University of Bath
Bath
Bristol (Bsc) vs Bath (Msci) chemistry?
Hello, wondering if anyone can help inform me on my decision.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Original post by James98E
Hello, wondering if anyone can help inform me on my decision.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Have u asked any chemistry students at Bristol about how hard changing course is? At Imperial it’s so easy and there’s a lot of windows to change. Ik u mentioned other unis r easy but here it also says depends on grades of first year and u need a minimum of 2:1 to get into it. However, it’s acc not the case. It says u need 2:1 to progress to msci 4th year if ur on the 4 year program but they confirmed to us it didn’t matter. If u like the idea of Bristol more then see if u can ask some1 there (hopefully some1 on here has some insight). Other than that, both unis r great so all is good. GL and hope everything works out
University of Bath
Bath
If doing a post-grad masters is out of the question, Bath might be a good option. Especially because you'll get some work experience during the year in industry. Although this would make it a 5 year course.
It’s a 4 year course so that’s also very appealing, the year in industry is 3rd year alongside some distance modules, then come back 4th year and complete the masters dissertation. Thanks for the reply!
Original post by kaorimiyazono
If doing a post-grad masters is out of the question, Bath might be a good option. Especially because you'll get some work experience during the year in industry. Although this would make it a 5 year course.
I haven’t thought of asking student actually, I’ll see if I can get in contact with any or if any will reply on here, thank you for replying!
Original post by Muhammad Razak
Have u asked any chemistry students at Bristol about how hard changing course is? At Imperial it’s so easy and there’s a lot of windows to change. Ik u mentioned other unis r easy but here it also says depends on grades of first year and u need a minimum of 2:1 to get into it. However, it’s acc not the case. It says u need 2:1 to progress to msci 4th year if ur on the 4 year program but they confirmed to us it didn’t matter. If u like the idea of Bristol more then see if u can ask some1 there (hopefully some1 on here has some insight). Other than that, both unis r great so all is good. GL and hope everything works out
Original post by James98E
Hello, wondering if anyone can help inform me on my decision.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Hi, I was in the exact same boat as you just a few weeks ago, which is so convenient haha!
I am looking to study Chemistry and I got equal offers from both Bristol and Bath. You mentioned that you didn't go to Bristol's offer holder day; I went and they were very informative on the course, some of the professors on the course were recognised by IUPAC, which obviously aligns with the quality of the teaching you would receive. However, they told us that if you wanted to change courses, it was a relatively easy process because all of the course content is the same on the BSc as the MSci up until the 4th year where instead of graduating you do the Masters. I was told that because of this it was very easy to be put onto the Masters course or to move around the Chemistry courses (e.g. changing from Chemistry with Computing to regular Chemistry) and that issues only came up if you wanted to change degrees entirely (e.g. from Chemistry to Biology) after the first 2 weeks of lectures had passed.
The labs are really big and spacious, they have a VR lab only accessible by Chemistry students and you can use it to practice labs etc. before you have to do them in real life which we got to experience, and it was very fun, almost like a game. They also have online software only accessible by UoB Chemistry students too, which is used to practice labs before you do them in real life as well, which is also very informative and also feels like a game, it also tells you when you have made a mistake and why, so you can avoid those mistakes in the actual lab setting, meaning you can be 100% sure of what you need to do before you actually get to the labs.
If you're not a fan of traditional write-ups (like me), the professors also told us that they do not make you do a traditional write-up after your labs and instead you just discuss what you have learned using other methods, which was very appealing to me. Bristol is also a very gorgeous place to live and its Chemistry course is also very high up on the league tables.
I, unfortunately, didn't get the chance to look at Bath or their offer holder day, so I can only give advice for Bristol!
(edited 11 months ago)
Thank you so much that’s so informative, it’s really reassuring to hear the ability to switch courses is pretty easy. I’m glad to hear the all the things I can’t experience in person are of a very high quality such as the labs, I’d also seen their online lab format on their website which is very cool and helpful. I appreciate your input so much, good luck to you!
Original post by James98E
Hello, wondering if anyone can help inform me on my decision.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Hello James98E!
I am a former Bath student so just thought I'd jump in here to try and help. Firstly congrats on your offers from Bath and Bristol as both are very good Unis and solid choices for Chemistry.
