Bath or Manchester for Economics?

Hey, I applied to both Bath and Manchester for Economics. I've been to Bath for an open day and stayed a few nights in Manchester with some friends.

Have you got an offer from the BA Econ or the Economic science at Manchester?

Anyway, I had always planned on going to Bath and assumed that Manchester wouldn't be the type of university i would most suit.

To be honest, i didn't like bath, it was a long way out of the town and the campus was very 60's/70's. Everything looked tatty and facilities were kind of lacking. The accommodation was horrible - just like army barracks. The place in general didn't seem very friendly either - just not the place i would of been happy spending 3 years. - Being restricted to the campus area would certainly get boring.

Despite this, before my visit to Manchester it was still my top choice just because i wanted to attend bath - kinda stupid really.

Manchester was completely unlike what i expected. Of course its an inner city area and has its dodgy areas but on the whole it was pretty nice. The accommodation in Fallowfield was very impressive. The area itself is very nice with lots of green open spaces and trendy bars and buildings. Everything is along Oxford road. The campus area is generally alright. Some of the buildings were 60/70's but others were either very old grand buildings or very modern.
The finance department in particular was very impressive - ultra-modern. The economics department was alright- the outside was a bit ugly but the interior was fine - tidy, clean - didn't look run down- although we did have our introduction talk in a basement lecture theatre.

The city centre is very tidy and has obviously just gone through some regeneration as everything looks new and modern. Everything was pretty much in walking distance. Could probably walk Fallowfield to the city centre in 40 mins. If not, the bus is about every 2 mins and costs £1 return i think.

You kinda get the best of both worlds in Manchester, you aren't stuck on a campus and have a free run of a brilliant city, but the university area is very compact and just feels like a campus inside a city. You only ever see students in that area as UMIST and the Met are also located along side. It's basically Fallowfield - Victoria Park - 3xUniversities - City centre all down one road.

The atmosphere in the city is great - you would never get bored of the place. There is just so much to do and so much going on all the time.

It definitely helped that i stayed a few nights with current students there. I got a taste of the student life in Manchester and it has certainly changed my mind about the place.

In the end i was rejected from Bath and i'm not disappointed at all anymore. Manchester is definitely the better all round university and it's a place i could happily live for 3 years. Bath may have a slight advantage academic wise but not much.

Hey, I applied to both Bath and Manchester for Economics. I've been to Bath for an open day and stayed a few nights in Manchester with some friends.

Have you got an offer from the BA Econ or the Economic science at Manchester?

Anyway, I had always planned on going to Bath and assumed that Manchester wouldn't be the type of university i would most suit.

To be honest, i didn't like bath, it was a long way out of the town and the campus was very 60's/70's. Everything looked tatty and facilities were kind of lacking. The accommodation was horrible - just like army barracks. The place in general didn't seem very friendly either - just not the place i would of been happy spending 3 years. - Being restricted to the campus area would certainly get boring.

Despite this, before my visit to Manchester it was still my top choice just because i wanted to attend bath - kinda stupid really.

Manchester was completely unlike what i expected. Of course its an inner city area and has its dodgy areas but on the whole it was pretty nice. The accommodation in Fallowfield was very impressive. The area itself is very nice with lots of green open spaces and trendy bars and buildings. Everything is along Oxford road. The campus area is generally alright. Some of the buildings were 60/70's but others were either very old grand buildings or very modern.
The finance department in particular was very impressive - ultra-modern. The economics department was alright- the outside was a bit ugly but the interior was fine - tidy, clean - didn't look run down- although we did have our introduction talk in a basement lecture theatre.

The city centre is very tidy and has obviously just gone through some regeneration as everything looks new and modern. Everything was pretty much in walking distance. Could probably walk Fallowfield to the city centre in 40 mins. If not, the bus is about every 2 mins and costs £1 return i think.

You kinda get the best of both worlds in Manchester, you aren't stuck on a campus and have a free run of a brilliant city, but the university area is very compact and just feels like a campus inside a city. You only ever see students in that area as UMIST and the Met are also located along side. It's basically Fallowfield - Victoria Park - 3xUniversities - City centre all down one road.

The atmosphere in the city is great - you would never get bored of the place. There is just so much to do and so much going on all the time.

It definitely helped that i stayed a few nights with current students there. I got a taste of the student life in Manchester and it has certainly changed my mind about the place.

In the end i was rejected from Bath and i'm not disappointed at all anymore. Manchester is definitely the better all round university and it's a place i could happily live for 3 years. Bath may have a slight advantage academic wise but not much.

Both offered me ABB and I have not much time left to decide. Both have their advantages but I would like to know more of what the places is like and the environment. Anyone been to both universities have anything to say? I've heard that Bath becomes boring after being in the university for 3 years..Is that true?

