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Opinion of Southampton Solent?

Hello! I´m new at this... I´ve got an unconditional offer from Solent and I was so excited! But after reading this thread, I don´t know what to think anymore... I´m from Sweden and have applied for Fitness and Personal training. I´ve also applied for Bedfordshire and Lancashire, also health and fitness courses. I thougt I had read all that I could about what the different uni´s had to offer in their different courses, and reading about Southampton, the city, it seemed to be the best choice for me, since I live near the sea today.. But now I´m all confused and not that excited anymore... Please help me get back on track again! Is it really as dirty and run down as I´ve read here?

Reply 61

Clubber Lang

15

Jessica_r78

Hello! I´m new at this... I´ve got an unconditional offer from Solent and I was so excited! But after reading this thread, I don´t know what to think anymore... I´m from Sweden and have applied for Fitness and Personal training. I´ve also applied for Bedfordshire and Lancashire, also health and fitness courses. I thougt I had read all that I could about what the different uni´s had to offer in their different courses, and reading about Southampton, the city, it seemed to be the best choice for me, since I live near the sea today.. But now I´m all confused and not that excited anymore... Please help me get back on track again! Is it really as dirty and run down as I´ve read here?

In comparison to the rest of the UK the city is NOT run down!
We are ranked 54 in terms of population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_districts_by_population
(but bear in mind most of the top 50 are parts inside of greater London)

We are probably in the top 20 for population but I bet we are better than many of the cities listed. Being in a large city doesn't necessarily mean all good - if you are a student you will probably only hang around a few areas anyway and everything you need should be around here.

Our town centre is fine and almost all of the services you coudl need are inside Southampton.

(edit: i bet the top 5 cities are all way worse to LIVE IN than Southampton)

Reply 62

Jessica_r78

Thank you for your quick reply...
But I was thinking mostly about the university... Is Solent really that bad? Because as it seem for now, I will accept the offer from Solent, but if it´s so bad as it seems here, I would probably choose Bedfordshire or Lancashire, if I get an unconditional offer from them. Even if that means I have to live away from the ocean...

Reply 63

Clubber Lang

15

Jessica_r78

Thank you for your quick reply...
But I was thinking mostly about the university... Is Solent really that bad? Because as it seem for now, I will accept the offer from Solent, but if it´s so bad as it seems here, I would probably choose Bedfordshire or Lancashire, if I get an unconditional offer from them. Even if that means I have to live away from the ocean...

Well it does rank very low on the league tables and doesn't have the best reputation - so its upto you i suppose -a lot of the things that are used to rank the Uni's such as A level results,reputation etc will favour the Unis already at the top so it will be pretty hard for the lower ones to advance unless they start making everyone come in with 3 A's and suddenly find laods of money to improve libraries/IT facilities.

By the way we are not really near the seaside - we have the docks but its not a beach... Portsmouth and Bournemmouth have more of a beach than we do.

Reply 64

Jessica_r78

It´s not really the beach I want to be near, it´s the water... Hmm, I guess I have to go by my intuition... I just don´t want to make a mistake and choose the wrong course... Thank you for your help!

Reply 65

Miss_Green

5

Jessica I applied to Solent too, based on what I read on their website..and then I found the good university guide and this site...so Im struggling to decide too !!
Youve got to remember, the course your applying for (and indeed most of the courses at solent) arent very 'academic', but more vocational, and uni's that offer those types of courses dont tend to rank very well, central saint martins is knocking out the best and most successful fashion graduates in the world, yet ual (the uni its part of) ranks at 83(I think)!
My concern is the low employment rate and the fact a student on a course in solent wrote on here that there are a lot of gaps missing on the course, bit worrying eh. But say if you intend to go back to Sweden, or work for yourself...would it matter that much?

Reply 66

Hanzing

13

Well In Solents defence Not alot of people know but one of the Apprentice winners in the US version actually got there degree at solent.. (Well at the Institute - which used to get its degree from nottingham trent).
Just a bit of trivia for you..
As said before Just because its generally quite lowly ranked doesnt mean it may not be good for your course, solent has alot of good vocational degrees so I hear.

Reply 67

Jessica_r78

I´ve been thinking and wondering and I have realised that between the three universitys and courses I´ve applied for, Solent is probably the best of them. But what do I know? I´ve read about the universitys, on there websites, about the courses, and going by that info, Solent seems to be the best. I don´t know where I´m going after the three years, hopefully not back to Sweden... That´s why I´m going to England, it´s closer to Sweden, I´ll get my education in english and the results is probably better than in Sweden... At least I hope so... And I love England, I went to Brighton for 3 months and really, really loved it!! Hopefully I will love Southampton as much!

Reply 68

Clubber Lang

15

Hanzing

Well In Solents defence Not alot of people know but one of the Apprentice winners in the US version actually got there degree at solent.. (Well at the Institute - which used to get its degree from nottingham trent).
Just a bit of trivia for you..
As said before Just because its generally quite lowly ranked doesnt mean it may not be good for your course, solent has alot of good vocational degrees so I hear.

heh, what was funny about that was that Lee (the other fianlist) had an awesome academic record but was still a bit of an idiot (I found him really annoying and arrogant to be honest) Sean was pretty cool.

