Manchester, Warwick, Bath, Nottingham for physics

I hold offers from all of the 4 universities and I am a little bit torn between Manchester and Warwick for my first. I lean more towards Manchester because of the big city and student life and Warwick seems more isolated with not much going on. Also is Bath better than Nottingham (insurance choice). I know that league tables aro not everything so any advice is welcome. Btw it's straight physics.

Reply 1

dr_octavious

Original post by SeanFM

I'd suggest going to Offer Holders' days to get a feel for the uni (if you haven't been to open days already) and check out the universities. Also look into the course structure, prospects and student satisfaction.

I'm currently a MathSci student at Bath, but if you have any questions let me know. :h:

Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to open days or offer holders' days :frown:

. I am curious id there's a big difference in teaching quality and job opportunities given that Bath is 5, Warwick is 7 and Manchester is 10 in league tables. I know that there are a lot of courses with placement at Bath and my offer is for one of them; is that placement guaranteed and if not how likely am I to actually have it. Also how's the life at Bath, I mean is it a lively city, are there places to go outside of uni?

Reply 2

dr_octavious

Original post by SeanFM

I would suggest only using multiple league tables to get a feel for how good a university is - because it varies from year to year as well as from table to table.

You may want to try the website 'unistats' for how students feel about the uni. Here's one from Bath, for example.

I am a placement student currently applying for placement jobs, and it is not guaranteed. The university advertises placements but you're not limited to those - you can apply to anywhere that's offering a placement year. It's pretty much up to you as to how likely you are to get it - the university can help you with mock interviews and assessment centres, but you'll need a good CV and covering letter too.

I've also talked a bit about Bath itself in this thread.

If there's anything else, let me know. :h:

Thanks!

Reply 3

dr_octavious

Original post by SeanFM

I am starting to rethink my options. About Bath: Does the placement give you any advantage after university? Do you know any physicists that have graduated, is it possible to get a permanent job with the employer that gave you placement?

Reply 4

math42

Original post by SeanFM

I'm currently a MathSci student at Bath, but if you have any questions let me know. :h:

What's Maths at Bath like? Would have been my ideal insurance but was too scared of the A* in my offer. :s-smilie:

Original post by dr_octavious

Warwick isn't really dead - there's loads of societies and seem to be people partying pretty much every night lol. I'm doing a lone physics module right now so can't give too much opinion on that but the work is quite challenging which is generally a good sign. I think Manchester is fantastic for Physics though (I was considering doing Physics for a while). I would prefer Bath over Nottingham but that opinion isn't particularly informed. :redface:

Reply 5

math42

Original post by SeanFM

There's a bit about Maths at Bath on the 3rd/4th posts on this thread.

If I remember correctly you're a first year student at Warwick. I was thinking 'but your offer would have been way more crazy' but for an insurance I suppose that it makes sense.

For me it's almost everything I could have hoped for in a Maths course. The only thing I don't like is that Algebra is compulsory past the first year. I like some parts of Algebra, others not so much, and thankfully I'm on a course where it isn't compulsory past semester 1 of year 2.

And I saw that Warwick charges you for studying a language module if it's not going to go towards your degree.. :eek4:

Bath doesn't charge you for that, thankfully. :redface:

Yeah I figured if I had an off day with C3 or C4 I could easily be looking at Clearing..

Looking at that thread I like the idea of subject specific classes/tutorials. We have a tutorial and a couple of supervisions but they're general and only analysis has classes. Ah we've just started with abstract algebra; it looks a little dry.

Yeah it is a bit harsh, good thing I'm useless with languages. :colonhash:

Reply 6

math42

Original post by SeanFM

Oh yes definitely, at least with Further Maths the A* requirement is spread out over 3 modules.

I suppose with your tutorials you can/should ask questions when you're stuck with lecture notes, problem sheets etc.

Abstract algebra... yeah. That's the stuff I'm doing in my second year... :colondollar:

I guess you've dived straight into the deep end.

And you never know, you might want to start learning.. Russian or something from next year and have it count towards your degree? :redface:

I was probably more confident on Further Maths A* than Maths lol (before exams that is). Yeah true; certain modules do get disproportionately covered though.

Sorry should qualify this course is a five week "Intro" module and the course named just Abstract Algebra is next year to be fair. :colondollar:

Interesting choice as I have a close family member who did a degree in Russian. :colonhash:

Reply 7

MAINE.

Original post by dr_octavious

Have you thought about what you want to do career wise?

Reply 8

dr_octavious

Original post by MAINE.

Have you thought about what you want to do career wise?

Well, that's a difficult question. I am going to study physics simply because I like it and its really my passion. I haven't ruled out an academic career and a Ph.D. even though that might be financially difficult. The other option is of course a job in some industry. That's why it's a difficult decision - I know that Manchester is very good for physics but not so good overall while Bath is good for physics and overall plus it has placement. May the not so good overall reputation of Manchester and the lack of prof. placement harm my chances of finding a job compared to if I choose Bath?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 9

Unkempt_One

Original post by dr_octavious

Hi. I'm completely sure there is no way Manchester is less favoured than Bath by employers, and if you're studying Physics, most companies you look at should know Manchester is among the top-flight Physics departments.

If it came down to a choice between Bath and Manchester I'd pick Manchester for sure. You can actually see the course description for Bath and Manchester here (http://www.bath.ac.uk/catalogues/2015-2016/ph/USPH-AFM02.html) and here (http://bluebook.physics.manchester.ac.uk/7_programme_structure/structure.html). I remarked in a response on this forum a while ago that Bath's course looks easier and less comprehensive than higher-tier undergraduate courses. Particularly, the fourth year modules are all compulsory at Bath. So whereas at Manchester you could be looking into advanced topics like Gauge Theories and early universe Physics in fourth year, at Bath you're stuck doing Nanoscience and Photonics whether you want to or not. The 'Advanced Quantum Theory' course looks like a mishmash of different topics without any particular theme. Also, the module 'Advanced Problem Solving' covers an annoying requirement of the IoP that, at Durham for instance, is covered in at third year with a lower weighting in the overall program. I could make other comments, like you appear to start Lagrangian mechanics in fourth year at Bath, when it's now fashionable to start that in second year, but basically Bath does less physics, later. As for the placement year, let me ask you, would you choose Physics at Keele over Cambridge just because it had a placement year? You're committing the same fallacy over a lower gap.