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Please Help Me Narrow Down My Uni List...

Hey guys, Could anyone help me with advise on which of these universities for physics or biology:
Manchester
Durham
Liverpool
Bath
UCL
Bristol
Lancaster
Warwick
York
Edinburgh

Just any advise on what your experience is like from these universities, Thank You.
Reply 1
Original post by LucasLopes
Hey guys, Could anyone help me with advise on which of these universities for physics or biology:
Manchester
Durham
Liverpool
Bath
UCL
Bristol
Lancaster
Warwick
York
Edinburgh

Just any advise on what your experience is like from these universities, Thank You.


I'm going into my second year doing physics at York. So I don't know a great deal about the biology side of things but I can help with the physics. (All I know is the biology department at York is fantastic and thats about it :P). Out of those if I was to pick my 5 options for physics I'd say York, Lancaster, Bristol, Bath and Durham. York - in obviously biased but there are so many different opportunities coming up, the plasma group is involved in ITER in the south of france which should be coming online within the next 5-8 yrs I think, the quantum group is involved with Quantic to develop sensors for use in all manner of different things and they've recently been part of building the first quantum network in the UK. Also the staff here are brilliant, most of them are very approachable (yes, you do get some grouchy ones but that happens whereever you go) and there is an open door policy in the department, so you can ask questions of them any time aslong as they're free, they're usually in until 6 or 7 in the evening for some of them. Lancaster - meant to have one of the best equipped labs for physics in the country. A lot of funding has been pumped into their department recently so you can be sure of some state of the art equipment there. Bristol and Bath - Can't remember a great deal about the specifics but if memory serves they're both reputable places to go and have many links to companies in London if that's the sort of thing you're after. Durham - Always a good choice for physics, Professor Carlos Frenk is there and I'm sure to be lectured by him is a chance too good to miss. The ones I didn't pick were because Manchester I'm told has dreadful accomodation and some of the strictest rules on questions and meeting times with lecturers if theres any problems; Warwick and Liverpool I know nothing about; Edinburgh is good and reputable but, again if I remember correctly, the department is a bit out of the way and is quite dated; UCL is very reputable but for me, a London university is too pretentious and UCL in particular can be quite 'classist', I wouldn't go as far to say elitist but there's still an atmosphere of something there.
Reply 2
Original post by Ljg2015
I'm going into my second year doing physics at York. So I don't know a great deal about the biology side of things but I can help with the physics. (All I know is the biology department at York is fantastic and thats about it :P). Out of those if I was to pick my 5 options for physics I'd say York, Lancaster, Bristol, Bath and Durham. York - in obviously biased but there are so many different opportunities coming up, the plasma group is involved in ITER in the south of france which should be coming online within the next 5-8 yrs I think, the quantum group is involved with Quantic to develop sensors for use in all manner of different things and they've recently been part of building the first quantum network in the UK. Also the staff here are brilliant, most of them are very approachable (yes, you do get some grouchy ones but that happens whereever you go) and there is an open door policy in the department, so you can ask questions of them any time aslong as they're free, they're usually in until 6 or 7 in the evening for some of them. Lancaster - meant to have one of the best equipped labs for physics in the country. A lot of funding has been pumped into their department recently so you can be sure of some state of the art equipment there. Bristol and Bath - Can't remember a great deal about the specifics but if memory serves they're both reputable places to go and have many links to companies in London if that's the sort of thing you're after. Durham - Always a good choice for physics, Professor Carlos Frenk is there and I'm sure to be lectured by him is a chance too good to miss. The ones I didn't pick were because Manchester I'm told has dreadful accomodation and some of the strictest rules on questions and meeting times with lecturers if theres any problems; Warwick and Liverpool I know nothing about; Edinburgh is good and reputable but, again if I remember correctly, the department is a bit out of the way and is quite dated; UCL is very reputable but for me, a London university is too pretentious and UCL in particular can be quite 'classist', I wouldn't go as far to say elitist but there's still an atmosphere of something there.


Thanks so much for that reply, it really helps narrow a couple of the uni's down, i didn't know choosing a uni would be so difficult, i'll look into the York a bit more.
Reply 3
Original post by LucasLopes
Thanks so much for that reply, it really helps narrow a couple of the uni's down, i didn't know choosing a uni would be so difficult, i'll look into the York a bit more.