An offer for Economics at Bath? I thought that was impossible!

I've never been to Manchester, but I visited friends at university in Bath earlier this year. The accommodation that they are staying is the best I've seen at any university and was only completed last year. The sporting facilities in particular are amazing as many of the British Olympic teams train at the university. I thought the city was very nice, but my friend do complain about the lack of nightlife because there are only two or three clubs.

Don't get me wrong - i live just outside Bristol and regularly visit the city of Bath. It's a great place and one of the most attractive cities in the UK (in my opinion). After liking the city so much, the university was just a bit of a let down.

The accommodation i saw was just damn ugly - it was down very narrow and dark corridors - the rooms were small and grotty and there was little light - the pod ensuits were also awful. Perhaps i saw the worst of it but why they would take a tour of perspective students and their parents to the worst accommodation is beyond me.

I had always thought that the university would be like the city but that's simply not the case - the university was very concrete and unattractive - it probably isn't the worst but it just didn't impress. I went with a few friends who also applied to Bath and none of us were particularly impressed by the university. The centre campus where the steps are to the lake and students union/cafes was very confined and unappealing. I don't think it helped that when i visited they were doing a lot of building work.

I just had high expectations for Bath and felt very let down by the place and definitely wouldn't have liked to spend 3 years there from first impressions.

Like i said, its not the worst but it's just nothing like the city of Bath.

Manchester accommodation was a lot better. I went on open days to Bristol, St Andrews, Bath, Warwick, Lancaster and Nottingham and the interviews at Oxford and apart from Oxford and St Andrews, Manchester by far had the best accommodation. Because i was staying with a friend she was able to take me around all the different accommodation buildings and i was able to see all her friends rooms and the facilities available. Every place was very impressive from the modern of Richmond Park to the Grandeur of the all female 'oxford' type hall.

I stayed there for 3 nights and was able to get a real taste of university life. Going out with students up there was a great laugh. Everyone was very friendly in the hall i was staying in and even on buses and out and about all the students were sociable. This could however just have been down to luck. Perhaps it would have been different with different people in the halls or if i had met different people, but from i what i experienced it was great.

The one thing i would say is that it is a little intimidating - due to the huge numbers of students in that area of Manchester - they are just everywhere - the buses are full and everywhere you go is packed with students. I guess smaller places would have more of a friendly community feel to them as it would be impossible to ever get to know even the smallest percentage of students in Manchester. personally i like that as it means you can always meet new people and you can get away and just blend if in needed. A small campus where everyone knows you such as bath may get a bit claustrophobic.

With regards to whether i would have taken the offer up from Bath if i had gotten one, i couldn't say. I was set on going to bath just because it was Bath - close to home for me, a good name university and in a nice city. I might have just accepted the offer before really visiting other places - ican't say what i would have done. What i can say is that it would have been a big mistake if i had done that. The rejection forced me to consider my alternatives for the first time and i'm so glad things have worked out the way they did. After visiting my other options i know that Manchester is where i'll have the most fun and best university experience.

Having said all of that, different people like and want different things.

Yeah, I thought so too. But I guess not. Where are you planning to go?

It's weird how people's opinion can differ so much. Need_help said the accomodation was like army barracks so I cannot help but wonder which one of you is more accurate?

I'm going to Warwick to do MORSE now. I think you're the first person I've seen on UKL to get an offer to do Economics at Bath. I was rejected because I didn't do A Level Economics, even though it was not stated as a requirement in the prospectus or on their website. Not that bothered though, I preferred Warwick anyway!

I'm sure we're both accurate, but saw different accommodation and facilities when we visited. As with most universities, the quality of accommodation evidently varies depending on which hall you're in.

I have never formally studied Economics either so I pretty surprised. Plus, I only applied recently. So maybe they need more foreign students to fill up their course? I don't know, but I have a headache now from too much thinking. Warwick's very good anyhow. How doy ou kow that it was the basis of your rejection?

I hope you're right. But I think I'm leaning towards Manchester. I don't think my parents are going to like it. As usual, 'there are too many distractions in a city' being one of the most frequent reason. But, I have the final say.

Another UKL member who was rejected by Bath for Economics emailed the admissions tutors to find out why. They were told that due to the number of applicants this year, nobody would be accepted without having studied Economics and Maths at A Level. There is a thread about it somewhere on the forums. (EDIT: http://www.uk-learning.net/t33503.html - Actually, there one other person here with an offer)

Going to a univerisity that you think you will enjoy studying at should be your priority. Everyone needs distractions!

haha...I'll take your word on it. I would love to choose a university that I would enjoy the most, but who's to know? I guess I believe a university is what you make of it but one of them could be the wrong one for me. That's pretty contradicting isn't it?

I think maybe it's mainly because they've filled up their quota for home students. I think I got in because I will be paying International fees. Who's to say?