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I can't decide which university

Hi folks.

Did I just say 'folks'? Wow. Anyway, I think the deadline to make my firm and insurance choice for university is only in a few weeks now and I've thought long and hard about which Universities I want to goto but I am still no further in my decision-making than I was half a year ago.

Okay, here's an outline of my choices and my current thoughts.

After applying to do Business Management at Bath (AAA), Birmingham (AAB), Manchester (AAB), Nottingham (ABB), Warwick (AAB) I have been accepted into all 5 universities. I have no doubt that I will get the grades needed.

I gather that Warwick and Bath are the two best universities (reputation wise and course wise), but all of 5 well reputable. Nottingham has an excellent business campus, Manchester is internationally more reknown, and Birmingham is also a safe choice.

After travelling to look at Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Warwick (but not Bath) all briefly, here are my brief thoughts:

Birmingham: Great campus, and very nice accomodation. The city sounds big and nightlife seems very good. The business school is also quite good. And though I can't fault the University as a whole, I get the feeling that it is not my best choice because the course isn't the most reputable and nothing STOOD OUT for me when I went to visit the University. It was good, and that was it.

Manchester: This is the university I live closest to (I can get to it in less than an hour by train and even less time than that by car). It is my nearest city to home. The city campus did not impress me too much but it was the first University I went to visit and I may have already had negative thoughts about it (for some unknown reason). I admit I haven't really looked into the course content much. In terms of the city itself, I absolutely love it and all of my best nights out (so far) have been in Manchester. Last friday for example I went to a strip club for my mates 18th and then to a place called Sankeys. It was a mint night out. I also support Manchester United and go to see them at Old Trafford quite often so being at Manchester would be handy in this respect. But making this choice seems too...cliche. It seems too obvious. Accomodation, from what I gather, is pretty poor.

Nottingham: I had a look around the main campus of nottingham for around 20-30 minutes but it was verging on the evening and there wasn't much light left in the day. My impression of it was sketchy. It was still a very nice campus though. The seperate campus holding the business-course side of the university was absolutely marvellous - it looked rich, modern and very presentable. I was extremely impressed. Hearing that accomodation on campus was CATERED has put me off slightly because I planned on going self-catered partly because I don't like the idea of being governed about eating times but also because the whole idea of self-catered living is for me to adapt to how I would live in the future. Catered, if anything, would be a regression for me. I don't know too much about it though.
The course content is very impressive and I like the sound of it. The campus seems like a bit of a treck from the main city and walking back from a night out sounds like a big hassle. The overexposed gun crime and violence in Nottingham is a bit off-putting too.

Warwick: I really liked this campus but it seemed too insular and this was really odd. Obviously I would get the best education from this place but I ask myself if having "warwick" on my CV would really make a difference. If I was good enough to do well in the real world then it is my personal qualities that will pull me through, not simply the name of the University I went to. Having to travel a long way just to get to Coventry seems like a blow. I have no idea how nights out for warwick students could possibly be good and, despite testimonials, I seriously doubt that the on-campus student union would suffice for three years. Perhaps if I am after a great social life and a good night out then warwick isn't the choice for me. I was impressed by warwick on the whole but put off by the seperated village persona.

Having sat and thought more about the University choices, I eliminated Bath (on the basis that the course was a sandwich course) and Birmingham (on the basis that I would prefer to goto Manchester, Nottingham or Warwick).

So, that is what I am left with. Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick. All three universities rank differently for all of the differerent aspects that I have considered. For example (from best to worst):

Accomodation: Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester
City/Night/Social: Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick
Course: Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester
Reputation: Warwick, Manchester, Nottingham
Business school as whole: Nottingham, Warwick, Manchester
Ease of access/Most familiar: Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick

There is no seperating these universities. I would be discontent making any firm decision as yet because I am so clueless.

This, then, is where you guys come in. Do you have any invaluable information to offer me about some or all of the 3 universities I am considering? Do you go to any of them? What are your thoughts? Is there any further reading that I should look into?

Anything and everything will help. Thanks for listening 'folks' (included for symmetry and banter).

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Reply 1

Complex Simplicity

It looks like you've thought about this a lot. Judging from what you've written, i'd go for manchester. Your heart just seems in it and the only faults you have are: a) it's too obvious and B) the accommodation. And from experience i can tell you that accommodation is only an issue if the environment isnt a social one (ie flats, non-catered, very little people, far away from civilisation) and i doubt this is the case in manchester. The look of the building really doesnt matter and most people realise this within the first month. As cliche as it sounds 'its whats on the inside that counts' and this is very true for accommodation. The outside being the way it looks; the inside being the people residing.

In short, pick manchester.

Reply 2

Frodz

You also have the fact there is a wide variety of accommodation in Manchester. I agree some is poor, but there's a lot of good ones and much has recently been refurbished like my old halls, Whitty P.

