Lancaster vs York (Marketing)

Expecting to receive offers from both of these universities for their marketing courses. I'm not quite sure which one I'd prefer and was hoping to get any information possible please

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by Iamjoshh

Expecting to receive offers from both of these universities for their marketing courses. I'm not quite sure which one I'd prefer and was hoping to get any information possible please

Hi @Iamjoshh

I know I don't go to university in York, but I am from there originally so I thought I could give you some advice about the city itself that might help with your decision!

York is a historical city, with lots for students to do - both daytime and nightlife. There's museums and the art gallery, lots of shops and the York Minster of course. It's also a very friendly city, especially in touristy areas like The Shambles, where there are lots of independent shops, etc.

It's not a massive city like Birmingham or London, which you may or may not like, but there is still plenty going on. There's also lots of areas nearby that you can access by train, like Leeds, Durham, Harrogate, etc., which are nice for days out. And there are transport links to the coast too if that's what you fancy!

And from working in York during my A Levels, there are always student jobs up for grabs, like retail, hospitality and so on, so you'll no doubt find work.

I can't speak for Lancaster, but I'm sure there are some great perks about it too. But feel free to add any questions about York if you like.

Good luck with your decision!
Emily 🙂
Student Rep at BCU

Reply 2

Supermature

What these two universities have in common is that they were both established at roughly the same time in the 1960s. They are both campus universities located on the outskirts of relatively small, historic cities and they both regularly feature in the top 20 or so of the various UK rankings. York is also in the Russell Group, if you see that as significant. Lancaster, on the other hand, has a higher ranking for Marketing - a very creditable 4th in the 2024 Complete Universities Guide.

Lancaster is pleasant enough but it's fair to say that it cannot compete with York as a city; the latter is far larger and is a vibrant tourist destination all year round. That does, however, make accommodation expensive and sometimes hard to come by.

Your best approach is to visit both if possible or, if not, do a thorough Google Earth search to try and get the feel of both. Most important of all, look at the details of each course you are applying for and check both module options and assessment methods ( how many exams, for example). Note that York now has a semester system rather than the traditional 3 term year: that might influence your choice.

In the final analysis, you can't go far wrong with either.

(York Masters graduate, frequent visitor to Lancaster).

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 3

stargirl28

What were the other unis you have applied to

Reply 4

Iamjoshh

Original post by stargirl28

What were the other unis you have applied to

Leeds for 2 courses (Business + Marketing or Digital Media), I will get a reducer of ABB and BBB respectively

Also Huddersfield (safety net)

Reply 5

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by Iamjoshh

Expecting to receive offers from both of these universities for their marketing courses. I'm not quite sure which one I'd prefer and was hoping to get any information possible please

Hi there,

We are delighted to see that you have Lancaster as one of your top choices for university. Choosing a university to attend can be quite difficult so I hope I can help in that regard.

In the specific sphere of Marketing, Lancaster is highly ranked in the most prominent league tables such as The Guardian's and The Complete University Guide, where we rank 3rd and 4th respectively. We are also ranked 2nd for graduate prospects and I am sure that would be very important for you. As a university on the whole, Lancaster is also highly ranked, appearing in the top 15 across the major league tables.

The Marketing degrees at our university also offer some unique pathways that you could choose to follow with your degree such as Marketing and Design, Marketing Management etc. I have included a link to the Marketing page so you can look more in-depth at these options.

Ranking aside, however, there are other aspects of a university that should be considered when choosing one. As a student myself, I would say the most stand-out feature of Lancaster is the campus. It truly is a beautiful and well-equipped campus. It was a big factor in my choosing to come to Lancaster and I was not disappointed when I arrived. It is a very green-focused campus that perfectly incorporates nature into the architecture and makes for a lively and welcoming feel all around campus.

The university is also divided into Colleges which are smaller communities in the university that every student and staff belongs to. They offer things like sporting activities, games nights, social events and even competitions with other colleges to bolster college patriotism. While the town of Lancaster may not be quite as metropolitan as other places, we are quite well connected and it is very common and easy for students to take a day or weekend off and travel to any of the nearby cities like Liverpool, Manchester, The Lake District, Blackpool etc. This I feel gives you the best of both worlds as you have that nice quiet and calm daily life while at university, but also have the option to visit nearby cities with more vibrancy if needed.

I would recommend attending an open day for both universities if possible to truly get a feel of what to expect from both of them. You can also simply book a day to come into campus, be given a tour of the university, and some of the accommodations on offer and have a chance to talk to some of our students on why they chose Lancaster. I have included a link for this as well.

If you are still feeling unsure and would like to speak to a current, marketing student at Lancaster, I have included a link to our Ask a Student page where you can feel free to talk to them about any concerns you may be having.

I hope this has helped if only a little, and wish you the best in your decision-making.

Best,

Lancaster University Student Ambassador
Glory.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/undergraduate/marketing/
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/open-days/campus-tours/
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/chat/

Reply 6

nicolemoreno675

Original post by Iamjoshh

Expecting to receive offers from both of these universities for their marketing courses. I'm not quite sure which one I'd prefer and was hoping to get any information possible please

hi, im having the same problem deciding which one of both to choose as my firm (for marketing as well). have you been able to pick one yet?

Reply 7

Ghostlady

Lancaster is in the top 50th of the world rankings for marketing https://portal.lancaster.ac.uk/portal/news/article/world-top-100-for-eleven-subjects-at-lancaster
I knew it had a good reputation for marketing and business when my daughter and me used to watch a vlogger called charlie collette (she no longer has a channel after she graduated with a job), and back on TSR a few years back it was always one of the popular areas, I do love the business and management school which is pretty new. My daughter who studies physics also loves to go there as she sometimes has the odd lecture and its got some lovely study spaces she said.

That said you should go for whats best for you. In comparisson (we did do york on openday/interview day) and York is a bigger city with a viking heritage. Lancaster is smaller with Lancaster castle, the pendle witches and a lot of the buildings are Georgian. You still have all you need at Lancaster, and you have the bonus of Morecambe being bus journey away, and also blackpool preston and carnforth by bus as well as the lakes. York they do a stagecoach to Scarborough, but that A64 can be a right pain and lot of traffic (we used to own a van there and had to go past york to get to scarborough so saw stagecoach busses all the time). I do think you can catch a train though to scarborough so that would be good. Lancaster is a train to Manchester where my daughters going next for her phd, and she been lots of times over the 4 years at Lancaster and its relatively cheap. Both cities have a light up night. Lancaster is light up lancaster and all over the city theres various exhibits and art which glows. Lancaster also has a skating rink in the winter as well. York and Lancaster both have a lake. Lancasters is more near the gym/health and innovation area. Yorks in the centre.

York and Lancaster really on a par with each other. Probably why they have Roses, a sports varsity between the two each year. Daughter found it hard to choose as well, but for her she chose Lancaster as the city was not too overwhelming (she lived in a village with not much going on lol), the campus felt safe and would often come back at 1am from the library to her halls on campus and its all well lit with security. She liked how it had more eateries than Yorks, and first and foremost her course had better module choices. She also like the woodland walk, which was great to unwind after a few hours hard work. If she had gone to york she would have chose Langwith or Goodricke college or Alciun, but when she looked at the prices they were more expensive than Lancaster, and with York she had to choose 7 options so there was the odd one or two she would have to pick out of her price range. So another reason why she chose lancaster was she only had to pick 2 choices. One accommodation type in one college, and one accommodation in another college, both which was in her price range.
So have named a few reasons why there, but ultimately its the course, what support you get, good prospects afterwards which are your main things.