Reply 69

Talya

16

Jessica_r78

I´ve been thinking and wondering and I have realised that between the three universitys and courses I´ve applied for, Solent is probably the best of them.

Can't you apply for Sports Science at Southampton Uni proper?

Reply 70

Sarky

18

Jessica_r78

I´ve been thinking and wondering and I have realised that between the three universitys and courses I´ve applied for, Solent is probably the best of them. But what do I know? I´ve read about the universitys, on there websites, about the courses, and going by that info, Solent seems to be the best. I don´t know where I´m going after the three years, hopefully not back to Sweden... That´s why I´m going to England, it´s closer to Sweden, I´ll get my education in english and the results is probably better than in Sweden... At least I hope so... And I love England, I went to Brighton for 3 months and really, really loved it!! Hopefully I will love Southampton as much!

Southampton also offer Sports Studies which is less scientific than Sports Science and may be an option for you?

Reply 71

Jessica_r78

I want to be a PT, so why don´t study Fitness and Personal Training, like I planned....? It doesn´t feels like Sport studies or science is what I want. But thanks for the advice! I´ll go with my feeling and go to Solent....

Reply 72

Sarky

18

Jessica_r78

I want to be a PT, so why don´t study Fitness and Personal Training, like I planned....? It doesn´t feels like Sport studies or science is what I want. But thanks for the advice! I´ll go with my feeling and go to Solent....

If thats what you want, then go for it :smile:

Reply 73

Jessica_r78

Jepp, that´s what I´m going to do! Hihi...

Reply 74

Charlie_Harrsion

Hiya

Ive applied to do Geography with Enviromental Studies at Solent

I liked the look of Southampton , Any idea on what the night life is like?

Reply 75

starshine

Charlie_Harrsion

I liked the look of Southampton , Any idea on what the night life is like?

Depends where you're from at the moment really.

Compared to places like London etc its pretty crap but compared to others its great!

I think it's pretty decent.
theres a variety to choose from, and a different student night in different clubs throughout the week!

and an oceana is opening here in summer!

Reply 76

Jessica_r78

It's been ages since i last was in here! I've just finished my first year at Solent and i love it! It is hard, but the teachers are great, supportive and knows a lot!! I went for the Fitness and Personal Training course. Sport Science or Sport Studies was not for me, and i'm glad i did the choice i did! The town is okej, but it's not what i want. In a perfect world, this course would be located in Brighton, but you can't get everything and there is a life after uni too... I'll move there then!!

But West Quay is good for shopping and if you want change, there is always Gunwharf in Portsmouth.
Nightlife is not really my thing, but there is something for everyone, i think...
Having the park right outside uni is great!!

That's my opinion after my first year. I'll probably hate it before i graduate, but that's a problem i sort out then!

Reply 77

aegis1

I know a couple of people from Solent...so agree with starshine and Jessica...

because the halls / campus is right smack in the middle of town, you've basically got full access to what Southampton has to offer...

Personally, I think this is pretty good (and this is coming from someone who use to live and work in London)...

I've just heard today that there are more pubs/bars per capita in Southampton than anywhere else in the UK...

Plus there is an abundance of good restaurants, including Chinese, Indian, French, Thai, Japanese, Italian (to name but a few)...

Lots of clubs (that open late most nights during term time), two cinemas, two theatres, Leisureworld, Ocean village, bowling...as well as the New Forest on your doorstep...

The prices are usually reasonable (and positively cheap compared to London!)...there seems to be an abundance of offers (provided you pick the right night) that makes most places affordable for students...and I'm including places like Pitcher and Piano (which is right on the marina) and Dockgate 4 (which has a happy hour, as well as piano/jazz), as well as Ocean & Collins, and the Frog and Frigate...

and there is no shortage of live music e.g. in the Hobbit, Hamptons...or the Guildhall and Rosebowl for the "big" bands...

(and this is not even counting what the Students Unions have to offer!...)

Anyway, hope this helps a bit...

Reply 78

Kidders

15

For god's sake leauge tables mean absolutely nothing!!! Solent has a bad rep because it's the old institute and southampton university students get all pretentious and feel superior over the Solent lot. Everyone i have met from Solent, i am good friends now with 3 people all say the courses are very good. The problem is that they do a lot of vocational stuff so that tends to attract lower grades as people taking vocational A-levels and alternatives will apply. The accommodation is better than some of sounthampton unis' and the location is brilliant, never need to get a bus or taxi anywhere - it's all walkable.
So what if it's ranked low down, the course may still be good and employers may actually appreciate a bit of vocational experience. My friend is doing sports journalism and already has a placement with one of Southampton's papers.

My advice is don't ask Southampton students what they (lol and me) think of Solent, ask people who go there, Southampton uni students just like to feel cleverer than the solent lot so will give you a bad review of the place!

Reply 79

Bentje

i think shopping is better in southampton but i dont really care for that. I'd say portsmouth is a generally nice place, especially if youre used to living in a ****hole like myself. and yes, cosham is a hole. please don't judge an entire city by just one small bit of it.

Opinion of Southampton Solent?

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