The Student Room Group

Durham vs Warwick university for General Engineering

Hi, I got offers back from both of them, and inchallah I will be attending the offer holder days for both of them in march.

At first I was 100% convinced I was going to firm Durham, I like the structure of the course and the ability to choose a free elective if quite enticing to me, I also love the city, I like how small and green it is.

But recently I've been having major second thoughts (for context I haven't yet visited Warwick Uni, I will be going there for the first time in 3 weeks for offer holder day). I heard very good things about the uni, and if the city is pretty and I feel good about it I can see myself picking it over Durham.

Also Durham is very far away from where I live (Midlands), it's not the biggest dealbreaker, but is something I think about often, I also find myself wondering if I might not have access to as many opportunities because of the location.

These are my priorities when picking a uni:
- I want to study somewhere that I find pretty and safe
- After spending my Gap Year working in industry I realised that going into research might be the right path for me (So I would like to pick the uni that will better help me succeed in that)
- I want to take my bike to uni, so I will like a uni that cyclable and where I have the least chances of getting it stolen (this point is not as important as the others but I thought I would mention it regardless)
- And, arguably one of the most important points, cost (food, rent, etc...) and available bursaries/scholarships
(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

Durham is not 'known' for Engineering - and it has ongoing budget problems
Durham University to cut 200 jobs in bid to save £20m - BBC News
Original post by anonycatt
Hi, I got offers back from both of them, and inchallah I will be attending the offer holder days for both of them in march.

At first I was 100% convinced I was going to firm Durham, I like the structure of the course and the ability to choose a free elective if quite enticing to me, I also love the city, I like how small and green it is.

But recently I've been having major second thoughts (for context I haven't yet visited Warwick Uni, I will be going there for the first time in 3 weeks for offer holder day). I heard very good things about the uni, and if the city is pretty and I feel good about it I can see myself picking it over Durham.

Also Durham is very far away from where I live (Midlands), it's not the biggest dealbreaker, but is something I think about often, I also find myself wondering if I might not have access to as many opportunities because of the location.

These are my priorities when picking a uni:
- I want to study somewhere that I find pretty and safe
- After spending my Gap Year working in industry I realised that going into research might be the right path for me (So I would like to pick the uni that will better help me succeed in that)
- I want to take my bike to uni, so I will like a uni that cyclable and where I have the least chances of getting it stolen (this point is not as important as the others but I thought I would mention it regardless)
- And, arguably one of the most important points, cost (food, rent, etc...) and available bursaries/scholarships


The top of your priority list should be course content. Compare modules and optional modules and think about which you would choose. :yep:

Also, Warwick Uni isn't in Warwick - it's on the outskirts of Coventry.

Reply 3

Original post by anonycatt
Hi, I got offers back from both of them, and inchallah I will be attending the offer holder days for both of them in march.
At first I was 100% convinced I was going to firm Durham, I like the structure of the course and the ability to choose a free elective if quite enticing to me, I also love the city, I like how small and green it is.
But recently I've been having major second thoughts (for context I haven't yet visited Warwick Uni, I will be going there for the first time in 3 weeks for offer holder day). I heard very good things about the uni, and if the city is pretty and I feel good about it I can see myself picking it over Durham.
Also Durham is very far away from where I live (Midlands), it's not the biggest dealbreaker, but is something I think about often, I also find myself wondering if I might not have access to as many opportunities because of the location.
These are my priorities when picking a uni:
- I want to study somewhere that I find pretty and safe
- After spending my Gap Year working in industry I realised that going into research might be the right path for me (So I would like to pick the uni that will better help me succeed in that)
- I want to take my bike to uni, so I will like a uni that cyclable and where I have the least chances of getting it stolen (this point is not as important as the others but I thought I would mention it regardless)
- And, arguably one of the most important points, cost (food, rent, etc...) and available bursaries/scholarships


I'm not in uni yet but I live in Coventry. The city is a shìthole, but its a short train ride to Birmingham if you want to go somewhere interesting. As for whether its safe.... that depends on where you go and what time, but I'd say most areas are pretty safe. Stuff is fairly cheap here compared to other cities as well. Warwick uni campus is on the outskirts of the city, you'd need like a 20 to 30 min bus ride to get back to the city centre (not that theres much to do in the city centre anyway). I've been to Warwick on an open day as well, the campus seems very nice (much nicer than the actual city of Coventry 😅), they have a lot of societies and also the Warwick Arts Centre with a lot of stuff going on. I can't ride a bike, but it should be easy for you to cycle around campus I think. Can't say much more about the uni since I don't go there yet ofc.

Anyway best thing to do is to decide after attending the offer holder days. I've never been to Durham (didn't apply there), so can't offer much info on it.

Reply 4

Original post by pagan-scimitar
I'm not in uni yet but I live in Coventry. The city is a shìthole, but its a short train ride to Birmingham if you want to go somewhere interesting. As for whether its safe.... that depends on where you go and what time, but I'd say most areas are pretty safe. Stuff is fairly cheap here compared to other cities as well. Warwick uni campus is on the outskirts of the city, you'd need like a 20 to 30 min bus ride to get back to the city centre (not that theres much to do in the city centre anyway). I've been to Warwick on an open day as well, the campus seems very nice (much nicer than the actual city of Coventry 😅), they have a lot of societies and also the Warwick Arts Centre with a lot of stuff going on. I can't ride a bike, but it should be easy for you to cycle around campus I think. Can't say much more about the uni since I don't go there yet ofc.
Anyway best thing to do is to decide after attending the offer holder days. I've never been to Durham (didn't apply there), so can't offer much info on it.

yh but dont most people live in lemmington spa. I have hurd that its much nicer there although probbably more expensive.

Reply 5

Original post by das fafaa fsd
yh but dont most people live in lemmington spa. I have hurd that its much nicer there although probbably more expensive.


I mean if you don't mind the extra cost, Leamington Spa seems like a nicer place to live yeah. Ik it has some good pubs/restaurants (though I haven't been to many personally). If you like taking walks then theres the Jephson Gardens which is quite nice. I hear the nightlife is good since a lot of students go there (obviously not as good as big cities but better than Cov's at least). I couldn't really tell you more about the place since I've not been there many times. If you get the chance to visit there in person you'll know if you can see yourself living there.

Reply 6

I would rather go somewhere with little to no active nightlife, is something I am not interested in at all

Reply 7

Thanks everyone for your input, it’s helping me a lot in my research

Reply 8

Original post by anonycatt
I would rather go somewhere with little to no active nightlife, is something I am not interested in at all

wawrick does have some what of a reputation for **** nightlife
Original post by anonycatt
Hi, I got offers back from both of them, and inchallah I will be attending the offer holder days for both of them in march.

At first I was 100% convinced I was going to firm Durham, I like the structure of the course and the ability to choose a free elective if quite enticing to me, I also love the city, I like how small and green it is.

But recently I've been having major second thoughts (for context I haven't yet visited Warwick Uni, I will be going there for the first time in 3 weeks for offer holder day). I heard very good things about the uni, and if the city is pretty and I feel good about it I can see myself picking it over Durham.

Also Durham is very far away from where I live (Midlands), it's not the biggest dealbreaker, but is something I think about often, I also find myself wondering if I might not have access to as many opportunities because of the location.

These are my priorities when picking a uni:
- I want to study somewhere that I find pretty and safe
- After spending my Gap Year working in industry I realised that going into research might be the right path for me (So I would like to pick the uni that will better help me succeed in that)
- I want to take my bike to uni, so I will like a uni that cyclable and where I have the least chances of getting it stolen (this point is not as important as the others but I thought I would mention it regardless)
- And, arguably one of the most important points, cost (food, rent, etc...) and available bursaries/scholarships

All personal opinion:
- Both are pretty safe places (safety is largely driven through good decision making & house location), there will always be risks but both the universities are in favourable environments
- research (i.e. a PhD) is a long way off, you can move university for this as well. But id probably say Warwick has the industry & research edge in engineering particularly for automotive & manufacturing applications
- I don’t see any reason why this would be a problem at either place, depends where you want to live exactly as to how convenient a bike is
- costs, both midlands and the north are very favourable on this, probably check right move to understand rental prices around the universities (it can vary a lot at universities depending on local rental market dynamics, for example with students walking distance has a much bigger impact on rental pricing than in other environments)

Reply 10

Update:

I now attended both unis' offer holder days, and I decided I favour Durham over Warwick.
I like the city of Durham way more, I find it much nicer, also the fact that it's a city uni is a huge plus, I realised I am not really keep on going to a campus uni.
I also preferred the course structure at Durham.

I think I let the Durham stereotypes get to me for a bit, and after visiting I was impressed by how nice and welcoming people were there, for context I am not British nor do I come across as such (like not at all 😂) and because of that I have been warned numerous times about the fact that I might not feel welcomed there, but I actually had such a great time, both current students and prospective students (and also stuff) were so nice and easy to chat with.
(edited 1 month ago)

Quick Reply