduation certificate once you graduate. The word's 'University of Southampton' and 'University of Bristol' will NOT close you off to any employer (apart from investment banks who seek oxbridge graduates). Graduate opportunities should be the same AND be amazing.

You have until May I believe to choose, so take your time, maybe revisit the unis to make your decision. My sister does Chemistry at Loughborough and i've visited the place. There is nothing there that Bristol and Southampton cannot offer (in terms of engineering) that Loughborough have. I would definitely say that if I was in your position, I would definitely firm either Southampton or Bristol over Durham or Loughborough.

As for Cambridge, well there's no doubt you should have got an interview. I got AAAB for my AS and got an interview with Downing college, but got rejected unfortunately. You should complain to Cambridge about it, as unless your personal statement was diabolical (as in a person waffled on on how they're better than Cambridge etc. which I doubt anyone would do) there is no reason for them to reject you without an interview.

There's accommodation for everyone at Southampton and it's all reasonably priced. If you want aesthetics in student accommodation, i'd advise applying to Glen Eyre student accommodation in Southampton, but if you want student atmosphere and a lot of block parties, monte is the way to go. You can choose to live in corridors (standard room), or flats of 7 (enhanced room), en suite flats (en suite) or premium rooms which are slightly bigger than en suite rooms. There's also catered option but that's a bit of a rip off. Your rent also includes a year bus pass on unilink buses which are quite good and definitely the best buses in Southampton without a doubt!

Accommodation is good. We get cleaners everyday so the kitchen is always tidy and room inspections once a semester so nothing unreasonable. Reception is open 24/7 and they sign and collect all your post.



I do apologise if I did put you off engineering , I just wrote how I felt about the university. The university has an excellent tool called blackboard where all lecture notes and supervision sheets are put up for you to revise off and they're actually quite useful and have loads of example questions that you can go through and it'll be easier to understand. Some lecturers are just not good at teaching, but the content is more than enough so if you were to do the course by yourself, you would understand the work.

Simple answer to going to a lower ranked university just because you may find the work easier is NO! As I said before, you are really only paying for the unis name on your graduate certificate and going to lower ranked unis will simply result in more jobs being closed off to you. It is a good idea to do a foundation year as you have an extra year to adjust to life in Southampton, make friends, and fully understand the basics. For the first semester, the only maths you'll need is plugging values into formulae and rearranging.

Hope that helps. As far as I see it, there is only one uni I would rather be at than Southampton and that is Imperial (childhood dream). Southampton is a great uni, and when everything is taken to account (life at the uni, costs, eduction, facilities etc.), I'd say it's on par with Bristol. I'd rather be here at Southampton than at Cambridge because I know I don't possess the work ethic required to succeed at Cambridge. A friend of mine goes there and says the only advantage is one on one/ one to two tutorials they get.

Hope that helps, and I didn't mean to put anyone off engineering. Sorry about that.

Thankyouuuuu, and regarding my PS, no it wasnt bad lol. I got it read by the current Churchill College admissions coordinator (for history lol, but he knew a bit about engineering), and he said it was veryyyy good.

Also is Glen Eyre fairly small or not? Also sorry to be a pest but which is the accomodation in southampton that has the best architecture and scenery.
(I tend to work better in peace rather than with loads of people making racket. I also would like to live in a quieter place).

And I am considering firming Bristol or Southampton, but just lingering over Durham lol. Just love the place, although i understand it isnt that good for engineering.

Finally if I did come to Southampton one big reason would be because i have been told they have many F1 links and my dream is to be an Formula One Aerodynamist. Do you know how many people actually get into F1?
(I am hoping I can do a really good fourth year project to grab some F1 teams attention).

If I had got into Bristol I don't know what I would have done. Bristol sought of pooled me and I got an offer for electrical engineering with scholarship but decided not to go to that. I too want to work in F1 and so that was the main reason as to why I chose Southampton over Bristol.

I have seen that in previous years a handful of graduates go to Williams, but not many high profile teams. That could be because those teams are looking for experience. When I looked at Bristol graduate employers' list at their open day, I didn't see any F1 teams whereas Southampton boasted about Adrian Newey a lot as he graduated from the uni and also the head of Rolls Royce. The best way to get into F1 is to get yourself an internship at an F1 company during your studies. McLaren is based in the nearby Woking so it may be worth asking them early. I know a lot of Southampton graduates are snapped up by ESA who are at a lot of graduate job events.

Southampton is not the most aesthetically appealing city, but I would say Glen Eyre looks better than Monte (Monte is just a large set of brick buildings in an enclosed area). Glen Eyre is also quite close to campus unlike Monte which is a 20 minute uphill walk to campus or a 10 minute bus ride.

Feel free to ask more questions, i'm quite bored atm lol

A scholarship from Bristol! Sound Impressive to be honest.

Also thanks for all the info, I have been to an open day at Southampton and was impressed. However I have heard most the things they show you like the wind tunnel, you dont get to use until the fourth year which is pretty ****.
One good thing was that I gave a good impression to the man who interviewed me. (he was the lecturer for aerodynamics in the second year).
He told me my personal statement was very strong and that my grades are very good and he hopes i choose southampton.

I guess I just need to visit southampton and bristol again to check out accomodation and find out what true close links each uni has.

If i do choose southampton for example it would be because they had strong F1 links. If they dont, i might as well choose Bristol.

Anywayz thanks again for everything and if i come down to southampton maybe we could meet up and i could get a proper unbiased view of the university because the undergraduates who showed me around were talking crap to be fair.