Physics at York or Nottingham?

Hehe

I'm finding that I get sooooo distracted whilst trying to study (all of you TSR people are implicated). And I'll learn something and then it'll drop out of my head a week later because I'm trying to balance this with real life n stuff.

I need to learn how to program. I'll probably start learning once I start at uni though. I know 0 of programming languages, but I've decided that I would do well to learn at least the basics of one!

That's good that they're paying for your degree, I was going to ask whether they still do that.

I am apparently in great need of that piece of paper... people tend to assume that I'm a bimbo and it's held me back to be honest.

Yes, I'll do some kind of work as the thought of not earning terrifies me. I also have a flat I can let out. I'll ideally get some office stints in equity research through connections. And pull pints/stripping around that. Joking.

Oh, interesting. According to unistats Durham's physics courses send a higher proportion of students into business and technology.

I wouldn't look to work at a bank though, I'd want time at small funds and research firms and brokerages; my natural scabitats as I call them. And of course I want to network at every opportunity.

I am apparently in great need of that piece of paper... people tend to assume that I'm a bimbo and it's held me back to be honest.

Hehe

I'm finding that I get sooooo distracted whilst trying to study (all of you TSR people are implicated). And I'll learn something and then it'll drop out of my head a week later because I'm trying to balance this with real life n stuff.

I need to learn how to program. I'll probably start learning once I start at uni though. I know 0 of programming languages, but I've decided that I would do well to learn at least the basics of one!

That's good that they're paying for your degree, I was going to ask whether they still do that.

Yes, I'll do some kind of work as the thought of not earning terrifies me. I also have a flat I can let out. I'll ideally get some office stints in equity research through connections. And pull pints/stripping around that. Joking.

Fair enough. I guess being in London would afford you with better networking opportunities for smaller shops. Plus, you could potentially work part time at some of them.

It'd hardly matter whether you were in London or not for the big guys.

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I do know the feeling. People assume I'm stupid because I'm in the army. Lots of people think they are better than you because they have a bit of paper from some shitey university. People will always underestimate you if you don't fit into their predefined boxes. Make a habit of proving them wrong.





I was worried about having to work in a low-paid student job whilst at uni but I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to head into the reserves, which should provide some transition between being a soldier and a student. Both in terms of finances and environment. It's great you've got a flat to let out, is it in/around "the city" you're leaving? If so, that's amazing. Letting in London and then living elsewhere is a fantastic idea. Did you think about studying in London?

My main argument against studying at university is that I won't be able to get onto the housing market for a few years. Are you still paying a mortgage?

I get super-distracted on TSR too. It started out as just asking questions about my personal statement and application but then I wandered into the "relationships" section and found that 18 year olds giving relationship advice to other 18 year olds was pretty much the blind leading the blind with much hilarity.

Now I reward myself with TSR and a cup of tea after an hour or so of revision. Much like some sort of trained puppy.

SS

Those stats are pretty meaningless.

A) Sample size is like 30-100
B) Business and technology could mean anything from working at JPMorgan in Investment Banking, to working as a database analyst at some small scale tech consultancy, to working in the Finance division of L'Oréal, to being an accountant for a small mom and pop shop

A better bet is to check out LinkedIn (either via searching for people with specific jobs or by looking at their career ranking), ask actual professionals which unis their colleagues went to and to look at which firms sponsor the university's societies.

Even then, you'd find that Durham does really well.

Posted from TSR Mobile

What jerks, I have nothing but respect for those who serve, it seems to be a default career choice in my family. I once turned up at Aldershot with my CV years ago and they told me I was in the wrong place because I'm too posh and sent me to Sandhurst, who then laughed at my arts A Levels.

Im glad to hear they are looking after you!

Do you have a family too?

My flat is in Kent, so a bit outside London. The secret plan is to transfer after my foundation year to a London uni, probably KCL if I can....yes I'll be paying the mortgage which just feels like a scary liability when you're not in full time work!

Would the army assist you in getting on the housing ladder? Or will you leave the army once you graduate?

Ohhhhh my goodness the relationship section is hilarious! And also a great concern for me...is this the candidate pool for me for the four years I'm a student?!?!??!!!!!!

I wouldn't look to work at a bank though, I'd want time at small funds and research firms and brokerages; my natural scabitats as I call them. And of course I want to network at every opportunity.

Oh, interesting. According to unistats Durham's physics courses send a higher proportion of students into business and technology.

Fair enough.



Business & Tech not equal to IB.

Unistats is unreliable.

This is better when it comes to the IB industry - https://www.linkedin.com/edu/rankings/gb/undergraduate-investment-banking?trk=edu-rankings-ctg-card

Ahaha, yes I'm well "posh" for a soldier. I decided against the officer route and just went straight for it, wanting to get down and dirty with it. It's been a great experience and I feel like I've earnt everything I've achieved.

Yeah, paying my tuition fees is a massive boon to be honest and I realise I'm very very lucky to get this opportunity. Makes me even more motivated to succeed. I really wasn't motivated at 18.



I'll probably leave the army once I graduate. They do help you get on the housing ladder (They provide 5% of the deposit) but you have to pay it back before you leave the army so I wouldn't be looking to tie myself down to that kind of commitment.

I have mixed feelings about Kent. I was based there for a time in Chatham, Medway as part of my training for the Royal Engineers. It's great for commuting to London but I found the Medway rather grotty, with the exception of Rochester which is beautiful with its historic castle and cathedral.

Good secret plan. The student dating pool is largely horrendous, fortunately I've already won that race as I have a family. One advantage I would say of York/Notts over Durham is that they are located in cities so your dating pool is going to be a lot wider than Durham which isn't attached to a city. That said, there are going to be mature students at every university some of which may be eligible.

