The Student Room Group

Bristol Uni vs Warwick Uni

Hi,

I applied to both Warwick Uni and Bristol Uni in this cycle and have placed Bristol as firm and Warwick as insurance. However, some people have told me that Bristol is more "posher" than Warwick and so I was worried whether I will fit in from a state school background. I looked at the statistics for private school entry and it seems there's not that much difference (Bristol 25% and Warwick 20%) and the percentage of non-selective state school students is the same at both Unis 61%. Equally, other people have told me that the assumption about Bristol is outdated and it's roughly equal now.

Could people give their experiences/advice? I am not saying that I wouldn't get on with most private school students (my best friend is currently at one!) but I do worry about feeling excluded. However, if there's not really a difference, I am guessing it shouldn't affect my choice.

Reply 1

Original post by joycem12
Hi,
I applied to both Warwick Uni and Bristol Uni in this cycle and have placed Bristol as firm and Warwick as insurance. However, some people have told me that Bristol is more "posher" than Warwick and so I was worried whether I will fit in from a state school background. I looked at the statistics for private school entry and it seems there's not that much difference (Bristol 25% and Warwick 20%) and the percentage of non-selective state school students is the same at both Unis 61%. Equally, other people have told me that the assumption about Bristol is outdated and it's roughly equal now.
Could people give their experiences/advice? I am not saying that I wouldn't get on with most private school students (my best friend is currently at one!) but I do worry about feeling excluded. However, if there's not really a difference, I am guessing it shouldn't affect my choice.

Most definitely is NOT a problem. The only thing I would say is that certain of the catered halls in Stoke Bishop ( north village) tend to have a higher concentration of boarding school students than the other halls, and whilst I don’t believe that there’s any conscious will to exclude state school kids, a lot of the students in these halls already know each other so integration may be a little harder. In all of the other halls, and there are many, there is absolutely no problem.
(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 3

Original post by Euapp
Most definitely is NOT a problem. The only thing I would say is that certain of the catered halls in Stoke Bishop ( north village) tend to have a higher concentration of boarding school students than the other halls, and whilst I don’t believe that there’s any conscious will to exclude state school kids, a lot of the students in these halls already know each other so integration may be a little harder. In all of the other halls, and there are many, there is absolutely no problem.

Hi, thank you for this. Would I be right in saying that there's no significant difference between the two and so choosing based on other factors was the right thing to do? This is what I thought based on research/open days but the amount of people who said Bristol's "posher" got me quite worried about it.

Reply 4


Hi, thank you for the links.. Would I be right in saying that there's no significant difference between the two and so choosing based on other factors was the right thing to do? This is what I thought based on research/open days but the amount of people who said Bristol's "posher" got me quite worried about it.

Reply 5

Original post by joycem12
Hi, thank you for this. Would I be right in saying that there's no significant difference between the two and so choosing based on other factors was the right thing to do? This is what I thought based on research/open days but the amount of people who said Bristol's "posher" got me quite worried about it.
All I know is that I have a child at Bristol that was educated in a French state school and neither being « international » or state educated has had any negative impact on their uni experience. If they had to choose again they would happily make the same choice. So don’t worry about the state/ private educated issue because it really isn’t one.

Reply 6

Original post by Euapp
All I know is that I have a child at Bristol that was educated in a French state school and neither being « international » or state educated has had any negative impact on their uni experience. If they had to choose again they would happily make the same choice. So don’t worry about the state/ private educated issue because it really isn’t one.

One of the factors is that Bristol always attracts big numbers of Londoners and others from the South East - this always makes it 'sound posh', when actually most of them went to the local comprehensive. Warwick, understandably, attracts more people from the Midlands, and whatever type of school they went to, they sound 'less posh'.

Yes, choose by course - that's what you'll be studying everyday, not 'the University'. Look at the optional units for all years of each course and think about what you would choose if you went there. If there are any extras on offer like study abroad or a work placement, that is a big plus for your graduate CV.

Reply 7

Original post by Euapp
Most definitely is NOT a problem. The only thing I would say is that certain of the catered halls in Stoke Bishop ( north village) tend to have a higher concentration of boarding school students than the other halls, and whilst I don’t believe that there’s any conscious will to exclude state school kids, a lot of the students in these halls already know each other so integration may be a little harder. In all of the other halls, and there are many, there is absolutely no problem.

Such a relief to hear this. So you had a good student life there? Other thing I'm concerned about is diversity. I am mixed race and at the open day I noticed there were hardly any black students. I just want to feel comfortable there, it's not a case of wanting specific friends but more about feeling comfortable as my high school was also mostly white and was really looking forward to a bit more diversity and understanding. Love rnb music too but are there student nights for rnb as all seems to be dB/alternative music?

Reply 8

Original post by TheglaP
Such a relief to hear this. So you had a good student life there? Other thing I'm concerned about is diversity. I am mixed race and at the open day I noticed there were hardly any black students. I just want to feel comfortable there, it's not a case of wanting specific friends but more about feeling comfortable as my high school was also mostly white and was really looking forward to a bit more diversity and understanding. Love rnb music too but are there student nights for rnb as all seems to be dB/alternative music?

Bristol is a city with 2 universities so there most definitely is diversity and just about every kind of music scene that you could wish for. Honestly skin colour, religion and any other kind of marker that might have had some importance at sixth form level is completely absent at university. You are who YOU are and not some kind of label that up until now has been used to put us in one box or another. Really don’t worry!

Reply 9

Ah thanks, that's really reassuring. Have you enjoyed it and met good friends? Any other pointers?

Quick Reply