Advice sought, particularly from any psychologists around

Now I realise that nobody else can tell me which university is right for me, but any opinions on the following universities/courses, how they are perceived by employers, and particularly opinions from anyone with knowledge of psychology as a career would be very welcome.

I am a mature student (will be 28 on entry) and have a long term aim of going into clinical psychology, so have applied for undergrad BSc Psychology courses for entry this year. I have been lucky enough to have offers from all 5 and am now ridiculously confused about where to go and am changing my mind approximately every 20 minutes....

The options are;

Bath - 4 year BSc including placement year. My number 1 choice on paper before visiting any of them. The highest ranking both as a uni and for psychology. Beautiful city. Also run a clinical psychology doctorate, so lots of clinical based research etc going on there, plus the opportunity of possibly getting to know some of the clinical lecturers which may help in a few years time when applying for doctorates. The obvious choice? Downsides are I wasn't able to go to the open day and they don't have any post offer days, so I have only seen it when I went for my interview, and whilst it seemed like a nice place it is hard to get as full a picture when you haven't heard the talk from the department, seen the departmental facilities, looked at the accommodation etc. It is also the furthest from home. If I want to go there I need to decide in the next day or 2, as accommodation applications open Tuesday and the 'good' halls get snapped up very quickly.

Kent - 4 year BSc including placement year. Not as high ranking as some of the others, and also not Russell Group, but I really liked both the university and the department both times that I visited. It seemed a very friendly place, and the lecturer who gave me a tour of the department facilities was possibly THE most enthusiastic person I have ever met. The most generous university for me financially (assuming I reach 45 distinctions on my Access course). Quickest to get to from home. Again, beautiful city. Doesn't have down sides as such - the accommodation is expensive, but the extra financial support more than makes up for that. No research in clinical psychology, which is the area I want to go into, but I don't know how important that is at undergrad level, particularly given that I could probably spend my placement year in a clinical setting. That and the lower rankings are the main downsides - will I kick myself for not going somewhere more 'prestigious' when I have other offers?

Nottingham - 3 year BSc. Russell Group uni, good reputation. Really lovely campus and when I visited I liked the uni a lot more than I was expecting to. The department was very friendly, stressed how all the staff have open door policy, no strict office hours etc, and some really interesting equipment unique to Nottingham. Nearly as good as Kent financially. Really strong performing arts societies too (of interest because it has been my life up to this point, and need/want to continue performing for my sanity). Main downside is no placement year, although they do have some summer internships etc. I also don't know the city at all - I know it doesn't have the best reputation re crime etc, but I don't know how fair that is, and also whether it applies to the areas surrounding the university?

Southampton - 3 year BSc. This one is more or less out of the running I think. Russell group uni, good course, good performing arts societies, but no placement year and the weakest for me in terms of bursaries/scholarships, combined with fairly expensive accommodation. I think the financial position would make it a difficult choice, and isn't much closer to home than Bath.

Loughborough - 4 year BSc including placement year, but you have to find your own placement to a far greater extent than at Bath or Kent. Similar to Kent in terms of finance, but cheaper accommodation. Some really interesting research and a very friendly department, and very supportive of mature students. Gave me an unconditional offer based on my A levels, so would have a guaranteed place. Downsides - less prestigious than the others? Not a particularly exciting town compared to the others?

Congratulations for wading through that lot! I think that realistically my first choice is probably going to be either Bath or Kent, but I have changed my mind about which more times than I could count, with some of the others thrown in too at various points, along with deciding I applied to completely wrong universities at other points. Bath and Kent are my highest offers and are too similar to have one as firm and one as insurance, so both would need to either be firm choice or nothing. Insurance I am deciding between Nottingham and Loughborough. Loughborough has the option of a placement year and has given me an unconditional offer, so from that aspect it would be a sensible insurance, but Nottingham probably has a better reputation and is also a thousand pounds a year more generous financially. I think the things that I particularly need advice on are how much league tables matter, both in terms of overall and subject specific rankings, how relevant a uni being Russell Group is to anything (I am aware it is purely a group of unis for research purposes etc, but obviously they have good reputations and I don't know how much that needs to be considered), and how valuable a placement year will be. Also any advice about psychology specifically would be a great help, particularly if anyone knows how much where you went to uni is considered when hiring assistant clinical psychologists and getting onto doctorate courses etc.

Many thanks!

If you want to go for clinical, out of the factors you state, the placement year will be a significant help. Especially when it comes to getting your foot in the door when you graduate.

Other than that you will need to have good academic marks (high 2:1 or a 1st), and some decent research experience. I would also advise you try to talk to some real life clinical psychologists as there are several issues that mature students need to consider. Be advised that 28 isn't that old, when I was doing my DClinPsy the average age of trainee was in their late 20s and many were in their 30s.

for mature students in particular - could you tell me the sort of thing you are thinking of?

Again, I don't really know your circumstances, but more mature candidates often have family circumstances they have to take into consideration, which may impact on placement options and their ability to take on low paid/ voluntary work to accrue experience. Also there can be issues about re-acclimatising back to the routine of studying if you have been in the work environment, and other issues that may be relevant.

However, there are advantages of being a mature student, especially if you have built up skills in a previous career or have any leadership or training role in the past.

I can't speak for the others, but I will be cheeky and add Cardiff into the mix.

Honestly, the course is fantastic.
The placement year is really encouraged, you get a database with over a hundred possible placements all so diverse, but they make sure the placements actually offer great experience. You won't be stuck doing admin.

The support is great, you really get to know your personal tutor and your personal tutor group (about 6 other students).

There is a lot of work, a lot of deadlines but I think it's good. It really throws you into psychology, especially the academic, research side of it.

Plus, they record the lectures so if you miss out one day it's still online, which is a bit of a life saver

Plus, they offer great summer work experience options, a summer research scheme which you get paid for. And clinical schemes, which seem to offer great expeience.

Thank you for the suggestion, but I have already applied - this thread was about which offer to accept. I did look at Cardiff, but as a mature student I am going to be almost entirely financially dependent on bursaries and scholarships (as well as the student loan), and Cardiff didn't offer enough to make it a financially viable option for me unfortunately. I did really like the look of the course, but there were a number of universities I liked the look of that I had to rule out for financial reasons.

Oh okay, sorry. I'd say Bath then. If you want to go down the clinical route then Bath would definitely the best option. It's really reputable, and for clinical psychology you need to get all the help you need.

Good luck!