Reply 3

RosiePosiePuddingAndPie

Can't make your decision for you - just wanted to defend Nottingham slightly by saying that the "gun crime problem" is given over exposure in newspapers, and is actually not that big an issue if you live here. I've been here for 18 years and never witnessed gun crime, nor have any of my friends or even acquaintances!! So yeah, don't let that affect your decision too much.

As for nights out - Manchester and Nottingham are both really good for that. I don't know about Warwick though.

And I don't understand your "it's too obvious" argument again Manchester... like Complex Simplicity said, it does seem as if that's your favourite really...

Whichever one you choose, they're all great universities. I don't think you can make a wrong choice here :smile:

Reply 4

Cathy_Rah

COME to Manchester!
Sankeys Sankeys Sankeys!!!!!
Love it!!!
I was SO SO SO SO close to having Birmingham as my firm, but for similar reasons as yourself I chose not too.
saying this, I'm still undecided.
But i promise you, you won't be unhappy at Manchester.

Also it's having a lot of money put in to it and it's going to be improving more and more.
Internationally it has an amazing rep, which is important don't you think?

Reply 5

Gregh

Thanks for the initial replies. It's interesting that you think my heart is in Manchester most. Because if someone were to ask me which one I was genuinely verging towards at the moment, I would say Nottingham. It is the only University I am going to have a look at again (Next wednesday) and, for some time now, I have been considering it more than the others. Perhaps there is a more subliminal message in my post though which leans away from Nottingham... *shrug*

Thanks anyway for what you've all said!

Another question to throw out there: The Management courses at Warwick and Manchester are BSc, while Nottingham's is a BA. I have no idea if this will have any affect on anything...?

Reply 6

Frodz

Gregh

Another question to throw out there: The Management courses at Warwick and Manchester are BSc, while Nottingham's is a BA. I have no idea if this will have any affect on anything...?

Nothing really. I prefer BSc but that's because i'm a scientist :smile:

Reply 7

d0mz

Great post. :smile:

If I were you, I'd pick Manchester.

Reply 8

Ironic_

I personally would go for Nottingham, but that's because I live there (in university holidays) and am missing it quite a lot now that i'm not there full time. The campus really isn't that far from the city centre in the grand scheme of things, I have to travel 20-30 minutes by bus to get into the town centre, I live ages away and never really notice where the time goes on the journey. Discounting Nottingham because of the crime is absolute bs (but then the media are responsible for that annoying misconception). I have been to Manchester and you really wouldn't be able to tell the dodgy people who walk the streets of Manchester, from the dodgy people on the streets of Nottingham. You have to keep your wits about you, but then anyone anywhere in the UK who isn't doing this is being stupid anyway.

Have you looked at the modules for both courses? If one is a Bsc and one is a BA then you probably will be able to tell which course you prefer from a bit of studying and looking at all the resources you can access without a student password.

In truth you probably can't go wrong with the selection you have, in terms of student life and your course.

Reply 9

*soph*

Don't worry about gun crime in Nottingham, because it's mainly a problem in different areas of the city, away from the uni campuses. If you don't go looking for trouble, you'll be fine. Accommodation-wise, Raleigh Park is self catered and it's only a five minute walk away from Jubilee Campus, and SPC and Riverside Point are another five minutes away. You may find it's better to go off-campus, so you can mix with people doing other courses on UP.

Reply 10

Gregh

Cathy_Rah

Yeah Sankeys is absolutely mint hahaha. I know I won't be unhappy at Manchester, I doubt i'll ultimately be unhappy at any. But I would hate to goto any university and just wonder "could I have made a better choice?" !

Ironic_

To be honest, the gun crime doesn't bother me too much. It's luck of the draw, really, haha. No but seriously, I realise that any major city has problems of this sort and keeping wits about you is standard procedure. I have looked at the course modules but admittedly I can't remember much about them. I'll have another look over the next hour.

How long would you estimate it to take to get from the nottingham campus to the main city centre by foot, and/or by bus?

*soph*

I had a look at Raleigh Park - it looks very promising. I spoke to a few friends about it though and they reckon that living off-campus in the first year will separate me from everyone else (for example: second/third years are more likely to be off-campus) and I might miss out on a social life...

Manchester

Gregh

How long would you estimate it to take to get from the nottingham campus to the main city centre by foot, and/or by bus?

I'm not sure really, as I haven't taken the bus that goes past Nottingham uni in a while. I've looked up the busses and found found a timetable for a bus that links Nottingham Uni with the city centre and it seems to suggest the journey takes just slightly over 15 minutes. Except the AA website seems to think that the distance is only 3 miles and should take 6 minutes.

Reply 13

The Orientalist

Gregh

Business school as whole: Nottingham, Warwick, Manchester

You got that one completely wrong I'm afraid, general concensus is as follows:
Business school as whole: Warwick, Manchester, Nottingham

All 3 are top notch business schools though.