If you want to learn to program I think C++ is pretty good to start with. Obviously Java is the most widespread language but it borrows a lot of concepts and syntax from C++.

Do you know what you want to do after the army? Ah Royal Engineers cool. I have mixed feelings about Kent too...I actually bought it as a pension for my mum with some of her money too after she left my father and let her choose the location. Because she's from a military family and has lived all over the world, it's the one place that was truly familiar to her as her grandparents lived there, and every time they were in the UK they would visit. It doesn't feel like home to me though.

Maybe I will find myself a nice lecherous lecturer to love? Will the army house your family too up in Durham? I hope they do that. I'm worried about being away from my family as they've had a difficult time recently and I want to be there to support them. Another reason I want to return to London.

I've decided it's either Notts or Durham (if I get an offer). Sooooo I'm probably going to Notts then!

Smart decision with buying in Kent anyway, I think house prices are rising massively there. I'm in a similar spot with my mother and father splitting up after 30 years of marriage and the house being sold and having to help buy Mumsie a new place. I definitely know the difficulties of that.

I'm considering a role in Crypto if I head in the same direction as I have been. Otherwise, I'm considering cyber-security for a business or govt. department. We'll see. I'm not really considering the software developer route, although it's a good sector to get into.



I'm sure you'll find plenty of lecherous lecturers. Whether they'll be loveable or not is more doubtful. Personally, I've never found academics to be too hot. Although intelligence is sexy, I find academics a little too naive for my taste.

We'll be renting privately somewhere in/around Durham. I'm balancing between a 2 bed flat in the centre or a 3 bed house out-of-town for roughly the same price. Both are good value for money, though. I'm also worried about being far away from my family, particularly as my parents are going through their divorce. I think of it as only 3 years though and that's not a long time in the scheme of life. I'm from Cheltenham originally, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the people and the standards of living in the North compared to the South.

I'm now also hoping you get into Durham as I will have at least one friend my age, if you get in. So, that's a vote from me, anyway. Nottingham is a perfectly great uni and the balance between the top unis is mostly semantics. I think these boards overrate the differences because we're all agonising over the decisions. It seems like a massive decision at the moment but really I think you can do well at any uni if you're the right person.

SS

A UCAS Media email just came through and caused me to jump out of my skin! Hate it when they do that!

Obviously it's not good to be in the situation we are in with our parents, but it was so good to hear of someone else doing this. Most people only have the unqualified advice "let them sort themselves out". And I'm so anxious about not earning and not being able to help out so much, and my brother is a right handful at 18, retaking a year at sixth form and having a tough time and I want to be there for him....basically applying to uni feels really selfish and every few hours I consider hitting 'delete' on the whole plan.

The out of town 3 bed option sounds nice. How many kids do you have? And it's more space for your parents to stay over, especially if they want somewhere away from it all for a few days or something.

You are right that 3 or 4 years isn't so long really, hopefully I can look after people better once I have a degree and earn better.

I hope I meet you at Durham too!

I'll be like "waaaahhh SS my fingers and nose are cold up here and electric circuits are boring!!"

And you'll be like "let me tell you about the time I sat in a ditch in Inverness for 72 hours without sleep watching a cow gate...."

Did you teach yourself?

Bahaha. Right. I dream about having the problems most students seem to worry about incessantly! Come back to me when you've spent 2 weeks in bodyarmour in 50 degrees of heat or sat in a foxhole at -20 freezing your little piece off. Not to mention things that go bang.

I sat in amazement a few weeks ago when there was the whole safe space/cecil rhodes debate. Having known 18-year-olds head to war and fight for their country, hearing all these kids from privileged backgrounds complain about how they can't handle hearing anything outside of their comfort bubble left me in stunned disbelief.

That said, I'm definitely taking off my soldier hat when I get to uni I don't want to be the guy that sits in the student bar telling war stories. I hate it when people forget they've left the forces and they still act like they're Sgt. Bloggs or whatever. Once you've left, you've left and you need to move on, in my opinion.

I have a son! He's the cutest little savage to ever walk the face of the earth.

I'd like to soothe your mind a little over the parent dilemma, it's part of the natural transition of life that we look after our parents as both we and they get older. Whilst we won't have as much money at uni, we'll both have another resource - time. With only 27 weeks of the year spent at uni, plus the first year doesn't count, we're going to have time to devote to our parents emotionally, physically and I think that's the most important. Particularly for Mothers. I think it's admirable you want to take care of your parents.

SS

Bahaha. Right. I dream about having the problems most students seem to worry about incessantly! Come back to me when you've spent 2 weeks in bodyarmour in 50 degrees of heat or sat in a foxhole at -20 freezing your little piece off. Not to mention things that go bang.

I sat in amazement a few weeks ago when there was the whole safe space/cecil rhodes debate. Having known 18-year-olds head to war and fight for their country, hearing all these kids from privileged backgrounds complain about how they can't handle hearing anything outside of their comfort bubble left me in stunned disbelief.

That said, I'm definitely taking off my soldier hat when I get to uni I don't want to be the guy that sits in the student bar telling war stories. I hate it when people forget they've left the forces and they still act like they're Sgt. Bloggs or whatever. Once you've left, you've left and you need to move on, in my opinion.

I have a son! He's the cutest little savage to ever walk the face of the earth.

I'd like to soothe your mind a little over the parent dilemma, it's part of the natural transition of life that we look after our parents as both we and they get older. Whilst we won't have as much money at uni, we'll both have another resource - time. With only 27 weeks of the year spent at uni, plus the first year doesn't count, we're going to have time to devote to our parents emotionally, physically and I think that's the most important. Particularly for Mothers. I think it's admirable you want to take care of your parents.

SS

What an interesting exchange.