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Choosing a uni HELP- student life, campus, ranking...?!

I'm really confused as to which university is best for me, my current shortlist is Oxford, UCL, King's College, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton-Sussex or Bristol (for medical school) But I just don't know which one to choose!
Which city do you think has the best standard of living/ student life? I want a place with a happy vibe but with alot going on cultural/political/musically. London would be ideal but i've heard it's crazy expensive. Brighton seems to have a good vibe but it's ranking isn't that great, also a uni with a beautiful/inclusive campus (not just random buildings dotted all over town if that makes sense?), Manchester doesn't have very good vibes...
Which would you choose, and why?:smile:
Reply 1
Original post by Cyntho
I'm really confused as to which university is best for me, my current shortlist is Oxford, UCL, King's College, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton-Sussex or Bristol (for medical school) But I just don't know which one to choose!
Which city do you think has the best standard of living/ student life? I want a place with a happy vibe but with alot going on cultural/political/musically. London would be ideal but i've heard it's crazy expensive. Brighton seems to have a good vibe but it's ranking isn't that great, also a uni with a beautiful/inclusive campus (not just random buildings dotted all over town if that makes sense?), Manchester doesn't have very good vibes...
Which would you choose, and why?:smile:


For Medicine in particular, I wouldn't pay attention to rankings that much, as all medicine courses are very competitive and good.
Have you been to see any of the universities and cities? Also, think about the courses and which one you would prefer.
Reply 2
Original post by pak1994
For Medicine in particular, I wouldn't pay attention to rankings that much, as all medicine courses are very competitive and good.
Have you been to see any of the universities and cities? Also, think about the courses and which one you would prefer.


Thanks for the reply:smile:
I live in Kenya so I haven't been to any of them except London, which was amazing for a holiday but day-to-day the awe would wear off and then I feel like it would just be too metropolitan and too expensive for a student? But then again there are loads of students at UCL and King's and Imperial and Queen Mary etc. so they must be coping i guess:P

The courses all seem good to me, I don't really have a preference, my biggest worry is about life in the uni/campus and in the city..
Reply 3
Original post by Cyntho
Thanks for the reply:smile:
I live in Kenya so I haven't been to any of them except London, which was amazing for a holiday but day-to-day the awe would wear off and then I feel like it would just be too metropolitan and too expensive for a student? But then again there are loads of students at UCL and King's and Imperial and Queen Mary etc. so they must be coping i guess:P

The courses all seem good to me, I don't really have a preference, my biggest worry is about life in the uni/campus and in the city..


Ahh, okay then. I think it's personal preference really. I personally chose not to apply to a London university, despite it being really good for my course, because I just felt that living in London wouldn't be for me. However, I know lots of people go to university in London and absolutely love the buzz of it.
Well looking at your choices, they all look pretty good student towns (I don't know anything about Edinburgh though). I am a student at Oxford, and have to say that you mentioned not wanting to have buildings all over town - well that is what Oxford is like. I would say that the college system is probably one of the best aspects, it's a bit like a smaller community in the larger university community. At the same time, it's not for everyone. I had some friends visit last week and they said that they don't think it would be for them.
(edited 9 years ago)
Given you would be applying for medicine (which is crazy competitive) I'd suggest you don't get too hung up on having one preference. You have four choices, so you need to cut your list in half.

Try to have a range of grade expectations. It would be too much of a risk to apply to the four universities who ask for the highest grades and UKCAT score, so get a spread if you can.

Look at teaching style. Do you have a preference for/against PBL, or do you not care?

Get on to YouTube and see whether you can attend some virtual open days, if attending in person isnt feasible.

Decide whether you want a campus university where the university, halls, library and union are all in one place, or a town based university where the uni and town are intermingled.

Look at how much practical teaching there is in the first few years? Are the first few years theory, then the next few years practice? Or do you get hands on experience from early on? What would you prefer?

If there is early hospital experience, look at where the university is compared to the hospital. Are they far apart? Do you want to pick a university where they are close together?

