How respectable a university is Bristol, really?

How are you finding English at Bristol? That's what I've applied to do, and it would definitely be my first choice if I got an offer but ugh it's so competitive that I'm worried. :P I don't even know what they really look for in a student, and when I talk to other applicants for the same course they seem to have a much stronger application - or maybe I'm just paranoid and putting myself down, ahaha. Oh I don't know, uni stuff is stressful.

The sheer numbers applying mean a bunch of very strong candidates will have to be turned down, so don't feel too bad if you are - but best of luck

English at Bristol is very much what you make of it. We don't have many contact hours (about 5 a week) and the quality of tutors varies hugely - there are some excellent ones (lots who have taught at Oxbridge etc before) but also ones who, whilst good at research, aren't that great at communicating with pupils. I imagine that is true at at uni though Some people put a lot of work in, and some people get away with just doing work when it comes to essays. There's a lot of extra stuff going on - we're regularly told about visiting academics holding talks, conferences, poetry readings etc - so if you want to be more involved, you can be.

The course isn't very flexible as it's broadly chronologically-based. I prefer modern stuff, and don't find that I get to do much of it. BUT, as an English student, it probably is a benefit to have an understanding of different periods of literature and how things evolved. From second year, you get to choose two optional units a year, but only out of an offering of about seven. There's always been stuff which has appealed to me, and the options are all quite different. All the tutors specialise in very different areas, which is good. The biggest downside for me is that you only study four units a year - at other unis you do many more, but less indepth. That also means we don't do many essays (only 8 a year) which means they're a big deal and a lot is expected of them. At other unis you are constantly writing essays so you get into the habit. For me, it's a struggle every time. Plus, because we have more time for them there are higher expectations so tutors are probably looking for evidence of much more research, much deeper ideas etc than if you had only had a couple of days to write one.

The medieval department at Bristol is amazing and I've come away with a real appreciation of middle English, which I had never encountered before.

It's really nice having quite a small department. I still meet new people every year, but I know a lot of the people on my course well and recognise everyone in the year.

I personally imagine that English is taught better at lots of other unis. More modern unis often tend to care more about the experiences of students and throw more money on teaching, whereas Bristol can rest on its reputation to attract the best students without particularly having to satisfy them. But I think I've come out with a good education, and I could personally have made it better by being more proactive - I know lots of students who have very strong academic relationships with the tutors who get a lot more out of the course. I also think that other things matter a lot more - I came to Bristol, although I got offers from 'better' unis (at the time), because I wanted to be in a city environment. I've been really really happy in Bristol and I think if I had to choose again I'd make the same choice

I was always told that Bristol is where the "Oxbridge rejects" go. Is this true? I always thought it was an esteemed, respectable university, but I just read a thread where they kind of cast it aside, and said it wasn't as good as universities like Durham and Warwick. Plus, I remember looking at the League table a few months ago, and was surprised at how low down it was on the list. What do you think? I know places are highly competitive but is this a valid indication of its excellence? How would you rate it alongside other universities? Thank you

Thank you so much! Especially for being so honest, it's hard to get a realistic, truthful account of a university talking to students at open days and the like because they're meant to be encouraging applicants by only telling one side of the story, aha. That's really interesting, you said a lot of things about the course that I wasn't aware of so it's definitely given me a lot to think about. I do hope that I get an offer but as you said, there are a lot of universities that teach English well so hopefully I'll end up somewhere good! The only eight essays a year does frighten me a bit haha.

But yeah, thanks a lot I really appreciate it. Have you graduated now or are you still at Bristol?

That's fine - I'm glad to have been helpful Although do remember that all the other English courses elsehwhere probably have their own downsides too, which you may not hear about in as much detail I definitely don't want to put you off Bristol too much...
I'm in my final year now, graduating in July.
If you have any more questions at all, feel free to ask here or PM me and I'll do my best to help!

Bristol and Durham are not generally targeted by top graduate employers, Warwick often is.

Oxbridge, Imperial, LSE, UCL, Warwick are the six best unis. Then a gap. Then Bristol and Durham.

I can only speak for finance and management consulting type jobs. Maybe it's different in other industries?

Bristol is one of the UKs best universities. It doesn't play the league table game as well as it could but, in my opinion, league tables only detract from what is really important, i.e. credible world class research that makes a difference to all of us and teaching that is academically rigorous. Bristol and Durham have always had the reputation as being the places where Oxford and Cambridge rejects go, but, interestingly, Bristol was criticised by top public schools for rejecting their students when Oxbridge were accepting them.

How do people even find threads this old? Seriously?