Swansea or Bath?

I'm an international student and I have recieved offers from Swansea and Bath for their Clinical Psychology Masters course. I know that Bath is highly ranked for the dept and in general while Swansea ranks lower. However Swansea offers placement which I think is really important. I've also heard a lot of conflicting stuff about Swansea and I'm not sure how to take it. I'm honestly not sure how I should weigh the two. I'd really appreciate the help.Thanks in advance!

Only you can choose but nearly everybody would choose Bath.

And that's coming from swanseajack

I would pick Bath in a heartbeat - the uni is higher ranked overall and for Psychology, it's a beautiful city and placements aren't always as good as students think as you generally have to find them yourself

I don’t know anything about the courses or much about the uni, but I’m from Swansea if you have any questions about living there or the city and stuff.

Bath is one of the uks leading university and for that reason bath would be number one. However it is quite a small expensive city which is not very diverse. Swansea is over double the size and offers better nightlife. Only you can choose but nearly everybody would choose Bath.

I would pick Bath, personally. You can have a placement when you graduate, there's no need to have one offered by the university.

I would pick Bath in a heartbeat - the uni is higher ranked overall and for Psychology, it's a beautiful city and placements aren't always as good as students think as you generally have to find them yourself

Hi Ria, thanks for replying!
In light of the fact that I'm really not into partying, is Swansea a good place to be? I've heard mixed reviews about Swansea, all from people who don't stay there though, and I'd like an insider's opinion. Its cheap, sure, and its got stunning beaches which I really appreciate, but is there stuff to do in the city apart from that?
I hope I don't sound offensive, I just want a clearer idea on city life at Swansea, and on stuff to look forward to (and look out for if need be).

The nature around the city is absolutely stunning as well as the bay. The city itself got destroyed in ww2 and rebuilt so it’s not the prettiest, particularly in comparison to Bath. I’d say there’s a decent about to do it’s got the basics like cinema, bowling ally, restaurants. If you love walking or stuff like surfing it’ll be good. I think the public transport is really good you can get on to the Gower relatively easily which is where the nice beaches are. I can’t really tell you about clubs because I’m currently underage but there’s a few in town and then there’s the Uplands which is close to the uni campus and has the slightly edgier, more alternative bars and restaurants. The uni has also got some really lovely parks right near it.
Overall it’s not the most exciting city to live in but it’s well connected, safe and the nature is stunning. Hmu if you have anymore questions.
I should probably say that I don’t personally see a future for myself here but a lot of people never move away.

Okay that's great. I love the idea of being close to the beaches and nature so its definitely a one-up there. But yeah if anything, I don't plan on staying longer than my uni course anyways and it seems to be good enough for that duration anyhow. I'm still juggling my choices and this definitely helps.
Just thought of this, does not knowing Welsh put you at a disadvantage here? Even if I am staying at the uni, would it ever be an issue?

Hi Ria, thanks for replying!
In light of the fact that I'm really not into partying, is Swansea a good place to be? I've heard mixed reviews about Swansea, all from people who don't stay there though, and I'd like an insider's opinion. Its cheap, sure, and its got stunning beaches which I really appreciate, but is there stuff to do in the city apart from that?
I hope I don't sound offensive, I just want a clearer idea on city life at Swansea, and on stuff to look forward to (and look out for if need be).

Because of the university and it’s size as a city, Swansea isn’t really a very welsh place. Barely anybody speaks welsh. My welsh is shockingly bad.
It’s more so the north and the west of wales that have a lot more welsh speaking. The closest place to Swansea I’ve heard it spoken is Carmarthen which is over an hour away.

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How heavily does Uni ranking feature later on when looking for jobs? I read that employers don't really look at institute anymore, rather they emphasise your grades and experience and stuff like that. Just generally asking.

Employers aren't exactly checking league tables every 5 minutes but Bath is just very well known in the UK as one of the leading unis. Although it's not Russell group due to its small size, it is comparable prestige wise to the better ones in that group like Bristol & Warwick.

Grades and experience will be more important than the uni you attend but a 2.1 from Bath will be considered better than a 2.1 from Swansea by certain employers, so it really depends on where you end up applying as to whether the uni you attend could make a difference to your employability. The NHS doesn't really care about prestige, but Bath is well known as having good employability statistics, mainly because they have an excellent careers service and lots of contact with employers.

Swansea has one of the highest employability rates of any university due to its connections with industry especially subjects like Engineering. The likes of Microsoft, Rolls Royce and Tata all have close links to the university.