The Student Room Group

Manchester/ Birmingham/ Sheffield

I've seen a few comparison threads like this, and people have shared some good insights. I thought maybe you guys can help me make a decision too.

I narrowed down to these 3 unis, and can't make up my mind. From what I understand the CS departments in all three are on the similar level. Another thing I really care about is the city itself. I'm a girl, mature student (26), I like dynamic, but also friendly atmosphere. More keen on culture than parties. Where would you go if you were me? Even if you're biased, I don't care - anything may help me make a decision :smile:
Reply 1
Original post by ezzk294
I've seen a few comparison threads like this, and people have shared some good insights. I thought maybe you guys can help me make a decision too.

I narrowed down to these 3 unis, and can't make up my mind. From what I understand the CS departments in all three are on the similar level. Another thing I really care about is the city itself. I'm a girl, mature student (26), I like dynamic, but also friendly atmosphere. More keen on culture than parties. Where would you go if you were me? Even if you're biased, I don't care - anything may help me make a decision :smile:


Think of each university individually -
Are there any modules unique to this course, that you'd be interested in studying?
Are there any mandatory modules that you really don't think you'll enjoy?
What about placement / work experience opportunities?
What are your thoughts on the department's facilities?
What are your thoughts on the societies on offer there? - How active are they?
How expensive is the accommodation there? - Is that an issue for you?
Is there anything unique to that university that you're interested in?
Think about the area - what amusements (theatres,cinemas,museums) are there, that you're interested in? Are there any festivals/fairs that you'd like to go to? If you like gigs - how many times to big bands come to play there?
How expensive is the area to live?

Take the time to really research and provide detailed answered to all the questions for each university. You should then be able to more easily make a preference.

Have you looked at The Complete University's Guide to each university?
Sheffield ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/sheffield/
Manchester ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/manchester/
Birmingham ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/birmingham/

The Complete University Guide is useful because it covers;
History of the University, Location and Transport, Student Mix, Course Flexibility, Teaching Standards, Research Standards, Academic Strengths, Student Facilities, Disability Services, Student Union, Availability of Part Time Work, Careers Guidance, Prospective / New Builds, Notable Alumni, International Students, Fees and Finance, Reviews, and more.

Have you watched videos about each university? Watch the generic videos about the university, and ones about your course specifically. Also watch videos about other courses in your department, it might help you develop a fuller understanding of the department, facilities and staff. Also look to see if students have posted videos about their experiences at the university.

Don't hesitate to contact the universities directly with any questions. If you can, contact the departments directly. If not, then send an email with all your questions to the Admissions department who'll forward it on. Consider reaching out to the societies at the university. I found asking current students about the course, university, and surrounding area extremely helpful. Consider looking for Facebook groups related to each of the university there and speaking to current / prospective students as well. Also, congratulations on your offers!

Take your time to research things. Just try simple google searches, and you'll be surprised by the amount you can find out about a city. I've travelled through to Manchester a few times (from Scotland) and I've found it a really nice place. All the people there that I've met have been really friendly. It's a really good place for gigs. I know there's a few museums there, but I haven't been personally. See if there's an tour guide videos to each area and give them a watch!
(edited 6 years ago)
my response to a different post about Sheffield

"I currently study at Sheffield Hallam and I can honestly say it's amazing here, I'll tell you a bit about the student life here. To sum it up, Sheffield is anything you want to be. If you're the type who loves nights out and meeting new people there are all sorts of places to go out and everyone is really easy to get on with. Most of the halls are a couple of minutes from the clubs and all pretty close together too. If you want to have a quiet time, chilling either alone or with friends, there's a load of coffee shops, museums and galleries, and of course the peak district and parks. We have so many active people here, whether it's being creative or playing sports there's a huge variety of people so you're bound to find some good friends. And the city itself is really nice as well as the people that live here.

