The Student Room Group

Exeter or Cardiff uni- DONT IGNORE- ANSWER! please

Scroll to see replies

Reply 40
Original post by adriana10
Yeah, everyone keeps saying that Exeter is such a nice place, so I do need to see it, but what makes it so special?


The campus is hilly, with lots of tree's,grass, and flowers. In addition, many of the buildings are new or refurbished, so the facilities are top notch.
Original post by adriana10
Basically I’m in a bit of a situation.. Well I have got offers from both Cardiff and Exeter for mechanical engineering, both of which are for the Meng and both have a year in industry. Exeter is higher in general in the league tables but I heard that it isn’t really known for its engineering department and I have tried searching this and it is quite hard to find Exeter on any league table for engineering, particulalry for mechanical engineering. I have only been to Cardiff and I do like it there, its also not a bad uni for engineering. But I want to know if Exeter is good at engineering cos if it is and its recognised internationally then I would pick Exeter.

please help


In an almost identical situation as I am stuck between Cardiff and Exeter (except for Mechanical Engineering BEng), I am leaning towards Exeter at the moment but I am really confused.
Reply 42
Oh wow! Well after weeks of thinking about it I’ve finally come to a decision- I’m choosing Cardiff. I’m just gonna say abit about why I chose it- maybe it would help. Even though Exeter is generally a better uni, for mechanical engineering Cardiff is better. Plus Cardiff has better industrial links and better employment which is better. I haven’t been to Exeter’s engineering department but I’ve seen Cardiff’s and its pretty good. I also picked it because I was scared of not getting the grades for Exeter and ending up nowhere or in some ****hole if I go through clearing, plus if I get straight A’s then I can always go through adjustment and maybe even get the place for Exeter or another good uni- if not I would still be going to a uni. Cardiff would also give me a lot of support as they regularly receive people in my situation but I’m sure Exeter would do the same too- but I just haven’t been there so my decision is slightly biased. But I was also unsure about whether or not I would struggle with the electronics course in the general eng in Exeter as I don’t do physics and I felt that I would do better when just learning pure mechanical. So if you don’t do physics maybe that’s something u should think about. But yeah atm I kinda have to be realistic, I would have loved to go to a top uni but at the end of the day I would like to go to any uni tbh, plus Cardiff aint exactly a crap uni lol. Well I’m just glad I choose something, and hope u come to a decision too :smile: good luck. (Come to Cardiff :wink:
Original post by S1L3NTPR3Y
In an almost identical situation as I am stuck between Cardiff and Exeter (except for Mechanical Engineering BEng), I am leaning towards Exeter at the moment but I am really confused.
Reply 43
Original post by adriana10
But I was also unsure about whether or not I would struggle with the electronics course in the general eng in Exeter as I don’t do physics and I felt that I would do better when just learning pure mechanical. So if you don’t do physics maybe that’s something u should think about.


I don't mean to sound like cock or owt but as I stated above whichever uni you go to for mechanical engineering you WILL do some electronics, it is one of the core modules a mechanical engineer needs to know and the course cannot be accredited if this aspect is missing. A mechanical engineer is one who deals with the design, maintenance, management of different mechanical systems; that being said it is the broadest of all disciplines and requires you to have basic knowledge of other engineering disciplines as well as some specialization in design etc.

Not having done physics is a slight disadvantage as things may be overwhelming to you when you learn them for the first time but its definitely possible to get through this and attend support etc if need be.
Reply 44
Original post by adriana10
Oh wow! Well after weeks of thinking about it I’ve finally come to a decision- I’m choosing Cardiff. I’m just gonna say abit about why I chose it- maybe it would help. Even though Exeter is generally a better uni, for mechanical engineering Cardiff is better. Plus Cardiff has better industrial links and better employment which is better. I haven’t been to Exeter’s engineering department but I’ve seen Cardiff’s and its pretty good. I also picked it because I was scared of not getting the grades for Exeter and ending up nowhere or in some ****hole if I go through clearing, plus if I get straight A’s then I can always go through adjustment and maybe even get the place for Exeter or another good uni- if not I would still be going to a uni. Cardiff would also give me a lot of support as they regularly receive people in my situation but I’m sure Exeter would do the same too- but I just haven’t been there so my decision is slightly biased. But I was also unsure about whether or not I would struggle with the electronics course in the general eng in Exeter as I don’t do physics and I felt that I would do better when just learning pure mechanical. So if you don’t do physics maybe that’s something u should think about. But yeah atm I kinda have to be realistic, I would have loved to go to a top uni but at the end of the day I would like to go to any uni tbh, plus Cardiff aint exactly a crap uni lol. Well I’m just glad I choose something, and hope u come to a decision too :smile: good luck. (Come to Cardiff :wink:


Hello.

