I’ll just get straight to the point. I applied to Birmingham, KCL, Bath, Cardiff and UCL for biomed (applied medical sciences at UCL).
Cardiff is my home city and even tho I would like to be close to home, I think I need to leave to get out of my comfort zone. Also I don’t really enjoy the course structure as you have to do a general bioscience first year (i hate plant biology lol). So Cardiff is ruled out.
UCL have given me an incredibly low offer of BCC but I didn’t really enjoy the vibe of the uni when i visited. Also I think the AMS course is more suited to medicine rejects that want to do grad med than people who want to go into industry/research. I might be wrong about that tho, but I have also ruled it out.
KCL is the highest ranking for life sciences/medicine but I didn’t really enjoy London when I visited. It is expensive, the people are always in a rush so it seems miserable and it’s obviously very touristy. I didn’t exactly hate London either but I am just worried about not getting the same “student” experience you get with campus unis and finding it harder to make friends. I am also into sports and London doesn’t have the best facilities due to a lack of space. I did love Guy’s campus however and London does have loads of things to do. The course structure is also pretty good but a placement year isn’t really encouraged as much here and there is no option to do an MSci. They have offered me AAC.
Birmingham was probably my favourite city and campus. I might qualify for a sports scholarship which will lower the grade requirements to ABB. Sports facilities are good and will get a typical campus experience. The course seems good and it is based at the med school. Hopefully this will mean a mixture of lecturers from a clinical medicine background and also a research/scientific background. The accommodation is also nice and relatively cheap. A placement year is encouraged and students seem to get good support in applying and I can do an MSci. All round has a good vibe, just not as high ranking as KCL. Birmingham is also 2 hours away from home, which isnt as far as London but it’s further than Bath.
Bath is super low on rankings for some reason?? But it is one of the top unis for graduate employability along with birmingham and KCL (I think birmingham is actually higher than bath but it is a bigger uni offering more subjects). Bath has probably the best placement scheme out of everywhere and allows me to do an MSci. Although I haven’t had chance to visit yet, I feel the city might be a bit boring for me. The campus is not exactly to the standard of birmingham but I think this is a silly reason to not go to a uni. Looking at the modules it is probably my favourite course but it’s super low ranking in the biological/life sciences and medicine is putting me off a bit. Bath is more well known for things like engineering and computer science isn’t it? It’s also an expensive city to live in and the accommodation is really expensive for what it is. Bath is quite close to home, it’s a good distance to gain independence but also it’s easy to come back if need be. They also have great sports facilities and are known for being a sporty uni. They also have the highest offer of them all, AAB + B in welsh bacc. Bath is actually the only uni I haven’t heard from yet.
Sorry for the super long post. I am just looking for any advice on how to eventually choose. They all have pros and cons and I am finding it hard to narrow down my options any further.