Got an offer from Manchester woo! So should I change lowest Uni to a higher one?

Just realised that this is quite long. Sowwie

Hi everyone. Good news for me today, because I got an email from the University of Manchester saying:

"We are pleased to confirm that we will shortly be making you a conditional offer, which you will receive through UCAS."

It also included other stuff about visiting in February and getting to know the University.

I know that the offer will be AAB (or lower) since this is what they have stated on the website for the entry requirements for Mechanical Engineering MEng. It is pretty rare that they will go higher, so I hope I'm right in assuming it will be this.

Anyway, my dilemma begins now, because I really didn't think I'd be getting an offer! This is because I got a D in Physics at AS, and I dropped it too, so I thought to myself, "And I'm applying for Mechanical Engineering? I'm screwed." This is why I applied to Southampton's Engineering with a Foundation Year Meng course, which has the requirements BBB, but more specially requires only Mathematics. I wanted a safe option, because I thought I was going to get rejections from others. Also, it was a safer option just incase I screw up my January exams.

I did this almost two weeks ago, so the deadline to change courses/universities has not passed yet, and will pass on Wednesday night/Thursday. This is the reason I can't wait to see what the conditional offer is exactly, unless it happens to be uploaded onto track by tommorow.

If I am honest, the University of Southampton doesn't sound too exciting in terms of nightlife etc. because I haven't heard much about it, whereas Nottingham/Manchester have a reputation for that. Plus, the simple fact that it is a 5 year course puts me off, as I was hoping for 4 years max. I know that it is very good for Engineering, however, so is Warwick, which is what I was thinking about changing it to, because it has a very versatile course, and the fact that it is only an hour from home is nice .

So now I have a to make a choice within the next day:

1) Change Southampton (Engineering with a Foundation Year) to Warwick (General Engineering with the option to move into a specialised degree after a year). This means changing a potential BBB offer to AAB. This mean that all my Universities would be AAB. ABB is in range, but they usually give the higher offer.

2) Leave my choices as they are and forget Warwick.

3) Change Exeter to Warwick and keep Southampton? I am really not sure about Exeter's reputation in Engineering; all I know is that it is a great University and a great place.

My other Universities are in my signature.

If anyone could give me some help in this decision then please do

You chose those original courses for a reason - what was that reason?

I'd be tempted to not change my insurance uni, but can't really advise unless I know more about your predicted grades, the unis you've applied to and their typical offers.

Hi. Thanks for the replies; I'm thinking a bit more clearly now

My predicated grades are A*AA in Mathematics (with Mechanics modules), English Lang/Lit, and Chemistry respectively. However, I think A*AB, or even AAB would be more realistic. ABB on a bad/unlucky day if I'm totally honest.

Typical offers:

Nottingham - AAA
Manchester AAB
Sheffield - AAB
Exeter - AAB/ABB
Southampton - BBB

Warwick - AAB

The reason I was considering changing my offer to Warwick is because I was not very keen on having Southampton as an insurance offer anyway. It was more of a backup plan incase I didn't get any offers (which I really didn't think I would get, considering my choice of subjects and AS grades!).

This means I would pick another University as my insurance offer if I kept my current ones, and since they are all AAB except Southampton, it seems reasonable to change it to Warwick, which is also AAB. I don't want two completely different courses as my Firm/Insurance, which is what it would be if I choose Southampton to be my insurance. Unfortunately, I can't find a University that offers ABB for an MEng course; only the BEng course has the requirements ABB.

I was thinking Warwick because it is reputable for engineering. It is considered to be more "elite" than the other Universities from what I have read, and so I would be content with having that as my insurance/firm. The main thing is I'm having doubts about going to Southampton for 5 years. I know I would be happy at Nottingham/Manchester etc. but Southampton is alien to me .

By the way, I'm from Birmingham

I was thinking Warwick because it is reputable for engineering. It is considered to be more "elite" than the other Universities from what I have read, and so I would be content with having that as my insurance/firm.

Not in engineering it's not, and again, "reputation" is completely irrelevant for a career in engineering as there is a big distinction between university engineering and real world engineering.

If you get accepted onto the BEng course then you can still transfer up to the MEng if your performance after a few years is satisfactory.

Unfortunately, I can't find a University that offers ABB for an MEng course; only the BEng course has the requirements ABB.

Is it difficult to transfer from BEng to MEng? As in, will it be like the top 10 students of the BEng course who have the option, or is it more like if you get over 50% in the first year then thats good enough for you to be able to transfer.

And as far as general engineering vs mechanical engineering is concenered, I don't actually know exactly what field of engineering I'd like to go into, but mechanical engineering is the side I would prefer (stuff like chemical/nuclear isn't for me) so the general engineering option is probably better in a way, since you have more time to decide which specialised course you want to study.