Birmingham vs Newcastle! Tell me why I should accept my offer from Newcastle

Hey Newcastle people! this is a post I put on the foreign languages forum earlier. Basically weighing up whether I should put Newcastle or Birmingham as my insurance choice. Try and convince me one way or another.

*Post from foreign languages forum*

I was just wondering if you could help me out here with what is a very tough decision. I am applying to do a BA Modern Languages degree (with deferred entry starting in 2014) consisting of French, Spanish and Mandarin/Portugese from scratch at University. I have received all my offers but I'm having a bit of problem picking my insurance offer. I have received offers from Southampton, UEA, Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle. I know for definite that I'm choosing Southampton as my firm choice but the insurance choice is up for grabs and it's mainly a competition between Birmingham and Newcastle unis.

*At this point would Newcastle students like to read a bit further please*

I like both Newcastle and Birmingham unis yet they both have their pros and cons. When I went to Birmingham to visit I was really surprised by how much I liked it. I loved the campus, accommodation and I'm a keen swimmer so I thought the sports facilities and swimming team were top all notch plus location-wise Birmingham uni isn't in the city centre (a plus for me as I don't rate the city centre personally) and I want to go to a university that is more in the south for me (I live in Manchester). I'd say the course at Newcastle and Birmingham is very similar yet Newcastle seem to be ahead of Birmingham in most league tables so does this mean their course is better? I liked Newcastle cos it was slap-bang in the centre of town (a much better city centre I may add), the halls were good (I had a look at my parents old halls at Castle Leazes and thought they were good), there's a really active modern languages society at Newcastle, the city is well-known for great night-life and as I mentioned earlier they figure slightly higher in league tables. On the other hand, I didn't like the swimming facilities or the location in general as it's way up north where it is colder than Birmingham! (even I can tell as a Manchester boy that it is colder up north) also part of my wanting to go to the south is that I don't want to become a northern-centric person which is a big con for me going to Newcastle, I'm not originally from Manchester and I pride myself on being different but if I stay in the North for longer I fear I may get a more northern sounding accent (not really my thing, don't mean to offend anyone).

So, where should I go? if you are a Birmingham/Newcastle student or former student then please give me your opinion on my issue. Try and persuade me one way or another

any extra info about any of these unis would be a great help to me.

Reply 1

JordanC55

I'm not going to try and persuade you to go to Newcastle lol! My lord. What I will say is Newcastle is a down to earth vibrant city that caters to all tastes. The uni itself, as you know, has a good reputation... Mind you! If you do go to Newcastle I might see you as I'll be doing French as part of my combined honours course. :smile: