Should i go to Brunel or Kent?

Hello everyone!

I have just been accepted to Brunel, Kent, Reading and Kingston, and I need a bit of advice on which one to choose. From my research, I believe that the best choice would be either Kent or Brunel. I also applied to Loughborough, but I was rejected because my maths grade was too low.

The degrees I chose were:

Brunel- BSc Digital Design with placement

Kent- BSc Digital Design

Kingston- BSc Digital Media Technology with Professional Placement

Reading- Graphic Communication

I am very interested to know which uni is most recognisable and attractive to recruiters in the digital design/UXUI sector and if anyone has taken these courses or studied at these universities I would also love to get to know your personal experience!

I am also considering the areas in which these unis are in as I will most likely be renting an apartment privately with my husband so if it's between Brunel and Kent I would love to know your opinion on that too.

Thank you for reading!

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post

by raquel786

Hello everyone!
I have just been accepted to Brunel, Kent, Reading and Kingston, and I need a bit of advice on which one to choose. From my research, I believe that the best choice would be either Kent or Brunel. I also applied to Loughborough, but I was rejected because my maths grade was too low.
The degrees I chose were:
Brunel- BSc Digital Design with placement
Kent- BSc Digital Design
Kingston- BSc Digital Media Technology with Professional Placement
Reading- Graphic Communication
I am very interested to know which uni is most recognisable and attractive to recruiters in the digital design/UXUI sector and if anyone has taken these courses or studied at these universities I would also love to get to know your personal experience!
I am also considering the areas in which these unis are in as I will most likely be renting an apartment privately with my husband so if it's between Brunel and Kent I would love to know your opinion on that too.
Thank you for reading!

Congratulations on your offers! Take your time deciding and try to visit the universities to see what you think. In the meantime I will share our experience.

I went to Brunel and did the adjacent course to Digital Design. My friend did Digital Design and we shared many classes such as 3D, Animation and motion graphics. The main complaint from the Digital Design students was how many classes we shared as these took out a significant amount of time and took away from the time they could spend developing UI/UX skills. Please do check if this is still the structure of the course.

My friend now works as a UX UI designer.

If you are interested in these subjects then this course could be suitable, however we did not believe it provided sufficient skills in 3D and animation for it to be worth the time and people preferred to focus on UI UX. You should check whether the course at Brunel is still structured like that.

I do know of at least one helpful and excellent lecturer on Digital Design. Unfortunately for us the course was riddled with subjects most people on Digital Design did not enjoy (3D, Animation, Motion Graphics and Digital futures, Introduction to video editing, marketing and quite a few others). As far as I am aware most of the same lecturers remain.

As for the campus, it was not the most visually pleasing place but there was plenty to do and a Lidl nearby but expensive shops on campus (cost cutters, subway, costa) and a fair canteen.

The accommodation situation was excellent. The uni has an office where they help rent out houses from to second year students through landlords and you may be able to secure a house for yourself and your husband. This was a cheap option at the time for me. There are other options nearby and all the way to Islington; take the tube from there to Uxbridge then either walk or take the U2, Alternatively I believe you may be able to take the U8 from Hillingdon (maybe it is the other way around).

Uxbridge was enjoyable as it is rather close to London and only takes about an hour and a bit to get to the city centre but living there you avoid the every day bustle of the big city. There are some things to do in Uxbridge.

Placement was a good experience for most people and my friend in Digital Design secured a paid placement although in an undesirable location.

Overall, for my friend and I Brunel was not what we expected and felt the course could have been better, If we went to do a BSc again we would not choose it.

There was no mention of any kind of maths although Digital Design did programming. There was one subject on php where we did some simple calculations. Having lived with my friend I felt like there could be more and undoubtedly if the course wasn’t filled with other subjects there would be more time to develop UI UX skills.

I would encourage you to look through the structure of the course and try to find out what the name of each subject indicates you will study as this may be the deciding factor. Brunel is recognised among employers but this does not mean you will enjoy the course. At the same time, if you are interested in 3D etc you may as well have a fabulous time.