I completely agree - the city itself is beautiful - I was actually quite surprised by how much there was to do and explore given its small size. There's a healthy variety of shopping (clothes, supermarkets, charity shops, coffee and food places etc) even if the branches aren't as big as the ones in larger cities, the transport links are great with both the bus station and train station right next to the main high street (Bristol is only 45 minutes away by bus and at the moment a return ticket for a student costs just under £4
), and I also love the fact that there are so many green spaces around (my favourite picnic spots for summer were the Royal Crescent, Royal Victoria Park - both of which are free to visit). You can check out this page for lots more info if you wish. The nightlife is also pretty good and varied - Kishen's blog gives a fab overview! Bristol is a much larger city, and some people might prefer having more bigger places to explore, but personally I felt like Bath's smaller size made me feel safe, and had a homely, cosy feel to it. It completely depends on the kind of experience you want and what would suit your lifestyle best.In terms of the Uni itself, I'm really glad to hear you found the offer holder day at Bath useful. I cannot speak for Bristol, but something we are particularly proud of here at Bath is the industry placement programme and the strong links with industry. I studied Psychology here, not chemistry, but I also got the chance to do a year-long research placement in my third year. This was definitely the most enjoyable year of my degree - the work was varied, I got the chance to lead on my own projects and learn a lot of professional skills I'd had less chance to develop whilst studying. After graduating I actually ended up working for the same organisation I did my placement in, and one of the things the interviewers said they were most impressed with was the extra experience I had having done a work placement, so if this interests you it is definitely worth considering. If you haven't seen it already, you could check out the video on this page to hear some current and former Science students' placement experiences.
Choosing a Uni is a really difficult decision, there's a lot to think about and I remember being in your shoes a few years ago. However, my honest opinion is that I am so glad I chose Bath - not just for the reasons above plus the course rankings, but that visiting the campus and being in the city just 'felt right.' Definitely a good plan to try to visit Bristol to compare the two and see which feels right for you.
I hope that helps - please post any more questions you have on here, and if you want you can also chat to some of our current bath students on Unibuddy (Bristol's website may have something similar) - they are all super-friendly and will happily chat to you about any aspect of studying at Bath and general university life - many of them have also done work placements, so they could be a good source of advice on this too.
Best of luck in your decision this year, whichever university you choose
Holly
University of Bath
Original post by James98E
Hello, wondering if anyone can help inform me on my decision.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
I have narrowed down my university search to Bristol and Bath uni, but I’m having trouble picking from here. I’ll list my reasons for why I want to attend each below.
Bath: Easily the nicest and and most charming place I’ve visited in the UK and would love to live here. On the offer holder day the university was really nice and the current students/staff were also very friendly and helpful. This course is for an Msci with a year in industry. Uni rankings only make up a small part, but I still wanted to attend a top 10/12 uni for chemistry/overall in the uk - bath won the times uni of the year award this year so it’s very solid.
Bristol: Obviously a very highly regarded university, more so than bath. The department seems very good and the prospectus also is impressive. However, I didn’t get to attend an offer holder day since they were fully booked which is annoying. I plan to visit and use their self guided tour app at the end of the month to get a feel for the place. The biggest thing between the two though is the course. For Bristol it’s only a Bsc that I applied for (accidentally) and can no longer change. It says on their website that a transfer to the msci is possible based on academic performance in year 1. They also make it sound difficult and uncommon. I’ve heard from other unis on visit days that swapping between each is very easy but of course I’ve not heard that from Bristol. Also, doing a postgrad masters is out of the question due to funding etc.
I’m a gap year student so both offers are unconditional. Other useful info is that accom is around the same price as well as the general costs to live in each place. At the moment bath is more likely but any helpful advice would be much appreciated.
Don't have any advice for you but I'm in the same boat as you. Trying to decide between masters of chemistry in Bath or Bristol, and after much research I think I'm favouring Bath, it just seems like a much nicer place to live.
Original post by mscully18
Don't have any advice for you but I'm in the same boat as you. Trying to decide between masters of chemistry in Bath or Bristol, and after much research I think I'm favouring Bath, it just seems like a much nicer place to live.
Hello Mscully18,
Really pleased to hear you're leaning towards Bath!
I definitely agree that Bath is a beautiful place to live (particularly around Victoria Park!), and whether a place 'feels right' for you is an important factor to consider when choosing a university as this will have a large bearing on your overall experience. Some people prefer larger cities where there is a wider variety of things to do and explore, but I loved the cosy feel Bath had as a smaller city in my student days - and besides, as I mentioned in the post above there is still a surprising amount to do and see despite Bath's small size, and Bristol is only a 30 minute bus journey away
. The same applies if you decide to choose Bristol. The two being so close means that in terms of exploring the cities, you can have the best of both worlds.Something which may be worth checking out if you choose Bath, particularly if you decide to live in the city or you will be going between campus and Bath city regularly, is the range of University year bus tickets you can buy from First Bus as a Bath student. These are tied to academic term dates so cover 9 months (Sept-June) rather than the full 12 months, so it works out as much better value if you live far away from Bath and are planning to go home for the 3 summer months. Bristol University may have something similar if you look at the First Bus website.
Again, I hope that helps a bit in your decision
Holly
University of Bath
(edited 11 months ago)
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