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Worried I chose the wrong uni

So as the title says, I'm suddenly doubting whether I chose the right university to go to this year. I took a gap year after sixth form because my mental health was bad and applied for uni this January. I honestly don't think I thought through my options very well and didn't consider places I now wish I had. Ultimately I narrowed it down to Surrey and Portsmouth, ended up firming Surrey due to it being slightly higher on the league tables. However I'm now worried I won't enjoy it, and that I'd prefer to be in a bigger city with more life to it. Also finances are an issue, I didn't realise how expensive it is going to be to live in Guildford and the accomodation is ridiculously pricey for what it is. Have I made the wrong choice or am I just overthinking it? Also has anyone had good/bad experiences there??

Reply 1

Original post
by Anonymous
So as the title says, I'm suddenly doubting whether I chose the right university to go to this year. I took a gap year after sixth form because my mental health was bad and applied for uni this January. I honestly don't think I thought through my options very well and didn't consider places I now wish I had. Ultimately I narrowed it down to Surrey and Portsmouth, ended up firming Surrey due to it being slightly higher on the league tables. However I'm now worried I won't enjoy it, and that I'd prefer to be in a bigger city with more life to it. Also finances are an issue, I didn't realise how expensive it is going to be to live in Guildford and the accomodation is ridiculously pricey for what it is. Have I made the wrong choice or am I just overthinking it? Also has anyone had good/bad experiences there??

Personally I'm not a fan - the few times I've spent in Guildford I've found it boring.

You could have a look in clearing to see if there's anything else you prefer?
(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

Original post
by Muttley79
Personally I'm not a fan - the few times I've spent in Guildofr I've found it boring.
You could have a look in clearing to see if there's anything else you prefer?


Was considering clearing, only downside of that is most unis don't guarantee accomodation if you apply after the deadline :/

Reply 3

Original post
by Anonymous
Was considering clearing, only downside of that is most unis don't guarantee accomodation if you apply after the deadline :/

Some do though - which degree?

Reply 4

Original post
by Muttley79
Some do though - which degree?


Biomedical science with foundation year, only got BCD in my a levels so wasn't able to get into 1st year anywhere

Reply 5

Original post
by Anonymous
Biomedical science with foundation year, only got BCD in my a levels so wasn't able to get into 1st year anywhere

Did you look at brookes BCC might take you?

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/biomedical-science

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/clearing/

Reply 6

Original post
by Anonymous
So as the title says, I'm suddenly doubting whether I chose the right university to go to this year. I took a gap year after sixth form because my mental health was bad and applied for uni this January. I honestly don't think I thought through my options very well and didn't consider places I now wish I had. Ultimately I narrowed it down to Surrey and Portsmouth, ended up firming Surrey due to it being slightly higher on the league tables. However I'm now worried I won't enjoy it, and that I'd prefer to be in a bigger city with more life to it. Also finances are an issue, I didn't realise how expensive it is going to be to live in Guildford and the accomodation is ridiculously pricey for what it is. Have I made the wrong choice or am I just overthinking it? Also has anyone had good/bad experiences there??
I’m going to portsmouth this september after taking 2 years off, but my bestfriend has been going to surrey and i’ve spent some time there staying for the uni life. Surrey is a very good uni, but it is further away from the night life/city area. I chose portsmouth as the grades are good for the course I want to do, have you looked into your specific course and how well the two compare based on what you will be doing rather than overall? I think portsmouth is definitely better for the social aspect, you’re in the middle of the city, everything close by, even down to the train station being a 2-5 min walk rather than 25-30 for surrey. Easier to get a job as you’re right next to everything and then you have gunwarf so close too for the ‘nicer’ part i guess? Try not to worry, i’m sure you would enjoy either, but if your main reason to pick surrey over portsmouth was down to the rankings maybe look further into your course at portsmouth, for example i’m doing criminology and portsmouth is one of the best for it. I hope this somewhat helps :smile:

Reply 7

Original post
by Anonymous
So as the title says, I'm suddenly doubting whether I chose the right university to go to this year. I took a gap year after sixth form because my mental health was bad and applied for uni this January. I honestly don't think I thought through my options very well and didn't consider places I now wish I had. Ultimately I narrowed it down to Surrey and Portsmouth, ended up firming Surrey due to it being slightly higher on the league tables. However I'm now worried I won't enjoy it, and that I'd prefer to be in a bigger city with more life to it. Also finances are an issue, I didn't realise how expensive it is going to be to live in Guildford and the accomodation is ridiculously pricey for what it is. Have I made the wrong choice or am I just overthinking it? Also has anyone had good/bad experiences there??

hello I'm also struggling with this too I can't pick between Leicester (top 30) and Lincoln for psychology. Leicester is also ridiculously expensive for accommodation and the city isn't too nice, however, Lincoln is close to me so I wouldn't have to live there really. I got told that league tables don't matter unless it's Cambridge or Oxford or something else, so as long as you do good in your studies/ degree then you can do masters potentially in a russel group (if that's your path).

Reply 8

Original post
by jxesstxx
I’m going to portsmouth this september after taking 2 years off, but my bestfriend has been going to surrey and i’ve spent some time there staying for the uni life. Surrey is a very good uni, but it is further away from the night life/city area. I chose portsmouth as the grades are good for the course I want to do, have you looked into your specific course and how well the two compare based on what you will be doing rather than overall? I think portsmouth is definitely better for the social aspect, you’re in the middle of the city, everything close by, even down to the train station being a 2-5 min walk rather than 25-30 for surrey. Easier to get a job as you’re right next to everything and then you have gunwarf so close too for the ‘nicer’ part i guess? Try not to worry, i’m sure you would enjoy either, but if your main reason to pick surrey over portsmouth was down to the rankings maybe look further into your course at portsmouth, for example i’m doing criminology and portsmouth is one of the best for it. I hope this somewhat helps :smile:


Thank you so much for your reply! There wasn't much difference in the courses at both unis, both degrees were accredited and I had to do a foundation year at both regardless. I just really found it difficult trying to think whether I'd prefer a campus uni or one spread across the city, as I know clubbing tends to get boring after a year or so anyway😅. I think it was purely location that lead me to change to Surrey, thought I'd enjoy being closer to the countryside but now I'm worried I'm just going to miss out on student life :frown:

Reply 9

Original post
by zushie
hello I'm also struggling with this too I can't pick between Leicester (top 30) and Lincoln for psychology. Leicester is also ridiculously expensive for accommodation and the city isn't too nice, however, Lincoln is close to me so I wouldn't have to live there really. I got told that league tables don't matter unless it's Cambridge or Oxford or something else, so as long as you do good in your studies/ degree then you can do masters potentially in a russel group (if that's your path).


Yeah I really wished I'd considered how expensive accomodation is before I firmed my choice. I don't think league tables matter overall, I think it's better to look at how your individual subject performs and how teaching is. I'd say go where you can see yourself living for 3-4 years and where you think you'd be happiest, rather than which one sounds best on paper :smile:
Original post
by Anonymous
Yeah I really wished I'd considered how expensive accomodation is before I firmed my choice. I don't think league tables matter overall, I think it's better to look at how your individual subject performs and how teaching is. I'd say go where you can see yourself living for 3-4 years and where you think you'd be happiest, rather than which one sounds best on paper :smile:

Hi there.

When talking about accommodation prices, are you considering all the different price bands? I lived in a band C1 accommodation and found it incredibly well-priced for how centrally-located it was on campus, along with how easy it was to get to the train station and town centre. One thing to remember is the closer to London you are, the pricier living will be. The other universities mentioned in this thread are quite a bit further away from London, and will be much cheaper to live at.

What you should consider is if you can extract value from being closer to London, or if you don't need it at all. For me, Surrey was the closer of my options to my family and London, which benefits me a lot. However, this will always be personal.

If you decide to stay with Surrey, and end up not liking it, you do have the chance to transfer unis (I transferred to Surrey myself), so don't think of it as a final decision you must make immediately. Try not to overthink it, as I'm sure it'll all work out for you in the end 😊

Hope this helps,

Marko

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