Uni choice: Bristol V Reading

Shortly I will need to make a decision as to my firm choice of university, and I am anxious that this decision is the right one.

I know that the night-life and social aspects of Bristol are considered excellent by students, and I can see from previous threads that Bristol is well regarded in terms of its law degree. Although Bristol has the Downs, my concern is that there will not be as much open, natural green space to relax in, and that I may be stifled or stressed by the city. Although I already live in a city, it is significantly smaller than Bristol, will I be overwhelmed?

Unlike Reading, Bristol is not a campus, and I wonder if anyone has felt that this has caused problems, and is a less supportive environment. I greatly enjoy the outdoors, and Reading is abundant in greenery, although in terms of my career, Bristol would seem the obvious choice, and this is, unsurprisingly of predominant importance to me.

It is of course important to consider my happiness also, I would hate to end up somewhere where I felt alienated. Am I less likely to make friends at a non-campus university? :dong:

In others' experiences, is this even a significant thing to be influencing my decision, when I found on visits Bristol to be such a beautiful, vibrant city, and I live in a city anyway. Am I being foolish to even consider choosing Reading over Bristol, when my heart has always been set on the latter?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Laura

Reply 1

zen

i believe most of your friends will be people from your faculty and hall. social interation does not necessarily increase just because of a campus uni environment. I am currently struggling with a decision between bristol and nottingham and can therefore relate to your desire for greenery, and possibly a more picturesque university.
To me, the reputation plays a major factor in my decision and although social factors do somewhat influence me, ultimately i still want a degree that will give me a better edge. seems to me that by choosing bristol you will have an excellent degree and have fun while you are doing it, i guess having a place to relax should be secondary.

Reply 2

devotchka

Yeah, I suppose you're right :smile:

thanks

Reply 3

Apricot Fairy

Bristol is wonderfully picturesque (especially for law students). The architecture is lovely, especially when the sun shines and everything goes golden. As for green space, there's loads of it. You probably don't appreciate quite how big the downs are. The Stoke Bishop halls are effectively on a campus, surrounded by loads of greenery and trees, just without any academic buildings. Even in the city centre you feel like there's loads of space. Down by the cathedral there's loads of greenery, and Clifton Village is just gorgeous.

I think Bristol as a place is a lot greener and more picturesque than Reading or Nottingham, which I found bleak and barren in comparison.

Reply 4

dan_black

im from Bristol, and as mentioned there is alot more grenery and picturesque sites in Bristol than you might think. I cant comment on Notts as i havent been, but id certainly say from what i have seen of reading (mainly train station to festival) there isnt much difference. Some parts of Bristol are absolute dumps, but that is to be expected of bigger cities. Remember also Bristol has the docks running right into the centre of Bristol. Bristol is also only a 20 min drive from Bath, with lots of picturesque sites and very close to countryside. Bristol has great access to other cities in comparison, and a bus can take you almost anywhere although they are a little unreliable. Bristol also has 2 unis (Bristol and UWE, so the student population is huge, and the chavs here are really quite friendly) so you shouldnt find it hard to make friends.

People always go on about bristols night life, but i personally dont feel its that great, maybe its just because i live here and under-appreciate it.

Reply 5

Knogle

For the sake of your future, pick Bristol.

Reply 6

dragon_1706

I did my first degree there and would definitely recommend it. I originally thought I'd prefer a campus university, but ended up being really glad that I chose Bristol, as I like seeing normal people as well as students!

As others have said, there's plenty of greenery in Bristol, plus there are lots of great places to visit nearby. Having said that, it obviously is a busy city, so it does depend on exactly what you want.

Reply 7

TommehR

I live about fifteen minutes drive from Reading and I can assure that it isn't particularly nice. The campus is okay but to be honest the actual town is a bit rough. Of course it is like every other town in that it has its good parts and bad parts but I personally feel that Bristol is far nicer. The university is also better with regard to reputation and job prospects.

At the end of the day you have to make the decision but I personally feel that if you choose Reading you've taken the wrong option.

(I applied to Reading, I've hardly seen anybody else who has done so)