Personally, for UI UX I would seriously consider Kent or alternatively Leeds through clearing although I understand you may want to be in London. I would recommend choosing a course heavy on programming for UX UI and even if theres maths which you may not enjoy, you will get through it and may never have to do it again after you finish the course. It is better to get a bad mark in a subject with maths that is relevant than a subject you simply dont care about and is not relevant.
I would also say that I am at a “worse” university now in terms of league tables but fully appreciate how much more I am enjoying my focused study. If you make it to an open day, find out where the lecturers worked before they came to teach this can be a good indicator of the quality of lectures. I am sorry this was long and hope it was helpful. I hope you love the university you choose and have a brilliant time. Best of luck!

p.s. If you do choose Brunel they have some good societies!

Reply 2

University of Kent

Official Rep

Original post

by raquel786

Hello everyone!
I have just been accepted to Brunel, Kent, Reading and Kingston, and I need a bit of advice on which one to choose. From my research, I believe that the best choice would be either Kent or Brunel. I also applied to Loughborough, but I was rejected because my maths grade was too low.
The degrees I chose were:
Brunel- BSc Digital Design with placement
Kent- BSc Digital Design
Kingston- BSc Digital Media Technology with Professional Placement
Reading- Graphic Communication
I am very interested to know which uni is most recognisable and attractive to recruiters in the digital design/UXUI sector and if anyone has taken these courses or studied at these universities I would also love to get to know your personal experience!
I am also considering the areas in which these unis are in as I will most likely be renting an apartment privately with my husband so if it's between Brunel and Kent I would love to know your opinion on that too.
Thank you for reading!

Hi,
I hope you are well!😊
It's great to see that you are looking to come to Kent! I have loved my three years here, which makes me a bit biased! But let me know if you have any questions about the opportunities available to students🙂

I apologise for the delayed response, but thought I'd hop on here and share some information which has been shared with me via the Digital Design course lead🙂

Here's a few things from the lead about BSc Digital Design at Kent:

•

"Digital Design at Kent has a very high success rate of helping students with the ambition of working in UX/UI design achieve successful careers in the field. We have strong industry relationships, often fostering partnerships with our successful Alumni. Recent examples of these include UX/UI designers from the BBC, Formula 1, and the games industry.

•

The above partnerships come in the form of industry professionals being involved with the delivery of the course in the form of our Industrial Advisory Panel which helps shape the content of the course, as well as guest lectures throughout various modules in the course.

•

Digital Design also offers a broader range of career paths in the digital design sector, including but not limited to, Film & TV, Games, Graphic Design and Immersive.

•

In regard to the campus location, Kent is extremely hard to beat, a scenic campus university nestled on top of a hill with beautiful views over Canterbury, surrounded by lush greenery for when you are not using the high performance computer suites at your disposal 24/7"

•

To add to the comment made about Canterbury Campus- I have visited the campus many times throughout my studies, and it is really easy to navigate with all you need in one place. You can find student support, lecture or teaching rooms, the library and cafes within a short walk of each other, which I find super helpful! The campus is also very green and has some nice places to take a walk. Canterbury town centre is also a short drive or bus ride away, which is also lovely, and has some great places to shop, as well as eat and take a stroll🙂

•

You can check out the campus yourself at the upcoming open day and virtual events here🙂

While I have not lived in campus or off-campus accommodation during my studies, Kent Union provides some helpful information about looking for private accommodation and where to start here😊

I hope this helps!
Let me know if you have any questions!😊

Best wishes,
Josie
Uni of Kent Student Rep🎓️

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 3

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by raquel786

Hello everyone!
I have just been accepted to Brunel, Kent, Reading and Kingston, and I need a bit of advice on which one to choose. From my research, I believe that the best choice would be either Kent or Brunel. I also applied to Loughborough, but I was rejected because my maths grade was too low.
The degrees I chose were:
Brunel- BSc Digital Design with placement
Kent- BSc Digital Design
Kingston- BSc Digital Media Technology with Professional Placement
Reading- Graphic Communication
I am very interested to know which uni is most recognisable and attractive to recruiters in the digital design/UXUI sector and if anyone has taken these courses or studied at these universities I would also love to get to know your personal experience!
I am also considering the areas in which these unis are in as I will most likely be renting an apartment privately with my husband so if it's between Brunel and Kent I would love to know your opinion on that too.
Thank you for reading!

