swansea vs portsmouth

I recently got accepted to both universities but I'm having trouble to decide, so far I hear Portsmouth is good because it's a small city so everything is almost a walking distance but as for Swansea it's pretty much isolatedI also heard that Swansea has a better student life and city so I'm honestly confused

Reply 1

username4838152

It really depends on what you want. I would suggest doing some of your own research and you can read student reviews about each uni. I would say personally when i was choosing what uni to apply to i chose portsmouth over swansea because i disliked how swansea was so far away from everything and how you have to walk a distance to get even to your lectures or to go the city. Portsmouth is more 'city like' (if that makes sense aha) and i believe has quite a good night life a good balance. Academically at least for my subject, portsmouth is better and i have heard about people complaining about the teaching standards at swansea. It really depends. Looking at photos of the places and the unis and trying to envision myself being there is what helped me to choose where to apply to. And also look at stuff that matters to you for example, bursaries available or what their mental health team are like.

Swansea University

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Reply 2

Swansea University Enquiries

Official Rep

Original post by nmxrtine

Congratulations on receiving offers for both Unis!

As @something_orphic said, other than location, what matters to you when choosing a University? for example what courses have you received offers for? and have you looked at all the compulsory and optional modules at each uni? do these modules fit your interests or preferred learning style? :smile:

Here are some factors that I considered in my pros and cons list for University when I was making my own decision:
1. Location, city or campus? Swansea University is made up of 2 campuses on either side of the city centre, so in your first year you would likely live on campus in our student accommodation (if that's what you chose to do). You can browse both campuses here :smile:

2. Employability, this was a big one for me when I was going to uni - both in terms of what employability opportunities were available to me as a student, and the employability prospects of my course!
3. Facilities and student services - here in Swansea we have on campus doctors surgery, dental practice, wellbeing centre, libraries, coffee shops which personally I found helped me acclimate to living independently when I started uni here :smile:

At the end of the day the decision is completely with you, and everyone is different in what works best for them, I hope this has been of some help!

- Mia :smile:

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

University of Portsmouth Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by nmxrtine

Hey @nmxrtine!

Well done on both of your offers!

I thought I would give you a bit of my perspective on what its like to be a student at Portsmouth :smile:

Portsmouth is a city university - with all of the uni halls a 5-10 minute walk away from uni buildings (depending on what building you're in :smile:

)
All of the halls are close together and really close to the nightclubs too which is a bonus, you can take a look at our halls here
All but one of our halls have en-suites - all at a reasonable price!
In your second year you would most likely move to southsea in a shared house - which is a 15/20 min walk to uni depending on where you live!

I really like the location of Portsmouth - its close to the beach and some nice commons - which are great in the summer
You also get a great view from most of the uni buildings (Actually one of the reasons I chose Portsmouth)

The Uni has a lot of student support services (as I am sure Swansea will have too!) - we have a careers and employability team who will check your CVs and cover letters etc and give you improvements for applying for jobs and interview tips, whilst you are at uni, and for up to 5 years after you graduate.
We also have study support teams that can check your assignments/ give you advice if you're not sure what you need to do or how to do something.

With the uni being in the city its a 5 minute walk into town to go shopping for anything you need, theres also lots of supermarkets around to choose from :smile:

As well as so much to do other than studying! Take a look here.

I hope this helps you get a better idea of what Portsmouth is like!
Feel free to ask anything else you want to know

Eloise - Official Student Rep

Reply 4

alexmorris7

Swansea isn't that isolated, you can get a bus to Cardiff if you want to go somewhere larger and it doesn't take long- like 1 hour max and it's cheap.

I'd just go with whatever is better for your course if you like both places.