I think that you may have made the right choice for you. However, do not base your decisions on your fear of Physics/Electronics or the fact that you have not visited Exeter. If you chose Cardiff because you are hoping to avoid Electonics, then you meet it, you would be pissed.

For the general engineering course at Exeter, I think that the only issue is that you would take modules in subjects that you do not find interesting; but this would for a short time. This is because you would be taking more modules in mech engineering after your first two years. I think that this course would be better especially if you have not done Physics.

I think that it is important for you to visit Exeter before making your decisions. So that you are certain that you made the right choice, rather than thinking "what if?"

On that note, Cardiff is not a bad university, as you said. It is a Russell Group university which shows its academic strength.

I do not think that you would go wrong in any university, but you need to make the right choice.

Good luck. :smile:
Reply 45
I currently go to Exeter and I can confidently say that Exeter has one of the best engineering departments. Exeter recently placed first in the UK for Engineering from a dutch Universities ranking. The ranking is based on how much of the universities research is actually used by companies. Hope this helps!


http://www.leidenranking.com/ranking
Reply 46
Yeah as much as I wanted to go to Exeter- I don’t think it would have been wise to put it as my firm as I would be very disappointed if I don’t get the grades and end up having to resit yr 13 again cos I have no uni to go to. So my decision was mostly based on that. I also couldn’t visit Exeter until summer time as that’s the next open day and that’s after the decision for uni’s. So i didn’t even know if it was worth risking it for a uni I may have not liked. So I had to make a reasonable decision. If I do get higher grades then what Cardiff asks for then I can always go through adjustment. But I do think that I made a good decision otherwise I would be worrying all the time that I wouldn’t get the grades etc and that may affect my performance in exams. Thanks for the help anyway, I’m just glad I finally came to a decision.
Original post by MEXING
Hello.

I think that you may have made the right choice for you. However, do not base your decisions on your fear of Physics/Electronics or the fact that you have not visited Exeter. If you chose Cardiff because you are hoping to avoid Electonics, then you meet it, you would be pissed.

For the general engineering course at Exeter, I think that the only issue is that you would take modules in subjects that you do not find interesting; but this would for a short time. This is because you would be taking more modules in mech engineering after your first two years. I think that this course would be better especially if you have not done Physics.

I think that it is important for you to visit Exeter before making your decisions. So that you are certain that you made the right choice, rather than thinking "what if?"

On that note, Cardiff is not a bad university, as you said. It is a Russell Group university which shows its academic strength.

I do not think that you would go wrong in any university, but you need to make the right choice.

Good luck. :smile:
Reply 47
Yeah I’m aware of that. But like u said- I haven’t done physics so everything would be twice as hard for me- so what’s the point in stressing with all the other modules in the general eng course when its only necessary to do the main ones i.e. like thermodynamics etc. A uni teaches you what needs to be taught so if the general eng was absolutely compulsory for u to become a good engineer then all unis would teach it.
All I was saying was that it would be easier for me in the first year to not do general engineering, and by the second year I would have learnt the physics I need to know.

Original post by a10
I don't mean to sound like cock or owt but as I stated above whichever uni you go to for mechanical engineering you WILL do some electronics, it is one of the core modules a mechanical engineer needs to know and the course cannot be accredited if this aspect is missing. A mechanical engineer is one who deals with the design, maintenance, management of different mechanical systems; that being said it is the broadest of all disciplines and requires you to have basic knowledge of other engineering disciplines as well as some specialization in design etc.

Not having done physics is a slight disadvantage as things may be overwhelming to you when you learn them for the first time but its definitely possible to get through this and attend support etc if need be.
Reply 48
Original post by adriana10
Yeah as much as I wanted to go to Exeter- I don’t think it would have been wise to put it as my firm as I would be very disappointed if I don’t get the grades and end up having to resit yr 13 again cos I have no uni to go to. So my decision was mostly based on that. I also couldn’t visit Exeter until summer time as that’s the next open day and that’s after the decision for uni’s. So i didn’t even know if it was worth risking it for a uni I may have not liked. So I had to make a reasonable decision. If I do get higher grades then what Cardiff asks for then I can always go through adjustment. But I do think that I made a good decision otherwise I would be worrying all the time that I wouldn’t get the grades etc and that may affect my performance in exams. Thanks for the help anyway, I’m just glad I finally came to a decision.


I am glad that you came to the decision. It seems that you now have made an informed choice.

Good luck :smile:

Quick Reply

Latest