There is a lot to think about when choosing your options. Don't go on what the course content is like because in almost all universities for physics you do the same stuff. Accomodation is always important to look at. It just depends what sort of person you are, I'm fairly quiet so I chose a university that was quite rural but still reputable. If I was you choose one factor that you deem greater than the rest and go from there. For example, I didn't want a university that was more than 2 hours away. So i narrowed my choices down to the ones within a certain radius. A friend of mine wanted a university with alot of nightlife because that's his thing and with doing an art course it was just as much about the experience as it is doing the work (Sciences are generally work focused). But yeah, anymore questions at all on anything just ask
Reply 4
Original post by Ljg2015
There is a lot to think about when choosing your options. Don't go on what the course content is like because in almost all universities for physics you do the same stuff. Accomodation is always important to look at. It just depends what sort of person you are, I'm fairly quiet so I chose a university that was quite rural but still reputable. If I was you choose one factor that you deem greater than the rest and go from there. For example, I didn't want a university that was more than 2 hours away. So i narrowed my choices down to the ones within a certain radius. A friend of mine wanted a university with alot of nightlife because that's his thing and with doing an art course it was just as much about the experience as it is doing the work (Sciences are generally work focused). But yeah, anymore questions at all on anything just ask


Thank you again for your last reply,
I've decided to focus on universities that have decent graduate prospects and that are fairly rural. (I live abroad so can't narrow down a radius :biggrin:)
Do you know what the graduate prospects are like in York? or if the university is linked with any big companies, also is the university fairly close to the city? and what is the accommodation like there?
Reply 5
Original post by LucasLopes
Thank you again for your last reply,
I've decided to focus on universities that have decent graduate prospects and that are fairly rural. (I live abroad so can't narrow down a radius :biggrin:)
Do you know what the graduate prospects are like in York? or if the university is linked with any big companies, also is the university fairly close to the city? and what is the accommodation like there?


For physics at York the figure for the number of students in employment 6 months after graduating is something like 92%, although +/- 5% for that because I'm not completely sure. Like I briefly mentioned in the first message the physics department has ties with many big companies and research projects, namely ITER, quantic, BASF, Kromek, Tata Steel, Dyson etc. There is an industry based option here to be done through WRIPA - there's Dr Hirst and Mrs Medley who are the two dedicated staff members that run WRIPA http://wripa.ac.uk/ UoY is based around a village just outside the city, Heslington. The walk into the city centre I'd say is about half an hour to 45 mins depending on where you want to get to. There's also a bus service that runs to and from the university campuses to the city and that journey takes about 15 mins at most (traffic dependant ofc). York is split up into nine colleges. Constantine is the newest (and so has the nicest but most expensive accomodation), Derwent is the oldest (and so has the cheapest but least nice accomodation). There's two campuses at York, HesEast and HesWest. HesWest is the main campus so if you want to be close to the physics department then go for James college (right next door). HesEast is generally quieter, it has Goodricke, Constantine and Langwith colleges along with the TFTV, Law, Management, and Computer Science departments. Langwith has Glasshouse (a bar) so can get quite loud at times. The general trend in that HesEast has newer and so nicer accomodation than HesWest although I'm sure there will be exceptions to that rule
Reply 6
Original post by Ljg2015
For physics at York the figure for the number of students in employment 6 months after graduating is something like 92%, although +/- 5% for that because I'm not completely sure. Like I briefly mentioned in the first message the physics department has ties with many big companies and research projects, namely ITER, quantic, BASF, Kromek, Tata Steel, Dyson etc. There is an industry based option here to be done through WRIPA - there's Dr Hirst and Mrs Medley who are the two dedicated staff members that run WRIPA http://wripa.ac.uk/ UoY is based around a village just outside the city, Heslington. The walk into the city centre I'd say is about half an hour to 45 mins depending on where you want to get to. There's also a bus service that runs to and from the university campuses to the city and that journey takes about 15 mins at most (traffic dependant ofc). York is split up into nine colleges. Constantine is the newest (and so has the nicest but most expensive accomodation), Derwent is the oldest (and so has the cheapest but least nice accomodation). There's two campuses at York, HesEast and HesWest. HesWest is the main campus so if you want to be close to the physics department then go for James college (right next door). HesEast is generally quieter, it has Goodricke, Constantine and Langwith colleges along with the TFTV, Law, Management, and Computer Science departments. Langwith has Glasshouse (a bar) so can get quite loud at times. The general trend in that HesEast has newer and so nicer accomodation than HesWest although I'm sure there will be exceptions to that rule


Wow thank you so much, York sounds really interesting, is it possible to visit the university in the middle of August?
Reply 7
Original post by LucasLopes
Wow thank you so much, York sounds really interesting, is it possible to visit the university in the middle of August?


