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bristol v nottingham

hi i need your opinions on my decision! it's tearing me apart because it's so much like splitting hairs. i dont have the opportunity to fly over to visit myself so i believe putting it up to the TSR test will help? why is the standard offer for notts AAA but it's AAB for Bristol? And why is nottingham so undermentioned? reputation wise are they on par?

i need your input, whatever it may be. Thanks!

For which subject?

OP

sorry, it's regarding law, llb!

Reply 3

dead man's shoes

I started at Bristol and transferred pretty quickly to Nottingham and ended up doing my (politics) degree there instead. I didn't enjoy Bristol at all but that was very much just my personal experience. I think I was unlucky with the people who ended up in my block/on my corridor. Had i stayed I'm sure I would have had a great time in the end, looking back. You'd have a great time at either. Nottingham is on a very pretty campus on the edge of town and is very much self-contained, especially in your first year. Bristol is more spread around with university buildings in town and some halls a fair walk away. Both are fun, fairly comparable cities. Reputation-wise, there's very little between them in the newspaper rankings/ standard offers/ A level points etc. Both are excellent universities. However, (speaking as a Nottingham graduate), it has to be said, attitudes do still persist here and there (including at my old school/ certain law firms etc which may be relevant to you in future) that would favour Bristol as the traditonal non-oxbridge choice. However, you wouldn't really be losing out going to Nottingham anyway. Hope that helps. Good luck.

Reply 4

wasiswow

for Law i would only only choose Bristol, as per the campus hirings and it's reputation among firms , its top notch :biggrin:

:

Reply 5

zen

OP

thanks for your opinions. i appreciate it.
i believe it's true that bristol's law school has an excellent tradition and many lawyers(significantly older ones)have that preference over nottingham. actually it's pretty much why i'm leaning towards bristol, many law firms out there have the view that it's a good alternative to oxbridge. i've heard lots about bristol, it being ugly, old and not as beautiful as nottingham but i guess a city uni suites me better, and since its quite a large city and relatively closer to london(where my gf is)it just seems right.
anyway where didn't it go down well with bristol?

Reply 6

Starsplash

I didn't think Bristol was ugly at all when I visited!

I had to make the same decision for Economics but it didn't take much to sway me to Bristol. So without even a hint of bias :p:

... I reckon you're making the right choice!! :wink:

Reply 7

Apricot Fairy

16

I can't really believe what I'm reading here! Bristol is a gorgeous, beautiful city. It's not ugly at all. I hated Nottingham when I visited. I thought the campus looked bleak and miserable and a bit like a building site, and the students I met were unfriendly and unhelpful. The city wasn't really anything special either.

For law Bristol definitely has a slightly better reputation amongst some of the more prestigious employers, and the law students get to be based in the Wills Memorial Building, which is fab. :biggrin:

The Stoke Bishop halls are almost like a campus in themselves (but with no academic buildings) and you're completely surrounded by green space. In your second and third year, you're also likely to be living a lot closer to your lectures, rather than further away, which you don't get in most cities. Also, the student housing in Bristol is great, although probably more expensive than Nottingham.

Two years ago I got a ridiculously easy offer from Nottingham, but I hated the place so much I realised I'd rather take a gap year and reapply to other places than go there. I had offers from other universities which I preferred (Exeter, Birmingham and Reading; all much nicer than Nottingham) but I wanted somewhere with a great reputation and course as well. So I took a gap year and ended up in Bristol. :smile:

Reply 8

digitalparadox

1

I would go with Bristol. It has an excellent rep (although tbh so does Nottingham) but I generally like to think Bristol would be nicer.

Reply 9

Tinks

okay bearing in mind opinions here will be biased - and rightly so... but lets get one thing straight; bristol isnt ugly!?!?!? its gorgeous- and to prove it, it was short-listed with another 5 cities to compete as the most cultural city in the UK for 2008!

GO BRISTOL!!!

Reply 10

dead man's shoes

zen

thanks for your opinions. i appreciate it.
i believe it's true that bristol's law school has an excellent tradition and many lawyers(significantly older ones)have that preference over nottingham. actually it's pretty much why i'm leaning towards bristol, many law firms out there have the view that it's a good alternative to oxbridge. i've heard lots about bristol, it being ugly, old and not as beautiful as nottingham but i guess a city uni suites me better, and since its quite a large city and relatively closer to london(where my gf is)it just seems right.
anyway where didn't it go down well with bristol?

