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Loughborough or Reading University?

I've applied for Politics and had equal offers of ABB from Loughborough and Reading. I know for certain I am putting Exeter as my first choice with AAB but I have no idea whether Loughborough or Reading is better.

I've visited both and loved both. Loughborough is much higher in league tables, however, speaking to older people (so therefore people who are most likely to be employing) they are always surprised when i mention that Loughborough is a high uni, and they always reply with 'isn't loughborough good for p.e?'. So employer wise, is it better to go to reading even though it's fallen to around the 30s mark on league tables?

Help please:-(

P.S. I don't plan on becoming a politician, i want to be a solicitor so i plan on doing all my legal courses after university.
Visit them both. I had originally planned to put Loughborough as my insurance, but when I visited it I realised that I didn't want to live on the outskirts of a small town with only one nightclub, where the students all appeared to be collectively obsessed with sport. I spent my school days forging sick notes for PE, so I didn't think I would fit in (ironically enough, I've taken up two sports since coming to uni!). However, I know some people love Lufbra!

Reading has a good reputation - I wouldn't worry about what employers will think of it relative to Lufbra. I don't really know much about it though - it was never on my shortlist for reasons that I can't remember, three years on!
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millie-rose
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Original post by Origami Bullets
Visit them both. I had originally planned to put Loughborough as my insurance, but when I visited it I realised that I didn't want to live on the outskirts of a small town with only one nightclub, where the students all appeared to be collectively obsessed with sport. I spent my school days forging sick notes for PE, so I didn't think I would fit in (ironically enough, I've taken up two sports since coming to uni!). However, I know some people love Lufbra!

Reading has a good reputation - I wouldn't worry about what employers will think of it relative to Lufbra. I don't really know much about it though - it was never on my shortlist for reasons that I can't remember, three years on!


Thanks for your reply. I am going to visit them both, Loughborough in December and Reading in January. Ahh is it very sporty? See I like sport but I'm not overly obsessive about it. Plus I hate small towns and small town mentalities where everyone knows everyone. Growing up in London I'm thinking that Loughboroughs just going to be to small for me- my mum thinks i'll be bored out of my mind lol.

Prehaps Reading then:/ where did you end up going?
Original post by millie-rose
Thanks for your reply. I am going to visit them both, Loughborough in December and Reading in January. Ahh is it very sporty? See I like sport but I'm not overly obsessive about it. Plus I hate small towns and small town mentalities where everyone knows everyone. Growing up in London I'm thinking that Loughboroughs just going to be to small for me- my mum thinks i'll be bored out of my mind lol.

Prehaps Reading then:/ where did you end up going?


Loughborough has a population of around 60,000. There are about 16,000 students. Goodluck in getting to know everybody! Leicester and Nottingham are also within striking range for when you get bored. Its certainly not a city, but I wouldn't go so far as saying it has a small town mentality.

Also I wouldn't worry about the sportyness. While it has far more than its fair share of elite athletes, plenty of people who go there aren't sporty at all, and everything in-between. Its really up to you how involved you get with it.
Original post by millie-rose
Thanks for your reply. I am going to visit them both, Loughborough in December and Reading in January. Ahh is it very sporty? See I like sport but I'm not overly obsessive about it. Plus I hate small towns and small town mentalities where everyone knows everyone. Growing up in London I'm thinking that Loughboroughs just going to be to small for me- my mum thinks i'll be bored out of my mind lol.

Prehaps Reading then:/ where did you end up going?


I'm not sure it's small enough for everyone to know everyone (although there will always be the two-degrees-of-separation type thing that always seems to occur in universities. There are a lot of sport facilities on site, it consistently comes top of the BUCS League, and it has a good sport science course that tends to attract the sporty types too. Any form of compulsory sport (not that it's compulsory at Loughborough, but...) makes me run get a bus a mile in the opposite direction, so the idea of being at a uni where sport forms the core of social life had the potential, in my opinion, to make me feel left out. I don't know if this would have held true, but I didn't want to find out!

There isn't much in Loughborough town itself, but I believe the SU is very active, which goes some way to make up for it, and the students on the open day were very enthusiastic (too enthusiastic?) about how great life was there.

I went to Manchester in the end, which has suited me to a tee.

Of course, there's no one uni that suits everyone - some people prefer a small town or a more rural location, others prefer a big city, and some courses place their emphasis in different areas. It's about finding the right uni for you.

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