Bath or Leeds ???

Hey, so I got offers from Bath and Leeds to study Management yeey. However, I still can't decide which one to chose and because I'm not from the UK I can't go to an open day I saw all of the University rankings but I still haven't made up my mind where to go Can you give me any feedback or tell me what is like the life at both universities ? thank you

Hi Danislava,

Congratulations on your offers! I'm Sam, a current second year student at Bath.

I can't tell you too much about Leeds as I've only been once but can tell you a bit about it! Leeds' campus is in the middle of the city and kind of integrated into the city. There isn't much on campus accommodation there as most students live in accommodation in the city itself.

Bath is very different in that the campus is a bus ride away from the city centre. That's great in a way as it means that the university is quieter and safer and everything on campus is a 5/10 minute walk away. There is also loads of modern on campus accommodation for first year students.

The cities are also very different cities, Leeds is a much bigger city, Bath is a bit more expensive to live. I prefer Bath personally, because there is so much to do, so much history and a really nice place to live with loads of parks and green areas which are a bit harder to find in Leeds.

Make sure you consider the differences in your courses too! For example, if you have a placement option for your course in Bath but might not have that at Leeds, and that is great for improving your employability.

Hope this helps! Feel free to quote me with any other questions.

Sam

Bath all the way. Leeds is a ****hole.

Thank you Sam for this information, it was realy useful. But can you tell me what is like to be a student at bath :? Do you have like a lot of free time or you just spend most of it studying :? I would also like to know a bit more about the learning environmen. Is it too hard and does the lecturers help you if you need extra help for example btw you said it was your second year but what do you study
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Hi,

It's Rob, one of the other ambassadors!

Personally I really like Bath and think it's a great place. I like the city but also the small, close nit community. As Sam has said, Leeds is a city university (faculty buildings, accommodation, the library etc. are spread out over an area of a city). Bath is a reasonably small campus university and it has everything from shops to cafes and banks to a chaplaincy all on one site. Personally, when I decided which university was right for me, I saw it as a positive that it was a small campus and everything was so local. However, I know for other people, they don’t like the ‘bubble’ effect and much prefer the more open ‘city university’.


In regards to what there is to do, I think Bath can keep you busy! The city is reasonably small, but many people think it’s extremely pretty and personally I enjoy spending time in town. In terms of meeting people, there are loads of people to meet – the university has over 15,000 students! You’ll have a chance to meet people in your accommodation, in your department and at any of the societies you may join. We have over 80 societies. There is a night club on campus which holds club nights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You can also easily go into town on the bus (run until 3am) and visit one of the many clubs in Bath. Personally I’ve only experienced night clubs in my home town (Portsmouth) and Bath. For most people, Bath's night life is more than adequate. With regards to Leeds, the night life can be far more 'crazy' and 'rowdy' as you'd probably expect in a big city. So if you're really into clubbing then there's lots in Leeds! However, as has already been mentioned above, Bath is generally much safer.

With regard to how much free time you have, this varies massively from course to course, year to year, and most importantly from person to person. I'm sure that some people spend all their time working and reading about their subject however this isn't really necessary. You usually have about 10-15 hour of lectures etc a week. For some people this will mean they spend the rest of the time socialising! Most people however will spend several hours a day working on top of any lectures. This should leave enough time for socialising etc. Most people are part of one or two societies, dance, play in a band etc, so will spend time doing their hobby. Generally speaking I think Bath work us hard, but not so hard that their is no time for anything else!

Lecturers will help you if you are struggling however all learning is down to you. This may seem daunting at first but it simply means you must make the first move. Lecturers will be happy for you to email them or see them if you have any specific questions or if you need anything clarifying. You will also be assigned a peer mentor who will be in an older year, who may be able to help you if you are struggling.




One other thing you may like to look at is is ‘student satisfaction’ which is also published in league table format. Bath generally does well in these and is the most satisfied in the UK according to the results of the 2014 National Student Survey (NSS).


I hope the advice aids you in making the right decision - I wish I could help more – I was in the same situation last year, and I know how you’re feeling! Ultimately, both are very good universities and the likelihood is that you’ll be happy at any of them, but spend time thinking through the options and make sure you chose the one you think you’ll be happiest at! I think the campus vs city university should be a major consideration for you as this is a big difference.


I hope that my response is of some assistance to you. Apologies for its length, but I wanted to answer your questions in enough detail for you to be able to make an informed decision.


Best of luck with your decision making process and if you need any more help, please don’t hesitate to get back to me.


Rob