Help!: UCL or Exeter for Geography bsc?

I'm really stuck with choosing a firm, it's getting close to the deadline and I still don't know and i'm starting to panic :frown:

UCL is much higher up in the world rankings, but I feel like I wouldn't like London, coming from such a small town and wanting a campus uni, but the modules are good. Also they seem much less flexible transferring between courses, like the study abroad or moving to the BA.

Exeter doesn't really have much emphasis on climate science or weather, which is what i'm interested in ( although this could change?) but has coding integrated into the course, which I really like. It's also slightly closer to home.

Another option would be Nottingham, but i'm likely to put it as an insurance instead (or possibly Birmingham)

Any help would be appreciated so so much, thanks!

Reply 1

OllieeH

6

I currently live in Exeter and im studying Geography at college so I may be able to help a bit. Exeters geography course is apparently really good, and at college ive had sample lessons from the lectures and they seem to teach really well. Exeter as a city is OK but the nightlife is pretty boring imo. Any q's on exeter as a city that you have then im happy to help.

Reply 2

cheeseontoastyy

OP

6

Original post by OllieeH

I currently live in Exeter and im studying Geography at college so I may be able to help a bit. Exeters geography course is apparently really good, and at college ive had sample lessons from the lectures and they seem to teach really well. Exeter as a city is OK but the nightlife is pretty boring imo. Any q's on exeter as a city that you have then im happy to help.

Thanks of answering! Do people often visit other cities for nightlife / shopping, and are they a long way away? also, how is the weather in exeter generally speaking?

Reply 3

OllieeH

6

The closest cities that people go to for better nightlife are usually Plymouth and Bristol, which are about an hour or so away. The weathers not bad, at them moment its really nice but in winter its usually not great.

Reply 4

the artful lounger

6

Exeter actually does a fair bit of climate stuff, but it's almost exclusively in the maths department afaik. Also keep in mind the Met Office is in Exeter (sort of) however if you want to apply there post uni you'll definitely need some maths and programming background (two of my friends from Physics applied there after graduation, both with 2.1s; one was accepted and one not. The one who is working there now had done a ~3 month programming based placement at the Rutherford Appleton Lab which she thinks is the main reason she got the position).

I made another post on a different thread in this forum about general academic facilities at Exeter which you may want to look at, should be at the top somewhere.

Reply 5

cheeseontoastyy

OP

6

Original post by the artful lounger

Exeter actually does a fair bit of climate stuff, but it's almost exclusively in the maths department afaik. Also keep in mind the Met Office is in Exeter (sort of) however if you want to apply there post uni you'll definitely need some maths and programming background (two of my friends from Physics applied there after graduation, both with 2.1s; one was accepted and one not. The one who is working there now had done a ~3 month programming based placement at the Rutherford Appleton Lab which she thinks is the main reason she got the position).

I made another post on a different thread in this forum about general academic facilities at Exeter which you may want to look at, should be at the top somewhere.

thanks, I saw the other post you made and all the information was super helpful :smile:

Having done physics at A2 and maths at AS, is there any scope for me choosing first year physics modules as my 'free choice' selections over the years, like waves and optics for example? (the answer will probably be no but I gotta ask haha)

Yeah, on the weather/modelling front I specifically remember they told us that at some point there was a module involving coding, but looking at the website I don't really see where it would come up with the modules listed. Right now it's probably between Exeter and Nottingham.

In your opinion, are there any downsides/negatives to the university in general?

Reply 6

the artful lounger

6

Original post by BanishedKree

thanks, I saw the other post you made and all the information was super helpful :smile:

Having done physics at A2 and maths at AS, is there any scope for me choosing first year physics modules as my 'free choice' selections over the years, like waves and optics for example? (the answer will probably be no but I gotta ask haha)

Yeah, on the weather/modelling front I specifically remember they told us that at some point there was a module involving coding, but looking at the website I don't really see where it would come up with the modules listed. Right now it's probably between Exeter and Nottingham.

In your opinion, are there any downsides/negatives to the university in general?

Sorry for the delay, I was up in Cambridge all last week xD

Generally, most lecturers won't mind a non-physics student taking the module, however some may caution you depending on the module based on your lesser mathematical background. I would recommend finding our the time table for the first year physics or engineering maths modules, and just going along to those (without actually registering for the module; they don't do swipe card attendance or anything so you can just walk in provided you know when it starts :P ), as these modules essentially re-teach A-level maths with some extra topics over the course of the year. This way you get a refresher on the stuff you know and cover the stuff you don't.

