Bath, Bristol or Southampton for Mechanical Engineering

I got offers from all three and I'm at a lost as to which uni I should choose. The mechanical engineering course I applied for also includes placements, so which uni should I choose?

I'm kinda leaning towards Bristol, but I also heard that Bath and Southampton are quite good too.

Any recommendations?

Reply 1

AuroraNyx

Original post by thewingmaster

All three are really good, so if you have a locational preference it won't matter greatly.
Southampton is pretty renowned for its expertise in Engineering, though.

Reply 2

Doones

Original post by CastCuraga

All three are really good, so if you have a locational preference it won't matter greatly.
Southampton is pretty renowned for its expertise in Engineering, though.

So are Bristol and Bath...

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 3

AuroraNyx

Original post by Doonesbury

So are Bristol and Bath...

Posted from TSR Mobile

My bad; so they are. I'd only heard a great deal about Southampton being good for it; I normally hear Bristol tauted for its Pharmacy/Medical courses, and admittedly know nothing about Bath.

Reply 4

Doones

Original post by CastCuraga

My bad; so they are. I'd only heard a great deal about Southampton being good for it; I normally hear Bristol tauted for its Pharmacy/Medical courses, and admittedly know nothing about Bath.

Yup, Bath is particularly good with its placement year.

Reply 5

thewingmaster

Thanks for your replies.

Well, I guess it comes down to location and the placements they offer. Which city is good to live in, and are the costs of living high? Also, which uni has better ties to the industry so that I can find a placement during my course / promising jobs in the future easily?

Reply 6

Doones

Original post by thewingmaster

You need to visit them. You have until May to decide on your choices, and you will be spending 4+ years of money and time at one of them.

Only Bath, of those 3, has an integrated placement year as part of the course.

Each university has some info on their typical cost of living:
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/uni-life/fees-funding/living-costs.page
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/fees-funding/advice/living-expenses/
http://www.bath.ac.uk/students/finance/funding-advice/pdfs/undergraduate-budget-2017-18.pdf (pdf)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 7

S2M

Original post by Doonesbury

Bath looks pretty expensive. Do you mind me asking if you have one for UCL and Loughborough?

Reply 8

Doones

Original post by Black Water

Bath looks pretty expensive. Do you mind me asking if you have one for UCL and Loughborough?

I don't "have" any of them... Google does...

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/fees-funding/tuition-fees/living-expenses-and-additional-costs
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/fees-finance/living-costs/

All these are just an indication. You can often live more cheaply, or more expensively, if you want to.

Reply 9

S2M

Original post by Doonesbury

Thank you.

Reply 10

Doones

Original post by Black Water

Thank you.

Reply 11

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hi! I am a first year chemical engineering student at the University of Bath. Although I do not study mechanical engineering, hopefully I can give you an insight into what studying at Bath is like.

The university is highly renowned for engineering and the Faculty of Engineering has a very good reputation in industry, so a very good reputation for placements.

Bath is a campus university, situated a 10 minute bus journey from the city centre (the busses run 24/7 in term time). The campus has a great community feel to it. It is also a fairly small campus so nothing is ever more than 10/15 minute walk away. Great for getting to those early morning lectures! The majority of the accommodation halls are situated on campus, with a few in the heart of the city. This is quite unique for a university to have its accommodation so close to all of the university facilities and this was one of the big factors that helped me to pick Bath.

Bath can be quite expensive but I do not imagine there is much different between Bath, Bristol and Southampton for cost of living. There are many accommodation options available, so how much you want to spend on rent is up to you. This can be slightly more expensive than universities in the North of the country, but the difference isn't massive. So long as you budget correctly, you should find that it is ok! There is information on scholarships and bursaries here so you can see if you might be eligible to apply.

Bath does not have the biggest range of clubs but it is by no means a bad night out. The Student's Union has 2 club nights a week; Score on a Wednesday and Klass on a Saturday. There is definitely plenty to keep you entertained. Bristol is only 10 minutes away by train if you fancy a change of scene. Bath is considered one of the safest cities and campuses in the UK. It really is a lovely place to live!

If you have any questions about Bath, please let me know! I also have friends studying mechanical engineering so if you have any specific questions about the course at Bath, do not hesitate to ask.

Leah
1st Year Chemical Engineering