[yari-n]

I need help choosing between the two! I have yet to visit either but I've heard good things about both...

[sesquipedalia]

Too vague, please ask a more specific question and I would be happy to try and answer it.

[yari-n]

Umm only bad thing I've heard about bham is that it gets a bit grim, whereas I've heard newcastle is always lively and very student associated. How well does bham cater for students compared to newc?

[sesquipedalia]

Well I can only speak on Birmingham's behalf, but it has the one of the biggest varieties of student societies in the UK, a community feel on campus (social venues, events, farmers markets etc), the most night clubs outside of london, a big music industry. It also has its own grounds for halls of residence, and the privately rented houses are generally in a small area, so there is lots of contact with students.

More importantly, it hosts many high profile events, is well connected with employers in the region, and offers many networking opportunities as it is rated in the top 10 of UK's research-led universities.

If by grim you mean socially isolated, put it this way: there are 20 thousand undergraduates, and I know from personal experience that enough of them are nice and have shared interests.