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Southampton or Sheffield? - Aerospace engineering

Hi all. I have foundation year offers for integrated masters in both aeronautics and astronautics in Southampton and aerospace in Sheffield. My dream is to go into the space engineering industry and I am stuck on which university to choose. I don't have A-level maths or physics so i will be on the foundation on either. I've only had the chance to go to both the offer holder days and not any other open days. Southampton's course contains a lot more actual space engineering and design and the course integrates the masters in space engineering and as a whole is probably much more helpful in getting me into the industry. So in terms of the course Southampton is definitely ahead. I recently attended Sheffield's offer holder day and found it to have a much nicer 'vibe' and their day was much more informative than Southampton's and included a lot on what the foundation year will entail where as Southampton did not. Sheffield in general seemed like a nicer way of living with a good student life and a good area whereas I didn't get that same feeling from Southampton. Sheffield's course contains a lot less actual space engineering than Southampton's but would that matter if both courses lead onto the same pathways anyway? Sheffield is a lot lot closer to home and i have family in the area. Southampton is about 4 hours away. overall i am stuck on which uni I should pick? if anyone has any insight into either or advice in general it would be really appreciated. thank you.

Reply 1

Original post
by ogsr776
Hi all. I have foundation year offers for integrated masters in both aeronautics and astronautics in Southampton and aerospace in Sheffield. My dream is to go into the space engineering industry and I am stuck on which university to choose. I don't have A-level maths or physics so i will be on the foundation on either. I've only had the chance to go to both the offer holder days and not any other open days. Southampton's course contains a lot more actual space engineering and design and the course integrates the masters in space engineering and as a whole is probably much more helpful in getting me into the industry. So in terms of the course Southampton is definitely ahead. I recently attended Sheffield's offer holder day and found it to have a much nicer 'vibe' and their day was much more informative than Southampton's and included a lot on what the foundation year will entail where as Southampton did not. Sheffield in general seemed like a nicer way of living with a good student life and a good area whereas I didn't get that same feeling from Southampton. Sheffield's course contains a lot less actual space engineering than Southampton's but would that matter if both courses lead onto the same pathways anyway? Sheffield is a lot lot closer to home and i have family in the area. Southampton is about 4 hours away. overall i am stuck on which uni I should pick? if anyone has any insight into either or advice in general it would be really appreciated. thank you.

Hi @ogsr776,

It definately seems like a challenging decision to make. On the one hand, Southampton sounds to be the better course, while, on the other hand, the student life aspect was more preferable at Sheffield. i would be biased to say you should definately come to Southampton, but I will say that the community is very welcoming and friendly. I would weigh up which of these two things you value more yo make your decison. This can be difficult to do, so consider the following question if you want to guiednce:

How would you feel spending 4 years of your life around the university and city?

Are there any modules that you know you want to take? Which uiniversity can you take them at?

How much you value the foundation year compared to the other years of the course?

What are the faciliaties like at the unis (You will be spending a significant amount of time in labs as an engineer)?

Hopefully this provides you with a good starting point. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions
Matthew
Student Ambasssador
(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 2

Original post
by ogsr776
Hi all. I have foundation year offers for integrated masters in both aeronautics and astronautics in Southampton and aerospace in Sheffield. My dream is to go into the space engineering industry and I am stuck on which university to choose. I don't have A-level maths or physics so i will be on the foundation on either. I've only had the chance to go to both the offer holder days and not any other open days. Southampton's course contains a lot more actual space engineering and design and the course integrates the masters in space engineering and as a whole is probably much more helpful in getting me into the industry. So in terms of the course Southampton is definitely ahead. I recently attended Sheffield's offer holder day and found it to have a much nicer 'vibe' and their day was much more informative than Southampton's and included a lot on what the foundation year will entail where as Southampton did not. Sheffield in general seemed like a nicer way of living with a good student life and a good area whereas I didn't get that same feeling from Southampton. Sheffield's course contains a lot less actual space engineering than Southampton's but would that matter if both courses lead onto the same pathways anyway? Sheffield is a lot lot closer to home and i have family in the area. Southampton is about 4 hours away. overall i am stuck on which uni I should pick? if anyone has any insight into either or advice in general it would be really appreciated. thank you.

Southampton offers some of the best courses in engineering related subjects, and they are such a supportive uni when it comes to student well-being. Also, it does have an amazing uni life! You will have to join societies, it’s always a great way to make friends outside of your course and accommodation! I think it’s a bigger city than Sheffield, but Sheffield has many big surrounding cities and northerners are more lovely. Both have scenic areas nearby - Sheffield with Peak District, Southampton with New Forest and neighbouring beaches and harbours.

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