Advice: Where should I firm? (Medicine- Manchester, Sheffield, Cambridge)

I currently have offers from Manchester, Cambridge, Sheffield and St Andrews for medicine and I am stuck on where to firm out of Manchester, Sheffield and Cambridge.
Cambridge is a beautiful place and seems to be filled with very clever people, and I think I'd love the extra curricular side (I really like jazz), but I'm worried about it being too difficult or academic (I did not enjoy my interview at all, found the diffusion side stressful and did not get on with the interviewers) and that it might affect my mental health (the academic pressure)- also I would be away from home.
Manchester seems to be more hands on which I would enjoy and I could commute in (roughly 1 hour) so, if it were stressful I'd still have the support network of my family, but I'm worried I would be giving up a big opportunity. (I have also heard some bad things about Manchester's course and how it seems to involve a lot of self teaching), yet I really liked the vibe from the lecturers and students (also I live in one of the placement areas.)
Sheffield is a lovely, safe city (I am a little worried about the crime in Manchester) and it is also commutable. I love the Peak District and it seems to be really supportive and taught thoroughly. Yet, I am unsure if there would be societies I am interested in, also the placements are future away from where I would be commuting from. I am also worried that Sheffield doesn’t seem to be as big a hub for research as Manchester or Cambridge (although at the moment this is not something I am interested in doing). I also worry that Sheffield isn’t looked upon as well.
Please help me.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi @Erudite2021!
Firstly congratulations on all of your offers! I understand it must be a very difficult decision to make... I'm a second year medic at Sheffield so hopefully I can offer some insight on uni life and the course here to help with your decision 😀
As you said Sheffield is such a lovely and safe city! Although it's a stereotype, people are generally super friendly and compared to experiences I've heard at other uni cities, Sheffield definitely feels like one of the safer cities to be living in. The peak district is definitely a significant attribute to studying here, students often will go the Peaks just for study breaks especially during exam season, and it's also a nice way to get to know new friends you meet at uni. And in terms of commuting into uni here, I have a couple of friends who also commute and they are as involved in uni life as everyone else is. So there is definitely lots of opportunities to get involved in societies, sports, volunteering and so on through the students union, from the common ones to the more niche interests. Are there any societies you are particularly interested in, or anything you would want to look into joining at university?
The uni in general along with the medical school is very supportive; they integrate drop in sessions into the timetable through your first 2 years, where a couple members of the faculty and the student affairs team are available to honestly discuss anything, from a lecture question to a mental health concern. There is also lots of academic and welfare support through the university, such as having a meeting about your study habits through the 301 study skills centre. And in terms of the course itself at Sheffield, I found it has been organised in a logical manner, going through all of the systems in first year, and all of the diseases and pathology in second year, mainly taught through lecture content, small group sessions, anatomy and GP placement. The lectures are really informative and the lecturers have all been approachable to people asking questions at the end or to sending emails after the lecture has taken place.
In terms of placements, I can understand that the distance could be a concern. The uni does fund travel expenses based on the distance you travel to the placement which is good, and accommodation is also offered at some of the distant hospitals, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe, which would hopefully make it easier to access your placements.
Having been here for 2 years, I can definitely say that Sheffield is a thriving hub for research! I was very interested in research and so it was something I was considering heavily when deciding which medical school to go to; I had heard Sheffield was very involved in especially the neurology and oncology fields of medical research but didn't think I would get many opportunities initially in medical school. However in your second year there is a compulsory 6 week research attachment, where each student gets allocated to a supervisor and research project and becomes fully involved in the workings of the project. The submission is a report at the end of the attachment, and I have friends who actually got their name onto a publication as well from this attachment. Outside of this there is the Academic Medicine Society which I'm part of, and we look to match supervisors with students for their projects, and help to make research opportunities for students as accessible as possible. So there definitely is lots of research happening in Sheffield (and lecturers will often mention their current projects and results during their lectures as well!)
Finally I can assure you that Sheffield is a lovely, safe little city and almost everyone I know has positive things to say about it and the uni here 😀
Sorry for how much information is in this one message! As I said I understand this is a very difficult decision and it's so important you make the right choice for yourself during this period; each city and uni will be slightly different so I also recommend visiting them if you have the opportunity to. Considering the grades required if they are conditional offers may also be useful. Ultimately Sheffield has been an amazing city and medical school to study at for the past 2 years, there are countless opportunities to get involved in what interests you, academically and in other fields, which means student life here can be as busy as you choose it to be!
I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions about Sheffield, uni life or medical school!
Ami [2nd Year Medicine]

Thank you for such a detailed response- I didn’t know there were so many research opportunities! As for societies, I am mainly interested in singing and jazz (even better if it were vocal jazz). How did you find the workload/ term dates compare to students from other medical schools?