All in all I think it's one of the best overall uni experiences around and would recommend. But, never been anywhere else for uni so can't compare."

hope this helps
Reply 3
Original post by EmmaCx
Think of each university individually -
Are there any modules unique to this course, that you'd be interested in studying?
Are there any mandatory modules that you really don't think you'll enjoy?
What about placement / work experience opportunities?
What are your thoughts on the department's facilities?
What are your thoughts on the societies on offer there? - How active are they?
How expensive is the accommodation there? - Is that an issue for you?
Is there anything unique to that university that you're interested in?
Think about the area - what amusements (theatres,cinemas,museums) are there, that you're interested in? Are there any festivals/fairs that you'd like to go to? If you like gigs - how many times to big bands come to play there?
How expensive is the area to live?

Take the time to really research and provide detailed answered to all the questions for each university. You should then be able to more easily make a preference.

Have you looked at The Complete University's Guide to each university?
Sheffield ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/sheffield/
Manchester ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/manchester/
Birmingham ; https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/birmingham/

The Complete University Guide is useful because it covers;
History of the University, Location and Transport, Student Mix, Course Flexibility, Teaching Standards, Research Standards, Academic Strengths, Student Facilities, Disability Services, Student Union, Availability of Part Time Work, Careers Guidance, Prospective / New Builds, Notable Alumni, International Students, Fees and Finance, Reviews, and more.

Have you watched videos about each university? Watch the generic videos about the university, and ones about your course specifically. Also watch videos about other courses in your department, it might help you develop a fuller understanding of the department, facilities and staff. Also look to see if students have posted videos about their experiences at the university.

Don't hesitate to contact the universities directly with any questions. If you can, contact the departments directly. If not, then send an email with all your questions to the Admissions department who'll forward it on. Consider reaching out to the societies at the university. I found asking current students about the course, university, and surrounding area extremely helpful. Consider looking for Facebook groups related to each of the university there and speaking to current / prospective students as well. Also, congratulations on your offers!

Take your time to research things. Just try simple google searches, and you'll be surprised by the amount you can find out about a city. I've travelled through to Manchester a few times (from Scotland) and I've found it a really nice place. All the people there that I've met have been really friendly. It's a really good place for gigs. I know there's a few museums there, but I haven't been personally. See if there's an tour guide videos to each area and give them a watch!


Thanks, the short answer to all the questions would be yes, I've been through all that material, including research on uni websites, completeuniversityguide, I also watched a ton of youtube videos. I am familiar with the course programmes. This is more of a "which one would YOU choose?". I just want to see which one scores the highest with people here. :smile:

Interesting note about Manchester, I heard quite a few people say nice things about it. Defo like the fact you can find good gigs there. :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by ILikePasta
my response to a different post about Sheffield

"I currently study at Sheffield Hallam and I can honestly say it's amazing here, I'll tell you a bit about the student life here. To sum it up, Sheffield is anything you want to be. If you're the type who loves nights out and meeting new people there are all sorts of places to go out and everyone is really easy to get on with. Most of the halls are a couple of minutes from the clubs and all pretty close together too. If you want to have a quiet time, chilling either alone or with friends, there's a load of coffee shops, museums and galleries, and of course the peak district and parks. We have so many active people here, whether it's being creative or playing sports there's a huge variety of people so you're bound to find some good friends. And the city itself is really nice as well as the people that live here.

All in all I think it's one of the best overall uni experiences around and would recommend. But, never been anywhere else for uni so can't compare."

hope this helps


Thanks for that, interesting stuff :smile: Have you ever visited either Manchester or Bham? Sheffield also gets points from me because of Peak District :smile:
Original post by ezzk294
Thanks for that, interesting stuff :smile: Have you ever visited either Manchester or Bham? Sheffield also gets points from me because of Peak District :smile:


never been to them but apparently both of them are quiet nice, although I hear Manchester has a bad rep for being fairly rough and not really sure about Birmingham, although the library is really nice

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