What uni would suit me?

I'm beginning to look at unis now (I'm starting y12) and an trying to narrow down which open days I'm going to look at, and was wondering which unis you guys think would suit me. I'm looking at mainly Russell group unis (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham although if anyone has any other suggestions...) and I'm intending to study geography.

I'm really really really not into drinking, clubbing or partying - it's my idea of hell!! I do however love music, especially singing, and love musical theatre. I'd love access to a piano while at uni, but I know not many unis have this.

Please don't just tell me that uni is what I make of it - I know that is true to an extent but I've also heard that in some unis a lot of the social activities revolve around drinking, even in the societies.

Thanks guys!! :smile:

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Reply 1

LilyLouise2

15

Original post by nmnorgan305

I'm beginning to look at unis now (I'm starting y12) and an trying to narrow down which open days I'm going to look at, and was wondering which unis you guys think would suit me. I'm looking at mainly Russell group unis (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham although if anyone has any other suggestions...) and I'm intending to study geography.

I'm really really really not into drinking, clubbing or partying - it's my idea of hell!! I do however love music, especially singing, and love musical theatre. I'd love access to a piano while at uni, but I know not many unis have this.

Please don't just tell me that uni is what I make of it - I know that is true to an extent but I've also heard that in some unis a lot of the social activities revolve around drinking, even in the societies.

Thanks guys!! :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Heya!

Firstly, you're not going to like this but don't look at universities now! You might have 12 A*s at GCSE yet find A levels really hard, so you cannot really predict your grades yet which would enable you to see what universities you have a chance of getting a place at. Furthermore, I would say that at the end of year 12 when you look around universities (I would look round a vast range so you get an idea of what you like- big city / countryside etc) you focus mainly on where you feel the most comfortable, as that's where you're going to be living for three years or more!

When the time comes (after you've sat your AS levels) it would be easy to google Russell group universities and there will be a list of them all. I would recommend Manchester :P (biased) haha. Also, just for your information Lancaster isn't part of the Russell group.

I would say that maybe a smaller university might be more suited to you rather than some of the bigger Russell group ones, yet I can't really comment on the drinking/ clubbing thing as I don't know! HOWEVER at every uni I'm sure there will be people who don't want to go drinking and clubbing so don't worry! People will share the same interests as you I'm sure :smile:

The piano access thing- ring up unis after your AS and ask or ask at an open day etc.

Definitely just focus on your a levels for now and worry about it later!! :smile:

Forgot to say, I would look at the university websites nearer the time and attend university open days etc. Honestly though, it really is too early!

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

nmnorgan305

OP

2

I'm looking now because my school have told me to - it does feel too early to me!!

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Reply 3

mny_

Definitely check out Durham

Reply 4

Sirbenj

I'm in my first year at Trinity Saint David, Carmarthen campus and so far I love it. I'd 100% recommend it.

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Reply 5

RachelLJ

3

I'm a Scottish applicant and I'm not really sure how our school years equate to those in the rest of the UK but I'm in my second last year of school (i.e. I'll go to uni in 2016) and I'm assuming you must be around that time too? Anyway! I've been looking at unis too and trust me, my school has been encouraging us to look at potential unis since the age of around 14 haha. Have you considered Edinburgh? Lovely city, so many people like it and the Royal Mile is amazing -- one of my favourite streets ever. However, why not apply to Oxbridge as well? Or is that not really your scene? I've been looking into London unis and if you have sufficient funds then UCL/LSE/Imperial are well renowned and I'm pretty sure LSE got voted the best social life of any uni in the UK. Also, being in London you would get to meet so many international students, which would be incredible for broadening your cultural horizons. But King's isn't far behind either. And I was looking up Exeter just the other day and it looks an awesome place to study, quaint and historic yet modern and a really stimulating environment. So of the ones I've looked up, Exeter seems like a great place, especially for student satisfaction. Surrey is also meant to be great for employment prospects coz loads of the courses have a year in industry. Oh and it totally depends because everyone has their own personal tastes, but from what I have seen, Durham and Warwick don't have much to offer socially, it's really just the university.

Hope I was of some help to you! :smile:

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Reply 6

Jacob Boris

9

Original post by nmnorgan305

I'm beginning to look at unis now (I'm starting y12) and an trying to narrow down which open days I'm going to look at, and was wondering which unis you guys think would suit me. I'm looking at mainly Russell group unis (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham although if anyone has any other suggestions...) and I'm intending to study geography.

I'm really really really not into drinking, clubbing or partying - it's my idea of hell!! I do however love music, especially singing, and love musical theatre. I'd love access to a piano while at uni, but I know not many unis have this.

Please don't just tell me that uni is what I make of it - I know that is true to an extent but I've also heard that in some unis a lot of the social activities revolve around drinking, even in the societies.

Thanks guys!! :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'd say that at Nottingham (biased! haha) we have an excellent selection of musical and performance related societies. The Mussoc has a lot of opportunity for voice: it has a chamber choir, a gospel choir, a female only choir, a 'man' choir and small vocal ensembles too. Also Musicality is a society that is set up much like a 'glee' club, for people who love to sing dance and act (a la musical theatre). We also have a bandsoc, which enables you to find other musicians with which to form a band, and gives you a practise room that you can access through membership.
Unfortunately here is the part that you won't like: the drinking, clubbing and partying is nigh on impossible to completely avoid, especially if you choose to live in a catered hall. If you live self catered (Broadgate for example) it's much more possible to avoid it, if that's how you're inclined. However, while many societies have events that are based around drinking, such as going to a club night, boat parties etc. there are plenty of societies that are removed entirely from it, or have events that don't require drinking such as pub quizzes (pubs all serve soft drinks too, and you're more likely to win sober :wink:

). I don't think anyone has a piano in their room, unlike Oxford, but there are other ways to access pianos here, such as in the music block, or some halls have a communal couple of pianos.
I can't really say much about other unis suitability because I've never attended them.

Reply 7

user488949439

19

this is very difficult to answer. all unis will have issues with drinking and each uni is likely to have many people like yourself who are not drinkers or clubbers. you need to decide whether you wish to go to a big city uni or a smaller one. big cities include places like London Birmingham Manchester leeds Sheffield Nottingham Bristol Sheffield and Cardiff or smaller towns and cities like durham bath Exeter Lancaster Canterbury Norwich reading Loughborough and probably warwick. also you should have at least one uni which offers lower grades in case of rejections or not getting the required grades and somewhere like Swansea reading and kent would be good options, don't believe all you hear about the Russell group. there are unis outside the Russell group every bit as good as a rg uni. examples being st Andrews bath Lancaster Loughborough and east Anglia. you should send for prospectuses now attend open days in the summer and then decide which unis to apply for when your as results are known

Reply 8

user488949439

19

the kind of thing you should look at not necessarily the actual unis but Durham A*AA Exeter AAA Lancaster AAB Reading ABB and Swansea BBB. If however you did not mind being in larger unis but wanted to be near wales you could pick Bristol Exeter Cardiff Reading and Swansea. If you want larger cities look at Bristol Nottingham Cardiff Leeds or Manchester and Liverpool or Sheffield. Now is the right time to be applying for prospectuses as unis have open days between June and October. You can then work out a plan to visit the unis you wish to attend

What uni would suit me?

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