Just a few things that might help you to narrow your choices down.
I came from Doncaster and studied at Sunderland (came through clearing) and after graduation moved to Newcastle.

Here's why Newcastle is an awesome place to live:

There are a lot of students and young professionals, so it's vibrant.
There's a big shopping centre (Eldon Square) or you can take a 10 minute bus/train to the Metrocentre which used to be the biggest one in the country.
You're near to the beach.
Nights out are awesome, there are nice clubs down the Diamond Strip.
MetroRadio arena has loads of comedy gigs and musicians playing.
There's good museums and art galleries (Hancock museum, Laing Art Gallery, The Baltic)
There's loads of really nice restaurants and cocktail bars (walk down Dean street or to the Quayside)
It's fairly well priced for accommodation - popular student areas are Jesmond (very nice, lots of bars and restaurants on Osbourne 'Ozzy' Road, on the metro line but expensive and you see a lot of raas!), Sandyford (15 minute walk from town, nice houses, a bit cheaper) or Heaton (feels like a little village, lots of takeaway places, a lot cheaper than Jesmond, frequent bus route running through)
The Metro rail system is second largest outside of London, it takes 3 mins to get to one side of the city to the other, or you can walk it in 15/20 mins as Newcastle is a very compact city.
It's got good rail links.
The locals are really friendly.
We have the best street in the UK! (Grey Street)
Beautiful countryside in Northumberland, you can even go skiing in winter! Lots of places for day trips.


Coming from a student, don't focus too much on 'rankings'! The campus is nice, just on the edge of the city, next to the RVI. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/documents/Campus-Map-Print.pdf. I think once you at uni, good facilities, teaching and most importantly EMPLOYABILITY should factor more into your decision than whether or not is has a beautiful campus. It's a tough world for a graduate at the moment :/

If you need any more info just ask :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Cyntho
I'm really confused as to which university is best for me, my current shortlist is Oxford, UCL, King's College, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton-Sussex or Bristol (for medical school) But I just don't know which one to choose!
Which city do you think has the best standard of living/ student life? I want a place with a happy vibe but with alot going on cultural/political/musically. London would be ideal but i've heard it's crazy expensive. Brighton seems to have a good vibe but it's ranking isn't that great, also a uni with a beautiful/inclusive campus (not just random buildings dotted all over town if that makes sense?), Manchester doesn't have very good vibes...
Which would you choose, and why?:smile:


Oxford and Kings definitely don't meet the bold criteria. Oxford is beautiful but it's not an inclusive campus. Kings even less so. Manchester/Bristol aren't exactly campus -Manchester is spread along a long road (the curry mile) and Bristol is definitely interspersed within the town (though still absolutely lovely).

I can't comment on the others. However for a beautiful/inclusive campus have you thought about Nottingham or (to a lesser extent) Southampton? Nottingham has a stunning campus, and the union, halls, hospital are all on site.
Reply 7
Original post by pak1994
Ahh, okay then. I think it's personal preference really. I personally chose not to apply to a London university, despite it being really good for my course, because I just felt that living in London wouldn't be for me. However, I know lots of people go to university in London and absolutely love the buzz of it.
Well looking at your choices, they all look pretty good student towns (I don't know anything about Edinburgh though). I am a student at Oxford, and have to say that you mentioned not wanting to have buildings all over town - well that is what Oxford is like. I would say that the college system is probably one of the best aspects, it's a bit like a smaller community in the larger university community. At the same time, it's not for everyone. I had some friends visit last week and they said that they don't think it would be for them.


How is the workload at Oxford? Is it a lot more than other schools?
Reply 8
Original post by Crumpet1
Given you would be applying for medicine (which is crazy competitive) I'd suggest you don't get too hung up on having one preference. You have four choices, so you need to cut your list in half.

Try to have a range of grade expectations. It would be too much of a risk to apply to the four universities who ask for the highest grades and UKCAT score, so get a spread if you can.

