The Student Room Group
University of Sussex
University of Sussex
Brighton

Heart says Sussex, stats say UEA?

So I've applied for international development at both UEA and Sussex, been on both applicant days, and preferred Sussex. Liked the campus better, liked the subject talk better, liked the accommodation better... just got a better feeling (+ it's in an area of the country I love).
But when it comes to every sort of league table, student satisfaction rating or review, UEA comes out 100x better. I've been reading some really quite negative stuff about Sussex (not least on this site!), and now I feel like I can't trust my gut feeling.
Actually I'm beginning to feel a bit crap about the whole thing now, because really I want to go to Sussex, but I feel like maybe by ignoring everything negative about it I'll just be making a bad decision. UEA's student satisfaction ratings are through the roof (but I wouldn't have guessed this from going on the applicant day to be honest)
So I guess what I'm asking is
a) anyone else in the same boat??
b) any Sussex students want to reassure me that Sussex is a good choice? I just need my decision to feel justified!
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by missMP3
So I've applied for international development at both UEA and Sussex, been on both applicant days, and preferred Sussex. Liked the campus better, liked the subject talk better, liked the accommodation better... just got a better feeling (+ it's in an area of the country I love).
But when it comes to every sort of league table, student satisfaction rating or review, UEA comes out 100x better. I've been reading some really quite negative stuff about Sussex (not least on this site!), and now I feel like I can't trust my gut feeling.
Actually I'm beginning to feel a bit crap about the whole thing now, because really I want to go to Sussex, but I feel like maybe by ignoring everything negative about it I'll just be making a bad decision. UEA's student satisfaction ratings are through the roof (but I wouldn't have guessed this from going on the applicant day to be honest)
So I guess what I'm asking is
a) anyone else in the same boat??
b) any Sussex students want to reassure me that Sussex is a good choice? I just need my decision to feel justified!


What negative things did you hear about Sussex??
University of Sussex
University of Sussex
Brighton
Reply 2
Original post by Angel_N345
What negative things did you hear about Sussex??


Various reviews on things like whatuni, Which?, complete university guide, all these things... I mean the majority are still positive but there's a few that say stuff like there's terrible student support, everything's too expensive, the campus is dead cos everyone goes to Brighton, patchy WiFi, not great facilities etc. etc.
And it's pretty low down in terms of student satisfaction ratings, at number 63 in the UK (87% satisfaction)
I think it's just that in comparison to UEA - which no-one has anything bad to say about - it's got me a little nervous?
It's where I want to go really, but I'd just like to see some UEA-level positivity about it :frown:
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by missMP3
Various reviews on things like whatuni, Which?, complete university guide, all these things... I mean the majority are still positive but there's a few that say stuff like there's terrible student support, everything's too expensive, the campus is dead cos everyone goes to Brighton, patchy WiFi, not great facilities etc. etc.
And it's pretty low down in terms of student satisfaction ratings, at number 63 in the UK (87% satisfaction)
I think it's just that in comparison to UEA - which no-one has anything bad to say about - it's got me a little nervous?
It's where I want to go really, but I'd just like to see some UEA-level positivity about it :frown:

Yeah I see what you mean
Well some of my friends go to uea and they love it but apparently the nightlife isn't that good. Also they said it can be disorganised sometimes so I guess it's just down to personal opinion
Everyone's gonna have different outlooks on the same thing so I'd definitely say go where you actually want to go and see yourself being at as opposed to what polls and forums say.
I'm all for Sussex btw, gonna firm my offer soon I think :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by Angel_N345
Yeah I see what you mean
Well some of my friends go to uea and they love it but apparently the nightlife isn't that good. Also they said it can be disorganised sometimes so I guess it's just down to personal opinion
Everyone's gonna have different outlooks on the same thing so I'd definitely say go where you actually want to go and see yourself being at as opposed to what polls and forums say.
I'm all for Sussex btw, gonna firm my offer soon I think :smile:


Yeah that's very true, at the end of the day it's down to what you make of it isn't it, people are always going to have different experiences.
Thankyou for words of reassurance! Bring on Sussex :smile:
I agree the stats for UEA are much better. But I went to UEA with the view that I would ignore what others said, and went for the good student experience and because although it's not a Top 10 university it was a very good university. So I'd be hypocritical to say don't go to Sussex go to to UEA based on stats, because I decided against applying to some of the top universities in the country because UEA did what I wanted, and it did it well.