Reply 14

ILIGAN

Gregh

Hi folks.

Having sat and thought more about the University choices, I eliminated Bath (on the basis that the course was a sandwich course) and Birmingham (on the basis that I would prefer to goto Manchester, Nottingham or Warwick).

So, that is what I am left with. Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick. All three universities rank differently for all of the differerent aspects that I have considered. For example (from best to worst):

Accomodation: Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester
City/Night/Social: Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick
Course: Warwick, Nottingham, Manchester
Reputation: Warwick, Manchester, Nottingham
Business school as whole: Nottingham, Warwick, Manchester
Ease of access/Most familiar: Manchester, Nottingham, Warwick

There is no seperating these universities. I would be discontent making any firm decision as yet because I am so clueless.

This, then, is where you guys come in. Do you have any invaluable information to offer me about some or all of the 3 universities I am considering? Do you go to any of them? What are your thoughts? Is there any further reading that I should look into?

Anything and everything will help. Thanks for listening 'folks' (included for symmetry and banter).

Go to Warwick. Seriously, go to Warwick. All the schools in your list are amazing schools, but Warwick is the best of them all, reputation-wise. You will have an easier access to top bulge bracket firms when you earn your business degree from Warwick than any of the schools in your list. For example, McKinsey, a prestigious financial management firm, will consider you as a strong applicant if you have a Warwick degree. But such privilege is not afforded to the rest of the schools in your list because McKinsey is very snobbish and utterly choosy so they only go for graduates from very prestige schools such as Warwick, LSE and, of course, Oxbridge. Have you heard someone got into McKinsey from Bath or Nottingham straight out from undergrad degree? I haven’t. and I guess you haven’t as well. You know why? That’s because McKinsey considers applicants ONLY from Warwick, LSE and Oxbridge. Not even UCL grads are invited at McKinsey straight out from undergrad.

Furthermore, Warwick’s reputation in the global scene is rising up continuously and at a faster rate than any British school, except probably St Andrews (due to Prince William). 10 to 15 years from now, you’ll be amazed Warwick will become a top global university and would be in a very well position to compete against the academic powerhouses of the world. In short, Warwick is the best deal for you now and would give you a much better deal in the long run as well.

Warwick

Just a bit of an insight into Warwick;

The Warwick SU is a good night out for the first term, cheap drinks, 2mins from accomodation etc. and from that point on it is common place to go out into leamington/coventry for a night out - about 2.50 return on the bus and a 20minute journey. There are numerous groups of people who regularly go out to Birmingham for a night out, though granted it is a bit of a treck to get to there. The social life is good here, don't forget that you're surrounded by students who all want to go out and have a good time. Also when it comes to years 2/3 you dont live on campus anyway -90% of students live in leamington which has many clubs/bars for entertainment :smile:

I've been to nottingham and manchester to visit friends - you will get a very good night out there too, but don't discount Warwick for social life, honestly i love it. though it's all a matter of personal opinion i suppose.

In terms of job prospects, I'd have to agree with Iligan...
I've just had a spring internship with a top BB bank - there were about 9 Imperial, 8Warwick, 7 LSE, Ox, Cam and maybe 5 Kings. The others were 1 (maybe 2) from places like Durham, Bath, City and Manchester. I wasn't aware of any from Notts or Bristol. That is just personal experience, but I honestly think having Warwick on your CV will open doors that the others wont.

Hope this helps, and good luck - tbh you can't go too wrong with any, you'd get a good degree from any of the three :smile:

Reply 17

*soph*

Gregh

Second and third years tend to live off-campus as in privately rented accommodation. Raleigh Park is essentially a uni hall, just a few minutes walk away from the main campus, and the people I knew there had a great social life because there are so many people and always lots going on. I found SPC very isolated, though, and from what I've heard, Riverside Point isn't great either. Raleigh would give you self catered accommodation with a great social life.

Reply 18

Toxic Tears

WARWICK hands down. I'm not into business but even I know that the warwick course is internationally renowed. You're (mainly) going to uni for employment reasons anyway and if one uni gives you the edge and the vital 'networking' for the competitve nature of business I say go for it!

Reply 19

Maverick08

Mate, i am in the same situation keep going back and forth between Warwick and Nottingham. Warwick has the better reputation and teaching cause Nottingham has large lectures, whereas there much smaller in Warwick plus its more prestigious. However Nottingham in my eyes has the better accommodation i love the mini bars you get in your rooms and the Jubille Campus looks awesome and nightlife too.

The main things i keep asking myself is how important really is prestige and reputation of the course at a uni when i apply for jobs? and Nottingham has no way got a bad rep but just not as good as Warwick which like other than oxford is one of the leading business schools in the UK. Warwick is constantly associated with being a bubble but people keep telling me university life is what you make of it you'll have a good time anywhere....which is true so still confused on where to go!!