Why is University of Bradord considered a bad place to study?

I have selected University of Bradford as my firm choice. I am going to study business and management. I thought it offered great opportunities and I was happy with my decision as I had done a lot of research. However, I have recently come upon lots of negative comments about the university and the city and this makes me really worried as I have already confirmed my place. Have I made a bad decision?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

hellodave5

19

Are you from close to Bradford?
Is your course stringently externally regulated? (like by a subject association)
What course?

Reply 2

Colette_

OP

1

I live in an eastern European country and I chose the 4 year Business and Management Studies program. I chose it because it seemed suitable for international students. And I'm not sure what you mean by the second question?

Reply 3

Push_More_Button

12

Bradford has a bad reputation among some people because the area can be described as quite deprived and has had issues in the past (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Bradford_riots) but the city is cleaning itself up and improving. Of course there are still issues, like most cities, but things are getting better.

As for the university, I can't speak for all courses but some of them are quite highly regarded regionally, nationally and internationally.

Reply 4

marple

15

Bradford has a very high asian/ Muslim population and in the past there have been inter-racing flare ups which have inevitably had wider impact. The university has some strongdepartments, but it's reputation at least in the UK is well below neighbouring Universities of Leeds and Sheffield.
Research the town / area and make sure you're happy with what it offers.

Reply 5

Tilds1997

9

It's not in the Russell Group or the 1994 group, and these are widely considered the top unis in the country (although there are some exceptions). I personally know very little about your course but to be honest most universities in the UK are to a good standard and I'm sure you'll get a good degree (and have lots of fun!).

Reply 6

University of Bradford

Official Rep

18

The business school at the University of Bradford has a very good reputation and is one of only 59 business schools in the world (less than 1%) that hold the triple accreditations of Equis, AMBA and AACSB, often referred to as the "Triple Crown".
More info on the business school website here.

It's probably fair to say that you'll hear negative comments about any city if you listen hard enough - Bradford has certainly had its problems like anywhere else, but it's a very fast growing city, with economic growth ahead of regional and national averages since 2008. It's very culturally diverse, is the first UNESCO city of film, has a national media museum and has been voted the curry capital for the past 3 years running. The city is on the doorstep of the Yorkshire Dales and is right next to the Saltaire World Heritage site.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

Honest_Cretan

1

The university can sometimes be assumed (by people who don't know a lot about it) to not be very good simply because Bradford city has a bad reputation. The cities had some troubles in the past and its not exactly the best neighbourhood to live in, but its worth it for the university.
Bradford Uni is never going to be thought of as a big name university simply because it isn't one of the universities that does courses tonnes of people apply to. Like York university you might go to for the reputation, you'll see how fussy it is about the grades you'll assume that makes it a great university. But Bradford university is really amazing at very particular courses, and it offers courses you can't get many other places, and a lot of those other places will be terrible compared to Bradford. Like business and management, peace studies, computer animation, criminal psychology etc. If you want to do history or geography, I'd say aim higher than Bradford. If your going for something more unique, that's Bradford's speciality. It does very specific things very well. Within the circles where those things matter it has a good reputation, employers will have heard of it and not think little of it, because they know Bradford makes good students. Even if people from other uni's might not get that.

As for the town itself. I've never seen anywhere before with such a can-do attitude towards improvement, which does mean its always trying to do interesting things or have cool places being built (like a great big new London standard shopping mall which I've been told there are plans for). I'll be honest the city isn't the best place to live, its kinda dirty and there's a decent amount of crime, and there's not exactly a whole lot of money in the area. But it'll teach you to be responsible, to remember to lock doors and not to walk around alone at night. You'll feel like a more competent grown-up by the time you leave and you'll make jokes about the city with your mates. For students its kinda perfect, its rumoured to be the cheapest student living in England and I wouldn't be surprised. Drinks are cheap, nearest shops are cheap (and not the bad quality aldi cheap, morrisons and asda cheap) and rent is crazy cheap if you rent a house in the second year. Like really cheap as standard but if your luck like me you can find crazy cheap housing. (I'm going on a £2000 trip to africa with the left over money from my maintenance loan!).

The university also has just a great attitude in general, there's the fact it tries just so hard to keep pushing its degrees to be better, tonnes of opportunities like study abroad, and the fact that its waay more interested in getting its students jobs than anything else. Its not focused on academics or getting good results that make it sound better or giving you work you don't need, its first and foremost priority is to get you a job when you leave. And you can really feel that, and that's got to be your number one priority. The support for students is always massively helpful, the union will have something for everyone and even though its not a small university, it had the attitude of a small university in the way its really close knit team feeling really supportive, unlike some of these cut-throat you're on your own uni's. The long and short of it is, its a great place to study, that won't cost you a lot to study there, what more do you want?

Reply 8

marple

15

Honest cretan
A lot of what you say is true. Bradford has some lovely countryside on its doorstep and some courses are good. However the university is increasingly seen as s somewhere that only local stundents should consider. I would certainly discourage my own daughters from applying.

Reply 9

JonoW

Original post by marple

Honest cretan
A lot of what you say is true. Bradford has some lovely countryside on its doorstep and some courses are good. However the university is increasingly seen as s somewhere that only local stundents should consider. I would certainly discourage my own daughters from applying.

Hey Marple,

I'm not sure where you've got that idea from, I've been here for 4 years and whilst I am aware that there is a proportion that are locals, there are huge amounts of people from all over the country and the world in the university... not sure that they would necessarily discourage your daughters from applying, it entirely depends on what course you wish to do.

Bradford is good at the courses it does and is a leader in international research for many of them.

Reply 10

Minty69

Original post by marple

Honest cretan
A lot of what you say is true. Bradford has some lovely countryside on its doorstep and some courses are good. However the university is increasingly seen as s somewhere that only local stundents should consider. I would certainly discourage my own daughters from applying.

I wonder if you could expand on why you would discourage your daughters to go there? My daughter's completed her first year and as enjoyed every single minute, loves the course, the university, (supportive lecturers passionate about their subject and great facilities) the people and the city. I have made numerous visits to the city prior to her going and since and have no concerns about Bradford whatsoever. We live in the NW of England, about one and a half to two hours away and it is far from being multicultural, a small market town. In view of this my daughter felt that experiencing the multi culture of Bradford would be an advantage in her future health care based career. There are students from all over the UK and the world!!! I have recommended Bradford University to someone recently.

Reply 11

University of Bradford

Official Rep

18

Original post by Colette_

I have selected University of Bradford as my firm choice. I am going to study business and management. I thought it offered great opportunities and I was happy with my decision as I had done a lot of research. However, I have recently come upon lots of negative comments about the university and the city and this makes me really worried as I have already confirmed my place. Have I made a bad decision?

Just thought I'd follow up with you Colette_ - I hope you've found my post along with the other posts useful. If you still have concerns or doubts about your course, the University or Bradford as a city please PM me with your contact information. I'd be more than happy to speak with you directly or arrange an personal Campus visit :smile:

Reply 12

Colette_

OP

1

Original post by University of Bradford

Just thought I'd follow up with you Colette_ - I hope you've found my post along with the other posts useful. If you still have concerns or doubts about your course, the University or Bradford as a city please PM me with your contact information. I'd be more than happy to speak with you directly or arrange an personal Campus visit :smile: