sheffield or warwick biomed

Hi,

Anyone and/or current students (from any uni) have advice on how to choose firm and insurance from these for biomed.

1. I've been to the Southampton offer holder day and enjoyed it, the city was pretty, the vibe was nice and the labs looks cool. I am leaning towards Southampton atm, but idk..

2. I've done a summer school at Sheffield and the labs looked good there, the accom was nice.. though it's like a 5 hour train ride😪

3. I've been to a Warwick open day, however I'm still unsure. It could be that I was a bit rushed that day but I don't know. It is regarded as the highest out of the others on the league tables for biomed. It did look nice there though, but I didn't get a chance to see the city.

Is it better to choose a uni for it's league tables, graduate prospects.. or how I personally felt when visiting it?

Personally I've glanced at each modules for all unis and I feel like I'd enjoy most tbh. I'm wanting to go into research (!!) afterwards, but all of them seem decent for that anyway..?
And I'm wanting to either add a placement year or switch to a masters when I get to uni.

I've booked offer holder days for Sheff and Warwick in the upcoming months, so I guess those will clarify things but any advice or your experience of biomed at the unis, city life, social activities, socities and clubs etc so far is much appreciated.

thanks!

Hi jojo257_,
My name is Sofia and I am a 3rd Year Biochemistry student at the University of Sheffield, but I also take quite a few Biomed modules! It's great that you've booked to come on the offer holder day, as I think that is the best way to get a feel for the university and the city as a whole. It is what made me choose Sheffield in the end, as I really liked the friendly atmosphere.
In terms of my course, I have really enjoyed it! The modules are all very engaging and the lecturers are truly passionate about what they teach. I also want to go into research after I graduate and Sheffield is great as there is very research-led teaching, especially when you get to the later stages of your degree. The School of Biosciences is also very well respected and is ranked 4th in the UK in terms of quality of research!
Sheffield is also a great city with a mix of having a lot to do in terms of activities and bars/pubs but also has lots of green spaces to relax in! For example, the Peak District is about a 20 minute drive away from the uni and hiking and rock climbing are relatively popular hobbies. In terms of hobbies, our Student's Union is award winning and there are over 300 different societies and many different sports teams to get involved in. I have found this to be a great way to meet like-minded people and make friends
I wish you all the best with your university journey. Please don't hesitate to ask me any other questions you may have!
Hope this helped,
Sofia (3rd Year Biochemistry)

Hi thank you so much for the info. Would you say there's much diversity at Sheffield? (In particular asian, east asian diversity - if you know.) Also, what biomed modules do you take, Do you think you could explain some detail of them, as Sheffield's biomed modules do look good to me currently.

Hi jojo257_,
From my experience of studying at Sheffield, I would say that the student population is diverse with students from many different backgrounds.
In terms of Biomed modules, they can change year on year, so the exact modules I have taken may not be exactly the same as those available to you. Although the modules for next year will be listed in the Programme Regulations Finder from May onwards. This can be found here: Programme Regulations Finder (sheffield.ac.uk)
However, I can share my experience of some of the things I learnt about during these modules and how I found it! As a Biochemistry student interested in the science of disease, I found the Biomed modules really engaging and helpful. I have taken modules that covered a range of topics such as pharmacology, cell biology, physiology and cancer. I have found these modules to be very engaging and the lecturers to be very passionate about their research and what they teach. There were also opportunities to revise and assess how well I was learning the content through more interactive sessions, which I found especially helpful! I really enjoyed the more molecular modules, however I have friends who really enjoyed physiology and also took an Anatomy module, which they found really rewarding.
Please don't hesitate to ask me any other questions you may have!
I hoped this helped,
Sofia (3rd Year Biochemistry student)

That's great to hear, thank you. Thanks for the link, it's so usefull. OOOH they sound interesting. This is a pretty dumb question but like do you go into a lot of depth/detail in the modules like cancer and cell biology? 😭 - I'm quite interested in them haha.
Do you have any advice? The course at sheff sounds good, though I'm a bit apprehensive because it's quite far away from where I live, it's a 4 hour 50 train journey (5 hour drive).

That's great to hear, thank you. Thanks for the link, it's so usefull. OOOH they sound interesting. This is a pretty dumb question but like do you go into a lot of depth/detail in the modules like cancer and cell biology? 😭 - I'm quite interested in them haha.
Do you have any advice? The course at sheff sounds good, though I'm a bit apprehensive because it's quite far away from where I live, it's a 4 hour 50 train journey (5 hour drive).

Hey!
It is not a dumb question at all, I will flag this to Sofia so she can answer your question!
In terms of the distance from home that is a very personal thing! Sometimes it is nice to have some distance and then you can feel more independent and create a new home, but for others they prefer to keep their base at their family home. The good thing is that wherever you are, you can facetime and call your friends and family back home whenever you want to.
I am from Cambridge and it is a 4 hour train journey for me to go back home. I tend not to go home much anymore, but mainly because I have made my home in Sheffield. But I also have friends who are from places nearby and they go home at least once a month, so it really depends. I think wherever you choose, you will make the effort/time to go home if you want to if you want to, although travelling can be quite expensive sometimes (I would recommend getting a student railcard!).
Evie (4th year medic at UoS)

I’d go with feel of the campus and city if you think the modules are all on par. You could use things like TEF, % of this getting a 2:1/completing course/satisfaction as indicators also - discover Uni will have that info. Also, is the course accredited? Not all Biomed courses are so if you want to work within the NHS you need to be on an accredited course.
Also, you don’t spend all your week in labs so it’s not a huge issue - I think teaching is more important than shiny surroundings. You need to like the course, campus, feel of the uni itself, the city and be happy with the distance to home imho.

i do biomed at warwick. it is not an accredited course so if you wanted to become a biomedical scientist then i wouldn’t recommend it. most students want to enter medicine or research, warwick is good if that’s your plan. its quite a secluded campus, but coventry and leamington spa are 20-30 minutes away by bus. nightlife is fine, some people love it, i’ve found that people from cities with a strong nightlife culture think that warwick is a bit boring. sports and societies are a big thing at uni, but if that isn’t your thing you might struggle making friends. also, the life sciences campus is up a hill, around 10 minutes from central campus, not really an issue for me but some students find it a bit isolating. if you have any questions about warwick i’m happy to answer

Hi! Yes, I'm wanting to enter research and I'm very interested in joining societies and sport. That's awesomee, I have a few questions if that's ok.

1. sherbourne, lakeside and heronbank are all in the same area, i’d say it’s a 25 minute walk to GH. I stayed on central campus but lakeside area isn’t a big deal in terms of distance. I would consider whether you want to go to lakeside area during hour-long breaks between lectures or stay on GH, as there aren’t a lot of study spaces free there. sherbourne etc are quiet and in a nice area, and close to the sports hub. lots of students also get a bike. I would definitely avoid westwood as it’s so far away, and if you decide against lakeside area then i would go for jack martin or arthur vick as they’re fairly similar in accommodation building wise and price wise, and a bit closer to GH. the accommodations closest to GH are bluebell, rootes, then whitefields.
2. teaching is great, especially for first year, the modules are cohesive and it’s definitely engaging. most of the modules for first year are taught to all life sciences (biomed, biological science, biochem and neuro) so they’re standard and quite broad modules. and yes i learned a fair bit on epigenetics and stem cells, they’re covered in year one in the “molecules, cells and organisms” and epigenetics is covered in “health and the community” module (H&C is optional). You’re definitely taught more about it in second year, there’s an in-depth module on genetics (optional) and stem cells pop up everywhere
3. i’m going into healthcare, but warwick is definitely a solid choice for entering research. Each summer they hold a URSS program where you can carry out research with a PhD student in an area of your choice. expenses are paid for and it gives a big advantage when applying for future research positions. some people also do research during term time because a professor has let them work on a research project (this is less common though). you can also get an internship at research companies, warwick have many partners (pfizer etc) where you can get first pick of a job.
4. labs are good, first year was a lot of basic skills (pipetting, microscopes etc) and the experiments are broad, covering microbiology, biochemistry, physiology etc so it helps when thinking about what area of research you’d like to enter. 2nd year labs are more specialised, we did PCR, blood clotting and virus titration. All the labs are designed to replicate what you would do in an actual lab. for all labs you’re given videos made by the professors and interactive game-like worksheets which are very helpful to prepare. You’re given a lot of support for new techniques, and the equipment is better than what you get in schools, and there are PhD students helping out too.
5. I didn’t take a placement year but i know lots of people who have. you can get support from the careers service and your tutor. The university has many partner companies who prioritise warwick students, most people go to gsk, francis-crick institute, NHS or independent companies.
6. in first year most exams are multiple choice, aside from an essay exam (health and the community), and the exam for anatomy is quite unique in its format. in my first year the exams were online and remote but due to ChatGPT they’re changing them to online but in-person in a computer room. In second year, all the exams are half SAQ and half an essay or questions on a data set.
If you would like any more answers or elaboration on anything then feel free to ask