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