The Student Room Group

Help me choose a university - location wise

For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA
Have you considered looking to see if the universities offer virtual campus tours, or even looking on Google street view to see the area you'd be in? It's not just the campus that's important - you want to see the city you'll be in, and where you're likely to live in second/third year.

York's university (assuming you're talking about the University of) is quite far from the city itself, but is a fairly big, green campus. Birmingham's campus is similar, but the city itself has a very different vibe - much bigger than York. I don't really know much about Southampton or Bath.

From what you've said, Manchester might not be for you - it's very much a city-centre university, and whilst there is green space it's a lot more urban just because the uni is in the middle of the city. I wouldn't write it off entirely - you might find you like it - but if you're trying to shortlist a couple of places to visit, just based on what you've said, I'd prioritise the others.

I do really think visiting the places you're interested in is worthwhile though, even if it will be quite tiring and take you longer than would be ideal. It'll be home for the next three years, so you need to make sure you're comfortable with the environment.
Reply 2
Original post by SummerStrawberry
Have you considered looking to see if the universities offer virtual campus tours, or even looking on Google street view to see the area you'd be in? It's not just the campus that's important - you want to see the city you'll be in, and where you're likely to live in second/third year.

York's university (assuming you're talking about the University of) is quite far from the city itself, but is a fairly big, green campus. Birmingham's campus is similar, but the city itself has a very different vibe - much bigger than York. I don't really know much about Southampton or Bath.

From what you've said, Manchester might not be for you - it's very much a city-centre university, and whilst there is green space it's a lot more urban just because the uni is in the middle of the city. I wouldn't write it off entirely - you might find you like it - but if you're trying to shortlist a couple of places to visit, just based on what you've said, I'd prioritise the others.

I do really think visiting the places you're interested in is worthwhile though, even if it will be quite tiring and take you longer than would be ideal. It'll be home for the next three years, so you need to make sure you're comfortable with the environment.

true, thank you for your input! i'm gonna try but i have 3 days of holiday that I'm allowed to take at work and I'm abroad feb-aug so i really don't have time. defo gonna spend some time on google street view though haha
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA

Have you thought about any scottish places? St Andrews is quite homey and friendly, and Edinburgh is a smaller city than London?
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA

Hello,

I saw your comment about Bath being a top choice because of location, and just wanted to add the location is brilliant. I'm a final year student so lived on campus in first year, and off campus in Bath for my second/final year.

Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thanks to its extensive history and architecture. There's loads to do for students, both day and night, and the social scene is vibrant. In terms of green space, Bath campus has a woodland walk behind the western & eastern accommodation, and a golf course behind this. There's also a walk from campus that leads to Sham Castle, a scenic viewing point for the city of Bath.

There's more on living as a student in Bath here: https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/living-in-bath-as-a-student/.

Feel free to ask any other questions :smile:

James
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA

Hi @14t
It's great to hear you're considering studying Education and Psychology at York!

If you have any questions let me know :smile:

I loved my time and York and I feel like it'd tick a lot of the boxes you're looking for. Our campus is set on 200 acres of parkland and has two of the largest plastic bottomed lakes in Europe meaning there's lots of wildlife on campus too.

The campus is also just a short 10 minute bus ride, walk or cycle from the (small-ish) historic city. It has everything you need and after 4 years in the city I'm still not bored. We do also have excellent transport links to Leeds (which is around 20 minutes on the train and tickets are really cheap) or we're just 2 hours from London on the train.

I fell in love with York because both the campus and the city feels so homey so I'm sure you will too.

I totally understand that you work 6 days a week but you can still discover York on our self-guided tour app, Visit UoY, where you can take a campus or a city tour either from home or in person. Or you can explore York using York Virtual Visit which is a bit like a virtual Open Day available all year round.

Hope to see you on campus soon,
Bea
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA


@14t
Hello
You might be interested in moving near to the Manchester Universities and commuting in like I did. There are some nice leafy areas within 4 / 5 miles of the city where I grew up. Also, for MMU they have a newly built Education studies centre, and Psychology (is probably still) in the Geoffrey Manton building which is nice.

It might be worth either going to a physical open day which I think is the best, or most universities do a virtual open day.

Marc
Arden University Student Ambassador
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA

Hey for greenery and a lovely place I would recommend Plymouth marjon University. Although it is quite a long way away though.
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA


Hi @14t

Thank you for considering Manhceter Met for one of you choices! It can be really hard to decide where you would like to go. If you cannot attend on campus open days i recommend keeping an eye out for any virtual events universities may be offering in the next few months.

Here at Manchester Met, any virtual open days will be announced in the new year. I recommend you check our website regularly here for any updates: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/open-days/undergraduate

Or you could view our virtual experience and have a look around our campus here: https://virtualexperience.mmu.ac.uk/explore/our-campus/our-campus

Good luck with everything.
Carly! :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by Manchester Metropolitan University
Hi @14t

Thank you for considering Manhceter Met for one of you choices! It can be really hard to decide where you would like to go. If you cannot attend on campus open days i recommend keeping an eye out for any virtual events universities may be offering in the next few months.

Here at Manchester Met, any virtual open days will be announced in the new year. I recommend you check our website regularly here for any updates: https://www.mmu.ac.uk/study/open-days/undergraduate

Or you could view our virtual experience and have a look around our campus here: https://virtualexperience.mmu.ac.uk/explore/our-campus/our-campus

Good luck with everything.
Carly! :smile:

thanks! but i didjt apply for manchester met i applied to manchester x
I visit York several times a year and despite being a smaller city it is very lively. With two universities and being a tourist hot spot, it has many bars, restaurant and nightclubs, as well as museums, art galleries and many many historic buildings. It is very well connected in terms of public transport (by train 25 mins to Leeds, 2 hours to London, 2.5 hours to Edinburgh) and is not far from Leeds Bradford airport. And if you want to explore the countryside while you're in the UK, York is sandwiched between two National Parks and not far from the east coast.

https://www.visityork.org/
Original post by 14t
thanks! but i didjt apply for manchester met i applied to manchester x

No problem! Sorry for the misunderstanding. Best of luck with your application for The University of Manchester! :smile:
Carly :smile:
Original post by 14t
For education + psychology. Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, york and bath (although i might write off bath as its the only course that isn't BPS accredited which is kinda important).
I live in London but I want to go somewhere that is 'homey', they're all campus unis which i like but which place has the most greenery, and a nice atmosphere rather than an intense busy city?
ideally bath would be my top choice because of the location

i'd go to all of them myself but i work 6 days a week rip
TIA

Hey @14t :smile:

I know you didn't mention UEA but I thought I'd just let you know about our virtual open day which you can access online at any time. If you're looking for a campus uni with a lot of greenery it might be worth a quick look. One of my favourite things about studying here at UEA is our scenic grounds. This page shares a lot more information too on the 360 acres of land if it's of any interest to you!

Best of luck with your applications and I hope you have a brilliant time at uni wherever you end up going.

Best wishes,
Danielle
Film and Televison Studies

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