Swansea vs Lancaster

If I were you, I would take into account the quality of the course, as this is probably most important when deciding on a university to go to. The quality of life and teaching quality are are also important factors to consider as a big part of doing a degree involves living in or near the area, so going somewhere you like is important.

I go to Lancaster and the rent is much higher than I expected for student accommodation and the city is kind of turning into one of those places where the student housing/accommodation companies are rampantly taking over and driving up the rent prices - probably due to the high international student intake. So, private accommodation is much more affordable and you can get some nice places if you look early. The university itself is overpopulated with overpriced student accommodation buildings that are ugly and don't have enough social areas for people to hang out in. Private accommodation is much better here and more affordable. I don't know how it compares to Swansea in that regards, but I have heard accommodation is cheap there, but student-aimed accommodation is always going to be higher tbh. When I lived in the graduate college, there were virtually no outdoor areas for people to meet and only the grad college bar and a very small study/living area in the middle that serve as indoor areas for people to meet. I get the gist its the same for all the other colleges, as they all look much the same. Private accommodation is much better here and more affordable. I don't know how it compares to Swansea in that regards, but I have heard accommodation is cheap there, but student-aimed accommodation is always going to be higher tbh. I generally felt that if I wasn't going out (drinking) then there wasn't much else to do.

Nightlife is okay, good for pubs but bad for clubs. There are 2 main nightclubs, 1 is run by the SU called 'sugarhouse'. Pretty standard as far as clubs go tbh. Campus bars are pretty good, but most shut quite early due to being close to accommodation and people complaining. There always seem to be talks of getting rid of some of the bars and the club run by the SU to clear way for more accommodation... *sigh* so yeah, thats Lancaster for you anyway. It is amazing in the Lake District and the nearby Bowland forest is also a lovely area to explore. Getting to the lake district is hard without a car though. The sport facilities are very good and it has squash courts, tennis courts, multiple football and rugby fields, 3g pitch, astro turf, 3 gym rooms, climbing wall and more. The staff are d*cks because they always try to catch you out when playing squash and stuff, as you have to pay individually instead of paying for the courts, which is stupid because it's overpriced unless you pay membership, which not everyone wants to do. They just want your money at the end of the day, but this is true for most universities these days.