I applied through clearing for History. I do plan on either joining the Civil Service OR converting to a Law degree but I decided on doing a history degree because I’m more likely to get a first than if I did a law degree. Especially considering I have taken 2 gap years and I am not sure if I would be able to manage the academic rigour of going head first into a law degree with applying for internships, vac schemes, insight days etc.
I did do some online courses to try to build up my academic skills before university. 1 in history, 1 in law and 1 in Spanish.
I applied through clearing to the University of Nottingham for History with a foundation year. (4 years)
I also applied through clearing for French and Spanish at Cardiff University. (4 years)
I know they are both Russel Group universities and that holds some weight with law firms as they prefer Russel Group graduates.
University of Nottingham - History with foundation year
Pros:
- I visited the campus last year and loved how beautiful it was. Nice Student Union building, arts department building,engineering building etc. Nice library. Decent accommodation. University Park Campus, millennium gardens, lake for boats and rowing.
- Better facilities, gym, swimming facilities, exercise classes. Sports Centre, Fitness Centre. Rock climbing.
- A LOT of societies. But, to be fair, I won’t have all the time in the world to attend every single society I am interested in. Some of the societies they have that relate to my future career are also societies that Cardiff has- Pro Bono society, Amnesty International, language societies etc.
- Seems a bit more diverse than Cardiff, although Cardiff does seem like a lovely city and quite friendly.
- Midlands uni - a LOT of other universities in the surrounding cities which creates a fun student atmosphere. Huge student population in Nottingham. Uni of Nottingham alone has 42,000 students. Cardiff has 33,000 which isn’t far off.
- 70 sports clubs
- Great transport system with trams, buses and the university has provided buses for students to get from campus to campus and to the city centre.
- Living somewhere that has beautiful scenery, nature and environment has always contributed to me in being able to have good well being.
- For history, they are ranked at 19th in the UK according to the Complete University Guide
- History department is bigger than Cardiff’s School of Modern Language, which is located in what appears to be a house.
- Uni of Notts is 28th for this year according to Complete University Guide.
- 80 sports and 200+ classes per week.
- Has bursaries available for people from households making £35,000 per year or less. But Cardiff does too.
- A top recruited from university by employers
- 2 hours away from home.
Cons:
- 1 year foundation year when I have another offer for 4 years which includes 1 year abroad. 1 year abroad could be a more enriching experience
- Could be overhyped due to social media, might not be as diverse as seems on social media
- Good nightlife, but I don’t go out that much.
2) Cardiff - French and Spanish with year abroad
Pros :
- Being able to speak these languages could be very beneficial for law as a lot of law firms are going international and this could give me a bit of a USP compared to if I did a history degree. I have also always wanted to potentially live abroad. Montreal, Latin America etc. But, to be fair you do not NEED to know French to live in Montreal.
- 60 sports clubs
- Societies I am interested in like: Amnesty International, Law Soc, Italian/Spanish society, Pro Bono Society, Casual Sports Society, Commercial Awareness Society, Amateur Radio Society, Film Society, Bar Society, Comedy Socieety, Consultancy Society, Creative Writing Society, Equal Opportunites Law Society, 93% Club, French Society, Lawyers without borders student division, Act One Drama Society, Accapella Society, Student Action for Refugees.
- I like the modules. They also have French, Hispanic, French-African and Spanish history modules which probably has an edge over the history course as the history course is just straight history and no language.
- I have tried to self teach Spanish and French over the past 2 years and I think doing a degree in it would probably be better as its a straightforward route to being fluent and it would open up opportunities in different countries as I have always wanted to move abroad, potentially permanently.
- Very cheap accommodation around £4500 - £6400 per year.
- Get year abroad in 2 different countries to study or work or volunteer in a school. I think this could be an amazing opportunity to develop myself, open up my world view, enrich myself and its obviously an immersive experience. Some of the options include: Quebec, Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid etc. Paris would be a great opportunity because of it being a major international city and extremely diverse in culture too which should be fun as well. Also, the year abroad is £1350 which is much cheaper than the foundation year which is £9250.
- Really hard to find modern languages league tables but according to the Guardian - who always have questionable rankings IMO - Cardiff ranks as 30th in the country for modern languages.
- However, their general ranking is 21st for this year - acc to Complete University Guide - which is good.
- Around 2 hours from London by train if I ever need to go there for concerts as I’m not sure if a lot of concerts happen in Cardiff. I’ve tried to see but cannot find info on this. And visit family/friends who live in London.
- Nature, mountains, Bute park. Good for a jog or bike ride.
- Easy to commute into the city, about 20 or 30 minute walk.
- 60+ sports
- Bursaries for low income household students. £1000 in first year. Then £500 per year for the last 3 years. So £2,500 total.
- French and Spanish has more marketable skills for employers especially international law firms and a lot of law firms are going international.
- I like the Student Union building.
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Cons
- Have not been able to visit the campus. Looked at their school of Modern Languages department online and saw it is very small, the size of a house. I do not know if they have lectures there or seminars but it is very small.
- In my opinion, not as aesthetically pleasing of a campus compared to Nottingham and I think environment can really impact my happiness/MH/over well being.
- kind of scared because it is SO far away from home compared to Notts. Its 6 hours away.
- every picture of Cardiff in general looks dull and depressing and I am from a very rainy, depressing place already and was looking forward to be able to study somewhere more cheery. The beaches look nice in some pictures but if its going to rain all the time, then its not really going to be fun. Could be fun in the summer but Cardiff Bay reminds me of Blackpool pier. Hopefully, looks better in person as I haven’t been able to see it in person.
- Their sports facilities aren’t as good as Nottingham, in my opinion. Not the most important thing but would be very nice for the social side as well. I could just get a commercial gym membership.
- The city itself does not seem like it has a lot going on.
- Small city, has a population of 360,000 which is only 130,000 more than the TOWN that I live in which is crazy for a capital city.
- City Uni when I wanted to go to a Campus Uni for the community feeling and more of a “university feel”.
- I do not know what Wales/Cardiff is like in general but I guess being in a new country will be interesting and help broaden my horizons.
- Not sure of the vibe there and if I will fit in with the students there.
- They have sports facilities but IMO, not as good as Notts or other universities so I may have to just get a commercial gym membership.
- Not great library IMO as they seem very outdated and not in a classical architecture kind of way. Maybe I could do my uni work in the Student Union as that building is nice.