The next open days are on the 15th and 16th of September
https://www.york.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/visits/open-days/ But if you can't make those days then email [email protected] to see if they can arrange for you to go in midaugust. There are also campus tours on these dates
https://www.york.ac.uk/study/visit/campus-tours/ However they are less busy and involved than open days
Original post by Ljg2015
Don't go on what the course content is like because in almost all universities for physics you do the same stuff.


I don't think that this is necessarily true. I did Physics (but not in any of the universities you've mentioned above) and the difference in course content can be quite striking. I went to Swansea where we did an awful lot of particle physics and in my master's year we shared a few classes with Cardiff. The students there were totally unfamiliar with some of the concepts around quantum theory as they hadn't had the opportunity to study this before 4th year.

I did graduate 5 years ago so it could be different now, but if you have a particular interest in a certain area of biology or physics, I would definitely recommend looking at what the departments specialise in in each university. Especially if you think you'd be interested in further study!
Original post by LucasLopes
Hey guys, Could anyone help me with advise on which of these universities for physics or biology:
Manchester
Durham
Liverpool
Bath
UCL
Bristol
Lancaster
Warwick
York
Edinburgh

Just any advise on what your experience is like from these universities, Thank You.


Durham is the third best in the UK for Physics, 5th for Biology
Manchester is 22nd for Biology, 8th for Physics
Liverpool: Physics (26), Biology (33)
Bath: Physics (12), Biology (21)
UCL: Physics (10), Biology (7)
Bristol: Physics (13), Biology (16)
Lancaster: Physics (9), Biology (8)
Warwick: P (7), B (11)
York: P (17), B (9)
Edinburgh: P (14), B (24)

I'd suggest looking into Oxbridge, St Andrew's, ICL, KCL etc.

Also, check if they're Russell Group, what position they are in the league table and what their areas of research interest are.

Good luck!!
Reply 10
Original post by airfixfighter
I don't think that this is necessarily true. I did Physics (but not in any of the universities you've mentioned above) and the difference in course content can be quite striking. I went to Swansea where we did an awful lot of particle physics and in my master's year we shared a few classes with Cardiff. The students there were totally unfamiliar with some of the concepts around quantum theory as they hadn't had the opportunity to study this before 4th year.

I did graduate 5 years ago so it could be different now, but if you have a particular interest in a certain area of biology or physics, I would definitely recommend looking at what the departments specialise in in each university. Especially if you think you'd be interested in further study!


That's suprising to hear. At York quantum is done every year including first year. I think for ones higher up the league table generally do have the same content. First year is usually Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, Thermal, quantum, electromagnetism, optics and waves. Althought sometimes optics is lef tuntil the second year
Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, UCL and Edinburgh are city universities in big cities. If you are looking at more rural universities Bath, Warwick and Lancaster, These are on campuses a few miles out of the city centres. Bath and Lancaster are fairly small cities whilst Coventry is about a quarter of a million I believe but the university is 4 miles from the city centre. Durham is a small historic city and the university is in the centre of the city. I understand York is on a campus outside the city. Based on your likes I would go for Bath, Warwick, Lancaster, Durham and York although Edinburgh might be worth looking at
another option would be Exeter stunning campus short walk to a small city and is highly eated for both 16/14th by CUG
Original post by LucasLopes
Hey guys, Could anyone help me with advise on which of these universities for physics or biology:
Manchester
Durham
Liverpool
Bath
UCL
Bristol
Lancaster
Warwick
York
Edinburgh

Just any advise on what your experience is like from these universities, Thank You.


Manchester:
- Good level of teaching
- Lots of extracurriculars
- Amazing city, lots of things to do




- Brian Cox :wink:

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