Following from this I'd recommend one of the second term modules, as that way you'll have attended at least the first term maths lectures hopefully and have a bit more background there. Just pop an email to the lecturer for that module while you're registering to ask if they're happy to have you take the module (I think technically it doesn't matter but it's always polite to ask) and if they think you'll be able to cope with the content (more important).

If you want to take a coding module, the second year physics module "Scientific Programming in C" is pretty good. You don't need any specific science or maths knowledge beyond some basic GCSE/AS level algebra as I recall, and it's fairly well done. The lectures are beyond boring of course, since lecturing programming is super dumb, but the labs are extremely useful (and it helps if you've been to the lectures so you don't have to read the lecture notes IN the lab like I normally did xD ). It finishes with a programming project which is I think 50% of the module marks, which isn't exceedingly difficult to do well in.

Also, as a sidebar: my flatmate who did physics at Exe said the waves an optics module was really boring when he took it (~5 years ago). I may well be taught by someone else now, I'm not sure. You can always go to the first 2 lectures and do a change of module if you don't like it I guess? Additionally, all the first year "quantum-y" stuff is in the "Introduction to Astrophysics" module. No one knows why. This is the "modern physics" content from books such as Young and Freedman; stuff like the uncertainty and exclusion principles, learning the names of some of the major particles of the standard model and talking qualitatively about wave-particle duality and such.

For your other query, one thing that kind of sucks about the uni is that, Exeter is one big hill, covered in lots of little smaller hills, and the uni is at the very top of it. The road leading up from the majority of first year halls is called "Cardiac Hill". See here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=462111 I lived in UNITE in town first year so I had the marginally better Forum Hill to walk up (until I gave up and just started taking the bus in...they've raised the fares since then though D: ).

City people tend to complain that there's not a lot to do. It's a pretty standard "country city" in many respects; most things close around 6pm (4pm on Sunday), coffee shops tend to be closed by 8pm at the latest. There are a fair few clubs and bars around the town, and at least one will probably gel with you (I personally really liked The Monkey Suit bar, since it's a bit more laid back atmospherically). The legendary Firehouse is always a good shout, but tends to be packed by 8-9pm so I'd recommend going early to grab a table. They serve pizza after 9 (10? I don't even remember) which is super good too xD

For me, coming from some middle-of-nowhere-hamlet where we had a pub, a post office, and not much else, I find it's got just enough stuff for my needs. If you're used to having loads of variety and 24 hour coffee shops and bars and clubs then you may be disappointed however.

Another complaint I have is more about the student body; Exeter has something of a reputation as an "Oxbridge reject school for private school kids". There are a lot of "rahs" and such around, and I guarantee you will at least once hear a girl in leggings and a gillet telling her friend how her parents only gave her £150 spending money this week and how it's so unfair. If you come less lavish backgrounds it can be somewhat annoying. They are also much more concentrated in the humanities and social science courses, as I gather (or maybe the ones in engineering and such are just too busy to be pretentious douchebags). It's not a dealbreaker for me but it is there.

On the upside, it's a fairly sporty uni, so there's quite a lot of attractive bodies all round. They've upgraded and expanded the gym a few times in the last few years, and I think they're considering adding a swimming pool to the main campus. The uni gym is extortionately expensive if you plan to go more than once a week and don't pay for the £200 "gold" membership. The facilities seem fine, I haven't taken any of the classes however. I hear it can get busy sometimes but I tend to go at random points in the middle of the day between lectures so it's never been an issue for me.

Outside of this there are loads of clubs and stuff, but I never really bothered investigating them. Shameless plug for an upcoming society I was involved in previously, SpaceExe; they're building a radio telescope down in Cornwall for use by uni students. We won this years "best project" prize at the UKSEDS conference :3

I write too much xD

Reply 7

JustHoping

11

By the sounds of it you like UCL more but you are scared of the big city. My parents are divorced, I live in both london and Kent and I promise you it is scary, but it can also be a lot of fun for every sort of person. When I am down there i spend the majority of time in the free museums or the parks.

Also, Exeter as a reputation of being a bit... snobby. It is called a mini London occasionally. I have friends at UCL and apparently it is really friendly.

Reply 8

the artful lounger

6

Original post by JustHoping

Also, Exeter as a reputation of being a bit... snobby. It is called a mini London occasionally. I have friends at UCL and apparently it is really friendly.