I think you'll be happy at both universities but I just wanted to respond to one comment on here. The night life is excellent in Norwich for a small city, and it's got an excellent community feel. I mean I saw Coldplay at the LCR, and they had Taylor Swift performing as part of the Big Weekend just metres away from campus. There used to be a pub for every day of the year in Norwich, and if you're not a heavy drinker there's a lot of chic places to go drink coffee, eat fancy cake, and socialise. There is a ridiculously great feel about UEA, and so many clubs and societies opportunities. Also I think living in somewhere like Norwich not only is safer but has a better cost of living - their accommodation is often cheaper than most unis, and private accommodation here can be cheaper than nearer London too.

As you can see I feel so passionate about the university here I am singing its praises on TSR! Perhaps you might have got a better mix of opinions by posting this outside of the Sussex forum :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by thenationalhealth
I agree the stats for UEA are much better. But I went to UEA with the view that I would ignore what others said, and went for the good student experience and because although it's not a Top 10 university it was a very good university. So I'd be hypocritical to say don't go to Sussex go to to UEA based on stats, because I decided against applying to some of the top universities in the country because UEA did what I wanted, and it did it well.

I think you'll be happy at both universities but I just wanted to respond to one comment on here. The night life is excellent in Norwich for a small city, and it's got an excellent community feel. I mean I saw Coldplay at the LCR, and they had Taylor Swift performing as part of the Big Weekend just metres away from campus. There used to be a pub for every day of the year in Norwich, and if you're not a heavy drinker there's a lot of chic places to go drink coffee, eat fancy cake, and socialise. There is a ridiculously great feel about UEA, and so many clubs and societies opportunities. Also I think living in somewhere like Norwich not only is safer but has a better cost of living - their accommodation is often cheaper than most unis, and private accommodation here can be cheaper than nearer London too.

As you can see I feel so passionate about the university here I am singing its praises on TSR! Perhaps you might have got a better mix of opinions by posting this outside of the Sussex forum :smile:


Thanks for the comment - I'm aware that Norwich has a lot going for it, and personally night-life isn't one of the main things I'm going for anyway...Norwich is a gorgeous city that I absolutely love (which hasn't made my decision any easier!).
But in terms of being in Sussex, there are various reasons why I'd like to be in that part of the country as well (spent a lot of my childhood round there, links to other aspects of my life, people I know living there etc.), and even though I know Brighton is very expensive I think there are personal reasons that would mean I'd enjoy it, hopefully.
I'm glad you love your university so much (the amount of positivity about UEA really shows they are doing something very right), and as I've said, it seems pretty much impossible to find anyone with a bad word to say against UEA, which was exactly why I didn't post this outside or on the UEA forum, because rather than hear more great UEA reviews that are just making me feel worse about Sussex, I wanted to feel reassured that I'm not making a terrible decision by going there :frown:
But thankyou anyway, and I can say for sure that if I go to Sussex and abolutely hate it for some reason, UEA will be the place I'll transfer to :wink:
Original post by missMP3
But thankyou anyway, and I can say for sure that if I go to Sussex and abolutely hate it for some reason, UEA will be the place I'll transfer to :wink:

Good plan :wink:
Hello,

I'm in the exact same position.

I have been accepted to UEA unconditional to Cognitive Psychology, but Sussex accepted me for Psychology with Foundation Year (and then I can continue on with my Psychology with Cognitive Science bachelors degree).

The thing is that there's something about Sussex that got me 90% decided. Maybe the beach, maybe the nightlife. I'm not sure.

I wonder, if i do the foundation year at sussex, could i go to UEA after? (maybe i won't like Sussex for whoever-knows reason)

I come from Romania so I expect a good experience whatever choice I'll make compared to what I'd have here, but still between the two goods I'd like the better one :smile: What do you think?

Quick Reply

Latest