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University Showdown

Hello,

I have received unconditional offers to study Law at:
- Leeds University
- Manchester University
- Exeter University
- York University
- Newcastle University

I have no idea which of these Universities to choose and have the following questions:

- Which of these Universities is seen as “the best”?
- Which of these Universities is academically the strongest?
- Which of these Universities has the highest employability for city law firms?

Also if anyone has attended any of these Universities (not just to study law) please leave your own experiences/opinions.

Thank you for any help, I really appreciate it.

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Original post by Atlas99
Hello,

I have received unconditional offers to study Law at:
- Leeds University
- Manchester University
- Exeter University
- York University
- Newcastle University

I have no idea which of these Universities to choose and have the following questions:

- Which of these Universities is seen as “the best”?
- Which of these Universities is academically the strongest?
- Which of these Universities has the highest employability for city law firms?

Also if anyone has attended any of these Universities (not just to study law) please leave your own experiences/opinions.

Thank you for any help, I really appreciate it.

You shouldn’t make this decision until April at the earliest. Use that time to visit and find out more about the courses and the places to work out which is best FOR YOU.

They’re very different cities and universities. Find the place you will thrive and get the best degree possible
Original post by PQ
You shouldn’t make this decision until April at the earliest. Use that time to visit and find out more about the courses and the places to work out which is best FOR YOU.

They’re very different cities and universities. Find the place you will thrive and get the best degree possible


Why should I wait till April?
Original post by Atlas99
Why should I wait till April?

Because your deadline for deciding on Track is early May. The only thing that happens if you pick before April is that you lose the option to change your mind easily.

UCAS gives you a late deadline deliberately - it’s to allow you time to visit and make sure that you are happy with your decision before you make it official on Track.
There’s not a lot of difference between them.

They’re all middle tier Russell Group universities. In general I would say that Exeter is probably perceived as the ‘most academic’ overall, but I have no idea whether that holds true for Law.

Given how minimal the academic differences are, you should decide based on which university you like the best and where you want to live for 3 years. They are all very different cities.
Original post by PQ
Because your deadline for deciding on Track is early May. The only thing that happens if you pick before April is that you lose the option to change your mind easily.

UCAS gives you a late deadline deliberately - it’s to allow you time to visit and make sure that you are happy with your decision before you make it official on Track.


Other than visiting the campuses and cities how else can I research them/find out which is best for me?
Well done on your offers! But as already mentioned please take your time deciding - these are very different unis!

Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle are big, city universities, right in the heart of everything. Comparatively, York and Exeter are smaller, campus unis (for reference, I’m at york.) so that’s gonna be a big difference you should consider and would really be worth a visit I say.

Also for law, really look at the course - I know at York we do PBL and have a PBL suite and all that, so worth considering if the other unis learn like that and if that’s how you want to learn.
Original post by Atlas99
Other than visiting the campuses and cities how else can I research them/find out which is best for me?

Visiting is the best option.

If you can’t visit then it might help if you explain the sort of city/environment that you are happiest in. They’re very different cities/universities.
Original post by BlueEyedGirl_
Well done on your offers! But as already mentioned please take your time deciding - these are very different unis!

Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle are big, city universities, right in the heart of everything. Comparatively, York and Exeter are smaller, campus unis (for reference, I’m at york.) so that’s gonna be a big difference you should consider and would really be worth a visit I say.

Also for law, really look at the course - I know at York we do PBL and have a PBL suite and all that, so worth considering if the other unis learn like that and if that’s how you want to learn.


Could you explain PBL? I’ve done some reading on it but I’m still not 100% sure what it is. Also what’s York’s campus like?
Original post by BlueEyedGirl_
Well done on your offers! But as already mentioned please take your time deciding - these are very different unis!

Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle are big, city universities, right in the heart of everything. Comparatively, York and Exeter are smaller, campus unis (for reference, I’m at york.) so that’s gonna be a big difference you should consider and would really be worth a visit I say.

Also for law, really look at the course - I know at York we do PBL and have a PBL suite and all that, so worth considering if the other unis learn like that and if that’s how you want to learn.

Also worth pointing out that Exeter and Newcastle both have a much higher intake of private school students than Leeds/Manchester. For some people that’s important to feeling comfortable (in either direction).

The weather varies between them, the geography (Exeter is hilly!), the transport links, the nightlife, the sports, the cultural offerings etc etc.

There’s a lot of variety
Original post by PQ
Visiting is the best option.

If you can’t visit then it might help if you explain the sort of city/environment that you are happiest in. They’re very different cities/universities.


I think I’d be happiest in a smaller/more condensed city. Manchester intimidates me due to its size so I’m not sure about it. I have no clue how big Leeds or Exeter are.
Original post by Atlas99
I think I’d be happiest in a smaller/more condensed city. Manchester intimidates me due to its size so I’m not sure about it. I have no clue how big Leeds or Exeter are.

Leeds is fairly big too. Exeter pretty tiny.

What sort of things do you like doing? Outdoors or indoorsy?

Why did you pick this five in the first place?
Original post by PQ
Leeds is fairly big too. Exeter pretty tiny.

What sort of things do you like doing? Outdoors or indoorsy?


I want to take advantage of University nightlife. Also planning to join athletics and rowing societies. Enjoy running as well.
Original post by Atlas99
I want to take advantage of University nightlife. Also planning to join athletics and rowing societies. Enjoy running as well.

Have you visited Manchester? What about it did you find intimidating?

Are there any cities or universities that you have visited that you liked the feel of (even if you didn’t apply there)?
Original post by Atlas99
I think I’d be happiest in a smaller/more condensed city. Manchester intimidates me due to its size so I’m not sure about it. I have no clue how big Leeds or Exeter are.


Leeds has a population of 700000 bigger than Manchester. Exeter about 130000 about the quarter of the size of Manchester. York is slightly bigger than Exeter and Newcastle larger again. Exeter has a very green extremely hilly campus with really good sporting facilities. It has indoor cricket and tennis centres and a large sports centre as well as playing fields. The issues on visiting and delaying your decision are totally correct. You will have offers for visit days in the new year. People every year come on here regretting they have rushed their decisions and want to change which isnt easy when you are committed to an unconditional offer. You could check the virtual open days if you are unable to visit places.
Original post by Atlas99
I want to take advantage of University nightlife. Also planning to join athletics and rowing societies. Enjoy running as well.

Oh and how would you ideally like to get around/to and from uni/halls/city? Bus, tram, train, walk, cycle?
Original post by swanseajack1
Leeds has a population of 700000 bigger than Manchester. Exeter about 130000 about the quarter of the size of Manchester. York is slightly bigger than Exeter and Newcastle larger again. Exeter has a very green extremely hilly campus with really good sporting facilities. It has indoor cricket and tennis centres and a large sports centre as well as playing fields. The issues on visiting and delaying your decision are totally correct. You will have offers for visit days in the new year. People every year come on here regretting they have rushed their decisions and want to change which isnt easy when you are committed to an unconditional offer. You could check the virtual open days if you are unable to visit places.

I had no idea Leeds had a bigger population than Manchester. The city centre feels a lot more compact:cool:
Original post by PQ
I had no idea Leeds had a bigger population than Manchester. The city centre feels a lot more compact:cool:


http://www.ukcities.co.uk/populations/
From OPs comment I suspect Exeter would be ideal but it needs visiting.
Original post by PQ
Have you visited Manchester? What about it did you find intimidating?

Are there any cities or universities that you have visited that you liked the feel of (even if you didn’t apply there)?


I think it’s just because I live in a small town and I’ve never been to a city before. I like Newcastle because even though it’s a city it’s quite compact.

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