Good afternoon,

Choosing a university depends on what you want from your university experience. Every student wants something slightly different, such as lecture style or exam vs no exams. I always recommend deciding what you want from your university and writing a list. You can compare the two universities to your own criteria; this means the university will be the best fit for you.

The Whatuni website is good for reviews on Find A Course, as they have a full comprehensive list of reviews.

There is an ambassador scheme at the University of Reading where prospective students can message current students; you can find more information here.

When I was applying to the university, I found it very helpful to attend an Open Day; however, for students who live far away or do not have access to an Open Day, there is a Virtual Tour, which prospective students can look at from their homes. I highly recommend you have a look at the Virtual Tour; it provides an insight to the campus.

You can find the RSU Sports Clubs and the Societies, which are run by the student union. There is also a selection of Student activities which occur throughout the year.

At the end of every year, there is a Summer Ball, which is a large festival-like event. There is live music on different stages, a theme park, and lots of food and drink vendors. It's seen as one of the highlights of the year.

I hope this information helps you gain an inside perspective of the university. Additionally, I highly recommend you contact the unibuddy ambassadors (Link provided above), as they will be able to provide course-specific information.

if you have any questions, please let us know.

All the best,
Ella
Bsc Ecology

Reply 4

Kingston Grace

Official Rep

Original post

by raquel786

Hello everyone!
I have just been accepted to Brunel, Kent, Reading and Kingston, and I need a bit of advice on which one to choose. From my research, I believe that the best choice would be either Kent or Brunel. I also applied to Loughborough, but I was rejected because my maths grade was too low.
The degrees I chose were:
Brunel- BSc Digital Design with placement
Kent- BSc Digital Design
Kingston- BSc Digital Media Technology with Professional Placement
Reading- Graphic Communication
I am very interested to know which uni is most recognisable and attractive to recruiters in the digital design/UXUI sector and if anyone has taken these courses or studied at these universities I would also love to get to know your personal experience!
I am also considering the areas in which these unis are in as I will most likely be renting an apartment privately with my husband so if it's between Brunel and Kent I would love to know your opinion on that too.
Thank you for reading!

Hi @raquel786

Sorry I have only just found this post! I thought I would still respond in case you still need help making a decision :smile:

Although I don't personally study the course you are interested in here at Kingston I am part of the Kingston School of Art studying fashion promotion and communication.

I really enjoy studying here and find my lectures have great industry knowledge, creating projects that I feel are preparing me well for the industry. I have a previous post on this that you may find of interest
How Kingston Prepares you for Industry - The Student Room

Here are also some other posts that you may also find useful:
My Deciding Factors For Choosing Kingston University - The Student Room
An Overview of Kingston's Four Campuses - The Student Room
Tips on Making a University Choice - The Student Room
Why Location is Important When Choosing a University - The Student Room

The location here at Kingston is something I really love. Being close to central London is really handy, especially for gaining experience in the industry. It is then the best of both worlds as Kingston is not as busy, but there is still lots to do and it feels like a really nice community!

There are also really great facilities on all the campuses. At Knights Park campus, which is were the school of art is based, there are a a range of workshops that are available to any students no matter what they study such as printmaking, 3D materials, moving image, photography, and digital media.

I would highly recommend coming to an open day. It is a great chance to get a feel for the university as to what it might be like to live and study there, see the facilities and speak to current students and lectures. This is what helped me make a decision. There is more information on the website with upcoming dates Open Days and events | Kingston University London

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer :smile:

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

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