University Help

They are different types of university but all are of the same general standard. It is impossible to really advise as eveyones interests and requirements differ. East Anglia is in a smallish city called Norwich and is on a green campus site. Some people describe it as very concrete and others find the green open spaces it has as lovely. Leicester is in a bigger city and apparently the campus is very near the city. Royal Holloway even though it is shown as part of the university of London isnt in the city unlike other universities. It is about 40 minutes by train out of the city (some claim longer) not far from Heathrow airport and Windsor. It is a very green campus. I would suggest you google each university and look at videos of each and take that and the nature of the courses into account in coming to your decision.

Original post by marimonn

Reply 2

Original post by marimonn

Leicester is a dump, the other two are much nicer places.

I would personally pick UEA as it's a decent uni plus Norwich is a lovely little city, with lots going on and attractive too. Royal Holloway is very different as although the campus is beautiful it's a bit in the middle of nowhere. They always emphasise the 40 minute train journey into London on the Open Days, as though even the staff recognise that a high priority after a few weeks will be getting out of the place.

Having said that, I like it. It's quiet and pretty and did anyone mention it's a short train journey into Central London?

Reply 3

I don't have much experience in the UK but what's so bad about Leicester? I keep hearing super mixed reviews.

Original post by harrysbar

Reply 4

Original post by marimonn

I don't have much experience in the UK but what's so bad about Leicester? I keep hearing super mixed reviews.

It's just nowhere near as nice a city as Norwich in my opinion. But it's all subjective, which is why you keep hearing mixed things about it. Visiting is the only way to know for sure which city you prefer so if you can't do that you will be guessing to a large degree.

Reply 5

How recently have you been to Leicester. Cities change over a period of time. Swansea is certainly a nicer city now than it was 10 years ago. Can you actually explain what about it makes it a dump to help OP.

Reply 6

Original post by swanseajack1

I went to Leicester about 8 years ago when we were thinking about relocating due to a possible job offer, and found it to be a grey and depressing place with little personality or charm. By comparison, I lived in Norwich for several years in my early 20's and know it to be a great place for young people with a vibrant city centre - which we know it still has as we go back to visit friends there.

I completely accept your point that cities change over time and possibly Leicester has impoved, but OP asked for our opinions and I gave mine. As I say above, it's all subjective but Norwich is well known for being an attractive little historic city and Leicester isn't really known for anything beyond pork pies, Red Leicester cheese and more recently, its football team. But it does have better transport links, if that is important to OP.

Reply 7

I havent been there for many years but it clearly is an industrial city and many slate it or that reason. The question is whether its run down with lots of shops and buildings closed which is what I would describe as a dump. Obviously it is a much bigger city than Norwich and would therefore offer a different option. Having stayed years ago in Oadby where the student village is it was quite pleasant but at that time I wasnt impressed with the city centre although that might be different now. Certainly it offers more than Norwich in terms of sport with Leicester City, Leicester Rugby and also Leicestershire cricket based there. I suspect it might have better nightlife than Norwich as well if that is of interest to OP. Like all bigger cities it probably suffers from crime. It is certainly less isolated than Norwich with easy access to the likes of Nottingham and Birmingham.

Walkers crisps are based there as is Next and many other businesses and the city has a rich industrial history.

We all have different preferences and mine like yours is towards smaller places rather than big cities but describing somewhere as a dump without recent knowledge is not sensible.

Original post by harrysbar

I went to Leicester about 8 years ago when we were thinking about relocating due to a possible job offer, and found it to be a grey and depressing place with little personality or charm. By comparison, I lived in Norwich for several years in my early 20's and know it to be a great place for young people with a vibrant city centre - which we know it still has as we go back to visit friends there.

I completely accept your point that cities change over time and possibly Leicester has impoved, but OP asked for our opinions and I gave mine. As I say above, it's all subjective but Norwich is well known for being an attractive little historic city and Leicester isn't really known fitior anything beyond pork pies, Red Leicester cheese and more recently, its football team. But it does have better transport links, if that is important to OP.

Reply 8

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by swanseajack1

I had not considered the Walkers crisps connection......that changes everything

Reply 9

Original post by marimonn

What sort of grades do you have and which university is your firm choice?

What sort of place do you live in at the moment (big city, small city, small town, rural, diverse/cosmopolitan etc). What do you like doing in your free time?

Reply 10

I currently live in Singapore, which is a really big and safe city. Because most big cities aren't super safe, I wanted to be somewhere smaller. My firm choice is a really nice university but its rankings are quite low which really throw me off.
I forgot to mention above that Sussex University is also an option!

Original post by PQ

Reply 11

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Honestly all I'm looking for in a university is two things: good rankings (positively viewed uni) and a safe city/town.

Original post by marimonn

Reply 12

Original post by marimonn

Which university is your firm? What sort of grades do you have?

Sussex is very good for IR. Or Kent PAIR courses if you're looking for lots of study abroad options (but Canterbury is a bit small). Or Bath PAIR course is worth a look if you're interested in a placement year (which could be very useful if you're interested in certain careers).

Reply 13

Original post by marimonn

Honestly all I'm looking for in a university is two things: good rankings (positively viewed uni) and a safe city/town.

The complete universtiy guide publishes information on crime statistics in university cities and towns in the UK. They put Royal Holloway as the safest of your options with 28 incidents for every 1000 residents living in the area around the uni, followed by UEA at 34, then Brighton at 42 then Leicester at 64.

Reply 14

lauraemily13

I go to uni in Leicester, People are saying it's not a nice place, it's really not that bad but yes somewhere like Norwich would be safer (I live about 40 minutes from Norwich when not at uni). The thing that might set Leicester apart is that there are SO MANY international students in the city, there will be no shortage of other people who are in the same situation as you so if that matters to you then I would suggest Leicester (plus good night life great food and everything is easy to get to). If safety is a big concern then go to Norwich which is a very nice place and a good uni, London will be WAY more expensive, but ultimately you should choose which course looks the best. Also you may already know this but alot of universities have YouTube channels where students make videos about life at the uni if you wanna hear from current students

Reply 15

Obviously the UK has more crime than Singapore which is very much a police state and has far more draconian punishments than the UK. As a basic rule the bigger the city the higher the crime rate. For example Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool feature towards the top of the highest level of student crime. Conversely the smaller the places the lower the crime rate and places like Falmouth show that. However the truth is whatever university you attend you are unlikely to be affected by crime. The larger the city the better the nightlife will be so it is a question of balancing what most matters to you.

As PQ has said we need to know what your grades are to suggest some options for you. Looking at the complete university guide Bath, Lancaster, Exeter and Kent are smaller cities that are quite highly ranked. Bristol, Manchester, Sussex and Leeds are in bigger cities. What sometimes happens especially during clearing is that universities drop the entry require so a university offering AAB may accept ABB, ABC or even sometimes lower. In fact, one leading university has accepted an IB score of 30 instead of 35 for someone this year.

Original post by marimonn

Honestly all I'm looking for in a university is two things: good rankings (positively viewed uni) and a safe city/town.

Reply 16

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Politics
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/crime-rates-in-university-cities-and-towns/
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/preparing-to-go/staying-safe-at-university/
https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

These might help you in your decision

Reply 17

This might interest you https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7235893/The-happiest-Uk-cities-live-work-does-home-town-make-10.html

Reply 18

Thank you all so so so much like actually thank you!

Reply 19