Look at teaching style. Do you have a preference for/against PBL, or do you not care?

Get on to YouTube and see whether you can attend some virtual open days, if attending in person isnt feasible.

Decide whether you want a campus university where the university, halls, library and union are all in one place, or a town based university where the uni and town are intermingled.

Look at how much practical teaching there is in the first few years? Are the first few years theory, then the next few years practice? Or do you get hands on experience from early on? What would you prefer?

If there is early hospital experience, look at where the university is compared to the hospital. Are they far apart? Do you want to pick a university where they are close together?

Just a few things that might help you to narrow your choices down.


Most of them are traditional learning (not PBL) and have similar structured courses...do you know anything specific about any of the cities/ campus life?

Thanks for the reply!:smile::smile:
Reply 9
Original post by RowingGoose
I came from Doncaster and studied at Sunderland (came through clearing) and after graduation moved to Newcastle.

Here's why Newcastle is an awesome place to live:

There are a lot of students and young professionals, so it's vibrant.
There's a big shopping centre (Eldon Square) or you can take a 10 minute bus/train to the Metrocentre which used to be the biggest one in the country.
You're near to the beach.
Nights out are awesome, there are nice clubs down the Diamond Strip.
MetroRadio arena has loads of comedy gigs and musicians playing.
There's good museums and art galleries (Hancock museum, Laing Art Gallery, The Baltic)
There's loads of really nice restaurants and cocktail bars (walk down Dean street or to the Quayside)
It's fairly well priced for accommodation - popular student areas are Jesmond (very nice, lots of bars and restaurants on Osbourne 'Ozzy' Road, on the metro line but expensive and you see a lot of raas!), Sandyford (15 minute walk from town, nice houses, a bit cheaper) or Heaton (feels like a little village, lots of takeaway places, a lot cheaper than Jesmond, frequent bus route running through)
The Metro rail system is second largest outside of London, it takes 3 mins to get to one side of the city to the other, or you can walk it in 15/20 mins as Newcastle is a very compact city.
It's got good rail links.
The locals are really friendly.
We have the best street in the UK! (Grey Street)
Beautiful countryside in Northumberland, you can even go skiing in winter! Lots of places for day trips.


Coming from a student, don't focus too much on 'rankings'! The campus is nice, just on the edge of the city, next to the RVI. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/documents/Campus-Map-Print.pdf. I think once you at uni, good facilities, teaching and most importantly EMPLOYABILITY should factor more into your decision than whether or not is has a beautiful campus. It's a tough world for a graduate at the moment :/

If you need any more info just ask :smile:


Ok thanks for this I'll definitely check Newcastle out! :smile:
How near are you to the beach? Like train distance or cycling distance :tongue: sorry don't know much about the uk:smile:
20 minutes on the metro to the coast
Original post by Cyntho
How is the workload at Oxford? Is it a lot more than other schools?


Well I don't know about Medicine, but I know that for my course I definitely do a lot more than friends at other universities doing the same one.
The medics at Oxford work extremely hard and have a very high workload, but Medicine in general is a very demanding course.
Original post by Cyntho
Most of them are traditional learning (not PBL) and have similar structured courses...do you know anything specific about any of the cities/ campus life?

Thanks for the reply!:smile::smile:


Only to the extent I've talked about them at post 7 above. I live in Oxford and went to Southampton (but not for medicine) so can probably answer more questions about those two.
Original post by Cyntho
Ok thanks for this I'll definitely check Newcastle out! :smile:
How near are you to the beach? Like train distance or cycling distance :tongue: sorry don't know much about the uk:smile:


You can take the metro to a few beaches. Either follow the yellow line from Monument to Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, or South Shields, or get the green line to Seaburn (in Sunderland, a nearby town). There are quite a few beaches! You could bike, it's about 9 miles. I've seen surfers at Tynemouth but the North Sea is too cold for me!

http://mapsof.net/map/newcastle-metro-map-subway#.U3NFEIFdVIE
(edited 9 years ago)

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