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help me choose a uni please!!

hi there! i'm currently thinking about studying a sports science degree this year and eventually earning my qts to become a secondary pe teacher, my main choices (that i've already recieved offers for) are northumbria and sunderland.
if i choose sunderland i only need to attend for 3 years as the course offers qts, if i go to northumbria i'll need to spend a 4th year getting my qts.
i haven't visited northumbria yet but i will be in february and i have an interview with sunderland on wednesday.
i'm completely torn between the two and was just wondering what are the overall pros and cons of both unis? i'll be staying in accomodation at both but i haven't heard any opinions on the overall feel they provide, i'd really appreciate if people gave me their experiences and how much they enjoy both unis!!
Reply 1
Out of those, Northumbria is the best university on all fronts:
As a university (Northumbria is a former polytechnic that is one of the highest ranked former polytechnics (somewhere in top 7, I'd say) in the UK).
Northumbria is far better for requiring higher entry grades and it has better research.
Newcastle is generally regarded to be a more popular environment for students, at least ones from other parts of the country, than Sunderland.

See www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk

n.b. for the same grades as the average entrant has at Northumbria for Sports Science, you could get in King's College London, Newcastle, or Nottingham. Not that they're necessarily better for this subject.
(edited 4 weeks ago)
Hi Anonymous #1,

You can chat directly with current students at the University of Sunderland about their experiences here - https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/student-experience/chat-to-students-staff

Also online you can find recent survey data on all the universities you've applied to through:

The National Student Survey for 2024: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/national-student-survey-data/provider-level-dashboard/, and

The Guardian rankings for 2025: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2024/sep/07/the-guardian-university-guide-2025-the-rankings

Best of luck with your interview tomorrow. If there is anything else I can do to help, just let me know.


Steve

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