University of Manchester/Birmingham/Liverpool/Cardiff/Bath

Manchester has the best international reputation, as for student support, unsure...

So I need to choose between this 5 unis and I don’t know where to even start!
I’ve never even visited the U.K. and now I need to narrow down my 5 offers to the 3 places I will visit when I’ll fly to the U.K. and then , after the visit, chose 1 of the five

I wanted to ask what would you recommend me to look for when deciding what universities I cut out
And if there are people who study at one of those five unis - how the student support is like? Do you find that the university staff is there for you when you need help? And is it easy to get from one place to another? ( the night life is not a parameter for me so it’s not important)
-if you study chemistry- how are the lecturers???

Little details- I’m attending an undergraduate degree in chemistry and hope to get good lecturers that I will be happy to learn from
Also I need good support from the university staff regarding my learning difficulty

Hi there,

That's great that you're considering Bath!

To start, as you are an international student, you may find a city-based university like Manchester or Cardiff more suitable and easy to integrate into, as they are more multicultural and larger cities so will have more international students like yourself. Bath, while it does have a substantial amount of international students, may be a bit insular for you (depending on where in the world you are from) as most of the international students are European (mainly Spanish, French and Italian).

In terms of student support, Bath provides excellent support (in my experience) for disabilities of all sorts, including learning difficulties. For example, if you go into student services, they can arrange a Disability Access Plan, where you discuss how you learning difficulty affects you, and they help you with arrangements (i.e. being able to record all lectures yourself, special computer software, alternative exam arrangements) so that you can have a fair university experience and get the most out of your studying. However, the mental health support isn't great at Bath, as it is so oversubscribed that there is not enough help available to give struggling students what they need. If you have the money to afford a counsellor or private support, then this won't be an issue.

In my experience, university staff have always been more than helpful, and the standard of teaching is amazing. There is also the option to do a placement as part of your degree at Bath, where you work for a year in the industry related to your degree to gain experience (and often earn a salary). This could be anything from working for a business to doing research. Placements give you invaluable experience and skills and make you far more employable than other graduates.

Overall, Bath is a lovely and vibrant city, but it is very small so you may become bored after a while. There isn't that much to do there, and the nightlife isn't amazing so a lot of people end up going to nearby places like Bristol. If this is something that's important to you, then perhaps a city university like Manchester or Cardiff would be better.

I hope this has helped,
Jessica, a third year Natural Sciences student

So I need to choose between this 5 unis and I don’t know where to even start!
I’ve never even visited the U.K. and now I need to narrow down my 5 offers to the 3 places I will visit when I’ll fly to the U.K. and then , after the visit, chose 1 of the five

I wanted to ask what would you recommend me to look for when deciding what universities I cut out
And if there are people who study at one of those five unis - how the student support is like? Do you find that the university staff is there for you when you need help? And is it easy to get from one place to another? ( the night life is not a parameter for me so it’s not important)
-if you study chemistry- how are the lecturers???

Little details- I’m attending an undergraduate degree in chemistry and hope to get good lecturers that I will be happy to learn from
Also I need good support from the university staff regarding my learning difficulty

Hi there!

I am an official student rep for Cardiff University and I study a masters in Journalism. As it is my fourth year at the University I can speak very highly of the city and the university facilities in terms of lecture standards and additional help needed for students who need it.

I can't speak confidently on whether Chemistry lectures are good, as I study journalism, but my housemate (and now life long bestfriend) studied Chemistry and she did really well! She was really fond of the lecturers taking extra time outside of lectures to help her with her dissertation, of which she got a 1st class grade.

She is now in full time employment outside of Cardiff but she always comes back to visit because you can leave the city, but the city will never truly leave you!

Here is a link to Cardiff Universities UNIBUDDY scheme, where you can get in contact directly with a student of your choice for more specific questions! You'll get a reply super quick and we are always as helpful as we can be! https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/chat-to-our-students

I hope this helped!

Gee

Hi @Mortsfania!

I am a third year physics student at the University of Birmingham and would highly recommend it!

The University's campus is stunning. We have recently had the 'green heart' built which is a huge, grassy open space and it really makes you forget how close you are to the city centre - it's lovely. Our campus is also home to 'Old Joe' which is a clock tower, it is the tallest free standing clock tower in the world, it's very impressive. There's a train station on campus too which is fantastic for travelling around, it only takes five minutes to get to the city centre where you can eat, shop or travel even further from Grand Central to other nearby cities. As well as trains, you can also easily travel with Uber and with well connected bus routes. The campus is within walking distance of most student accommodation and a lot of accommodation offer free bus services too! I adore the campus and sometimes have to remind myself how pretty it is because it's so easy to take it for granted when you're walking through it everyday.

Birmingham city centre is also great! It is the second largest city in the UK and it has more canals than Venice! It's home to a huge shopping centre (The Bullring) where you can shop, eat and visit landmarks such as the Bull and Birmingham cathedral. There are also tonnes of museums, art galleries and gardens that you can fill your time with - it really is a city with many talents.

Student support here at Birmingham is fantastic, there's someone to speak to about any issues you may have no matter what. This can be members of staff, your lecturers or even fellow students. Everyone I have met is always willing to lend a helping hand if ever I need it. I've found that for most of me University departments everyone sticks together and looks out for one another. As an international student you also have the ability to chat to our International Student Team who will offer you any support and advice you might need! Our University is also home to over 250 societies which gives students plenty of chance to find that support network and friendship group that they need! During welcome week there are tonnes of fairs that will give out lots of information and freebies and also lots of events. There are even international student orientated events such as city tours, trips to the nearby Cadbury's Chocolate factory, pizza parties and afternoon tea!

Students and staff all work together to make sure new students feel welcomed and at home.

If you have any more questions at all about the University, Birmingham or student life, don't hesitate to ask!

- Paige