Leeds or Manchester - Which university?

Why dont you firm manchester and put leeds as insurance

Leeds pros:
1.) Lower offer of ABB
2.) Would have firmed if exams had gone ahead
3.) Much nicer accommodation

Leeds cons:
1.) Distance and travel costs are very high, so would be difficult to move back home.
2.) You have to do a dissertation in final year

Manchester pros:
1.) Closer to home, so cheaper and can move back home and travel to lectures easily
2.) Preferred location because it is a bigger city.

Manchester cons:
1.) Higher offer of AAA. If I miss my offer I would not be happy going to my insurance, mainly because I've always been set on these two unis.
2.) Student satisfaction rates are low and seems to have a bad reputation from students - 73% compared to Leeds 90%

For reference, my subject is law, but I don't think it makes any difference.

In terms of subject ranking, Leeds is way higher than Machester. I personally travel from home near birmingham to uni in london which takes 4 hours in total via train but it didn't cost that much than you think. The cheapest price for me was £15 including return for one day and the most expensive price for me was £23 so it isn't too bad as long as you book the ticket early and at an off-peak time. The only issue is it may all the travelling may make you feel tired. But from experience I can tell you that only in first year you may have to travel much but from next remaining years you need to travel less and due to covid most lectures are done remotely anyway so i think the distance shouldn't affect you too much. Student satisfaction rate is important if you want to have the best experience in uni especially for education. So I think you should go for Leeds. But ultimately, it's up to you so I hope this helps you to make the decision you won't regret!

both red brick unis and both good unis. For which subject ? (Sorry if you already have mentioned this and I missed it).

That's because Bham to London is one train - I'd need to get 2 trains which costs around £65, but should go down to around £45 with a railcard. Time is a lot less, about 2 hour on train and 30 minute wait for the second train. Unless that 4 hours includes the train back for you?

I'd move out for the first year at Leeds, it's just in case I don't like living out or don't like the people there then I can move back.

In terms of subject rankings, Leeds do better domestically and manchester internationally. What a put at the bottom of my post was referring to league tables as they aren't the most reliable.

Well then it depends whether you want to go outside UK or not in the future then. And like I said currently you probably don't need to travel and if you do you are not going everyday plus compared to all the cost you need to spend on paying the accommodation the travel cost is relatively cheaper. That is what i meant xd Honestly every university has pros and cons, it's difficult to find the perfect university.

Plus, even though you chose a university you wanted to go, if you can't meet the offer then it's over if you can't decide the university based on their features then base your decision with your grades. So if you think you can achieve AAA realistically go for Manchester, if you think you can't go for Leeds.