How do I choose a firm and a safe choice

Hi,
I have applied to 5 UK universities for chemistry courses ; Surrey , Southampton , East Anglia, Nottingham Trent and Brighton . Fortunately I received offers from all of them and quite a few are reasonable ones . I’m thinking of putting Surrey as my firm and East Anglia as my safe choice as because the offers are pretty close to what I expect my grades to be and also because I feel that the structure of their chemistry courses cover all aspects of chemistry ( also accredited by the RSC). The thing is that I’m unsure if East Anglia is a good university to put as a safe choice , I have heard both good and bad comments by other people, saying that I should change my mind. Could anyone give me some reassurance , perhaps someone that has already applied?(motives)

What are the offers you have received OP?

As I am an international student ( from Cyprus) I have offers regarding my apolytirion. Surrey needs an 18/20 in it with 18/20 in both Maths and Chemistry . East Anglia needs also an 18/20 in the apolytirion with 17/20 in both Maths and Chemistry.Southampton needs an 18,5/20 and an A in my Chemistry A level . The last two have pretty low grades , I’m talking 15/16ish /20.

Ok that makes sense that the last two would have the lowest grades.

Southampton, Surrey and UEA are all good Unis. In my opinion, UEA is in the best city of the 3 - Norwich is quite lively with lots going on for students but at the same time it is an attractive city with plenty of individual shops and quirky bars, cafes etc. Southampton is also quite lively but not as pretty (the Uni probably has the strongest reputation, however). Surrey is also a good uni, although the city of Guildford is small and expensive (pretty though).

Thank you, do you also happen to know of the accommodation is good?

Sorry I don't know about accommodation but like all Unis, it will range from the good (en suite, expensive) to the bad to the ugly. If you ask about accommodation on the Uni sub forums, you will be more likely to get replies from students currently studying at them

Hi,
I have applied to 5 UK universities for chemistry courses ; Surrey , Southampton , East Anglia, Nottingham Trent and Brighton . Fortunately I received offers from all of them and quite a few are reasonable ones . I’m thinking of putting Surrey as my firm and East Anglia as my safe choice as because the offers are pretty close to what I expect my grades to be and also because I feel that the structure of their chemistry courses cover all aspects of chemistry ( also accredited by the RSC). The thing is that I’m unsure if East Anglia is a good university to put as a safe choice , I have heard both good and bad comments by other people, saying that I should change my mind. Could anyone give me some reassurance , perhaps someone that has already applied?(motives)

Hi, its great you have received offers from all your choices - congratulations! To help you decide where to study I highly suggest visiting the applicant days. Applicant Days are really useful because you get to meet current staff and students and get an insight into the department, really get a feel for the university. I know visiting Applicant Days really helped me to decide and hope they do the same for you. You can find more info on the applicant days here: https://www.uea.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/visit/applicant-days

Also, have you heard about Ask A Student? You can post direct questions to current UEA students and ask them about university life, living in Norwich, accommodation and so much more: https://askastudent.uea.ac.uk/people?page=1

All the best!

Thank you for the information! I think ask a student will be of great help

Ok that makes sense that the last two would have the lowest grades.

Southampton, Surrey and UEA are all good Unis. In my opinion, UEA is in the best city of the 3 - Norwich is quite lively with lots going on for students but at the same time it is an attractive city with plenty of individual shops and quirky bars, cafes etc. Southampton is also quite lively but not as pretty (the Uni probably has the strongest reputation, however). Surrey is also a good uni, although the city of Guildford is small and expensive (pretty though).

I also received offers from Southampton and Nottingham Trent for Fashion Marketing/Management, I´m from Portugal so I don´t know exactly which is the best. Although Southampton is a high reputation university, Nottingham Trent seems to have more contacts within the industry. Whats your opinion?

I also received offers from Southampton and Nottingham Trent for Fashion Marketing/Management, I´m from Portugal so I don´t know exactly which is the best. Although Southampton is a high reputation university, Nottingham Trent seems to have more contacts within the industry. Whats your opinion?

Hi! Congratulations on your offers! For me there is a pretty significant difference between them since Southampton is a Russel Group uni . In my case Nottingham Trent was ranked higher in Chemistry compared to Southampton. For me NTU is a growing uni although not very heard off as it has shown major improvements the last two years. Southampton does have the reputation that NTU “lacks” let’s say but aside from that if you take a look at the rankings you’ll see that in previous years it wasn’t at the same level as other RG unis. It’s really up to you to decide , I would suggest taking a look at the cities themselves and picking what fits you and your needs.

I believe that the course at Southampton isn't really taught at Southampton Uni but at Winchester School of Art. This is smaller, so you wouldn't be able to benefit from a lot of the facilities at Southampton. Also, looking at Unistats, it seems that the employment prospects are a little better from Nottingham Trent, so I would probably pick them.

Having said that, it's all personal preference as to which uni you prefer.

Your statement NTU is not very well heard of is untrue. It has been around for years. It was the former Nottingham Polytechnic before becoming NTU in the early 1990s. Fashion is a subject in which former polys tend to specialise rather than the RG universities.

Hi! Congratulations on your offers! For me there is a pretty significant difference between them since Southampton is a Russel Group uni . In my case Nottingham Trent was ranked higher in Chemistry compared to Southampton. For me NTU is a growing uni although not very heard off as it has shown major improvements the last two years. Southampton does have the reputation that NTU “lacks” let’s say but aside from that if you take a look at the rankings you’ll see that in previous years it wasn’t at the same level as other RG unis. It’s really up to you to decide , I would suggest taking a look at the cities themselves and picking what fits you and your needs.

Your statement NTU is not very well heard of is untrue. It has been around for years. It was the former Nottingham Polytechnic before becoming NTU in the early 1990s. Fashion is a subject in which former polys tend to specialise rather than the RG universities.