QFT.

Although my friends from London that live here complain bitterly about the fact most shops close at 5-6 and the limited venues for nightlife. It's probably more comparable to Kew or Richmond specifically than London as a whole entity.

Reply 9

JustHoping

11

Original post by the artful lounger

QFT.

Although my friends from London that live here complain bitterly about the fact most shops close at 5-6 and the limited venues for nightlife. It's probably more comparable to Kew or Richmond specifically than London as a whole entity.

Probably, I have no personal experience of exeter myself. I suppose that makes sense considering its a campus university.

Reply 10

hi_here

Are the floods at Exeter frequent? Normally which areas in Exeter are affected by it?

Reply 11

girlygiggle

8

Original post by BanishedKree

I'm really stuck with choosing a firm, it's getting close to the deadline and I still don't know and i'm starting to panic :frown:

UCL is much higher up in the world rankings, but I feel like I wouldn't like London, coming from such a small town and wanting a campus uni, but the modules are good. Also they seem much less flexible transferring between courses, like the study abroad or moving to the BA.

Exeter doesn't really have much emphasis on climate science or weather, which is what i'm interested in ( although this could change?) but has coding integrated into the course, which I really like. It's also slightly closer to home.

Another option would be Nottingham, but i'm likely to put it as an insurance instead (or possibly Birmingham)

Any help would be appreciated so so much, thanks!

I haven't read the rest of this thread so apologies if any of my points have been repeated:

I'm at Exeter studying Geography as part of a flexible combined honours degree. If you want a campus uni, Exeter is fab, the campus is beautiful and you can walk into town easily.

As for modules on climate science and weather there is a module on weather in the 3rd year.You may find that when you come to uni and start studying, your interests change. For example, I came to uni thinking I would prefer the more BSc modules. However, I've decided that next year, I'd prefer to do the more human ones.

Between UCL and Exeter, go for the one that you'll think you'll enjoy living in most, because if you don't enjoy living in the city, you'll enjoy it less :smile:

Reply 12

cheeseontoastyy

OP

6

Thanks everyone for the replies, they were really helpful!

I actually decided to go with Nottingham in the end, Exeter didn't have a chemistry department as such and i'm planning to take chemistry as optional modules, and Nottingham has a good city life, and it has a smaller course size, with more study abroad options. All 3 are good uni's and i'm sure geography at any of them would be brilliant tbh but Nottingham just had what I was looking for (+lower entry grades :h:

)

Reply 13

the artful lounger

6

Original post by hi_here

Are the floods at Exeter frequent? Normally which areas in Exeter are affected by it?

There has only been one time while I've lived here that flooding has affected anywhere in the city itself, however you should fully expect the train services from Exeter to the "mainland" (i.e. the London Waterloo line via Salisbury) to be severely impacted in the early spring and late autumn. One time I had to spend 4 hours at Crewkerne because there was a landslip and they couldn't send us forward or back, and there was virtually no communication with the train companies for ages :/ (and it being a weekend, the station wasn't even manned >.>)

A lot of posts on here have referred to Exeter as a "campus university" which I would strongly disagree with. I would argue e.g. Southampton is a campus university, as the major university area included the surrounding student populated areas is a significant (i.e. beyond easy walking) distance way from the city centre proper. Exeter however takes 15-20 mins to get from the top of campus to the city centre. Granted, a large number of the halls are on the far side of the uni, and between walking up cardiac hill etc it can feel somewhat isolated from the city, but the teaching campus itself (and the halls on the nearer side) are easily accessible to town and vice versa. I lived in the UNITE halls in the city centre in first year and walked to campus most days, which took me 20 minutes uphill.

Plus there's a fair amount of student housing outside the commonly defaulted to Pennsylvania area which is more accessible to town. As compared with Southampton, where it felt like the major areas of the city accessible to the student populace was the Portswood area and going into the city centre required a "20 min" (realistically 40 most of the time with traffic in my experience) bus ride.

However you're right, there isn't a Chemistry department at Exeter so if this is an area of interest to you it may be better to go elsewhere. There are a few Chemistry modules available in the Biology (organic, inorganic and biochem) and Natural Sciences (physical) departments, but they're quite limited. Rumour has it the old chem department was shut down after the £5m~ NMR machine imploded due to negligence.

Notts is good though, when I was originally interested in chemistry I was looking there ^^

Help!: UCL or Exeter for Geography bsc?

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