If I were you, speaking as someone who graduated from Nottingham (so, unbiased), as it's law youre going to do, I would advise you to go to Bristol. As I said before and someone else has mentioned, certain law firms, especially the higher end 'City' firms in London would rather you'd gone to bristol. It edges it for tradition/ prestige etc, and law is a very traditional industry with a bit of an 'old boy' mentality. A lot of people at these firms have been to bristol so it works in your favour. I'm doing the law conversion now and applying to firms, and, good as Nottingham is, I do kind of wish sometimes I had stayed at Bristol. As to why I didnt like it, it was probably my fault, didnt go in the best frame of mind, and possibly was unlucky with the corridor in ended up on in halls. It's definitely not an ugly city either. Go to bristol, you'll enjoy it im sure.

Reply 11

suga_fly_77

6

What accommodation were you in when you started at Bristol?

Reply 12

dead man's shoes

churchill hall, in one of the two old blocks, the ones nearest the jcr

Reply 13

wasiswow

digitalparadox

I would go with Bristol. It has an excellent rep (although tbh so does Nottingham) but I generally like to think Bristol would be nicer.

i would agree with that :biggrin:

Reply 14

Eru Lawliet

1

lol i have the same dilemma like you too. Both Notts and Bristol are equally cool, it all depends on your preference. But if i'm not mistaken Notts has a bigger Singaporean population there.

Reply 15

helki

1

I have the same issue. I went to Bristol on wed and loved it- Especially the Wills memorial building- WOW!
However, as a city it didn't give of the same student vibe as notts- obviously. I'm about 90% sure it's gonna be Bristol but i just wanted to know about nightlife, crime, employment prospects etc. I would also welcome any input on halls. PM me please if any Bristol students have any answers, i would be very grateful!
Thanks

Reply 16

oblivious

13

i personally thought nottingham was a ****hole when i visited

Reply 17

Arminius

14

helki

I have the same issue. I went to Bristol on wed and loved it- Especially the Wills memorial building- WOW!
However, as a city it didn't give of the same student vibe as notts- obviously. I'm about 90% sure it's gonna be Bristol but i just wanted to know about nightlife, crime, employment prospects etc. I would also welcome any input on halls. PM me please if any Bristol students have any answers, i would be very grateful!
Thanks

not sure if its a fair comparison considering notts is a campus uni, i'm guessing you just felt like you were in the middle of a city? and hence not as studenty?

The only disadvantage about bristol is the distance to travel between the SB halls and the uni. For me thats about the only thing. Because the bus prices are so expensive that you are almost forced to walk it. Which has its upsides and downsides.

One of the reasons i chose bristol is because i liked the traditional feel to it, especially when you compare the wills memorial building to the concrete jungle of the nottingham campus. Feels silly to compare based on buildings but i still get a buzz from going into Will's MB because it is that good.

Nightlife is bristol is pretty good, it feels safe and theres plenty to go to. I havn't got bored yet and there are loads of interesting bars to visit - plenty go variety. I'm guessing that Nottingham might have more to offer because its a bigger city ( i think) but regardless Bristol is fun.

Reply 18

Johnny

10

Zakatu

I'm guessing that Nottingham might have more to offer because its a bigger city ( i think) but regardless Bristol is fun.

I thought that, but Bristol actually has a population of 380,000 to Nottingham's 266,000.

But yeh, I think Nottingham is a bit of a hole and is certainly not a patch on Bristol. Plus I think a campus Uni would be a bit boring; better to be in the buzz of a city if you ask me.

Reply 19

Arminius

14

i was thinking sheffield and nottingham were equivalent in size... obviously very wrong there, but then i know very little about the midlands and upt' north.

In that case bristol has even more going for it. We have probably about 10 decent clubs and possibly a hundred bars throughout the center to go to. There are quite a few cinemas and loooooads of restaurants though as a student i've only been out to eat a couple of times.

bristol v nottingham

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