City or Reading university ?

I firmed City, University of London & insured University of Reading.

City - Business with Finance with professional placement

Reading - accounting & management with
placement experience.

I’m unsure which one to go to (I have met their requirements), I live in London , 45 mins away from City and 1hr 20 from Reading. I want to get into the accounting & finance industry, but also want to consider which will be better in terms of support for placement, travel cost, usefulness of the course and general university experience. Please help x

Reply 1

RM-UK

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

I firmed City, University of London & insured University of Reading.
City - Business with Finance with professional placement
Reading - accounting & management with
placement experience.
I’m unsure which one to go to (I have met their requirements), I live in London , 45 mins away from City and 1hr 20 from Reading. I want to get into the accounting & finance industry, but also want to consider which will be better in terms of support for placement, travel cost, usefulness of the course and general university experience. Please help x

Both are good universities but City seems to rank higher than Reading for Finance degrees: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/accounting-and-finance

Also, City is offering an industrial placement (over just work experience), which implies a block of time, a whole year? This is important as the job market is incredibly competitive and having the opportunity to work in a financial institution and makes contacts will be invaluable. Also, City appears to have better industry connections. Plus a 45 minute commute is way better than 1 hour 20 minutes (1.5 hours vs nearly 3 hours round trip!).

Good luck with your decision making.

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 2

Nnnfrgj

Original post

by RM-UK

Both are good universities but City seems to rank higher than Reading for Finance degrees: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/accounting-and-finance
Also, City is offering an industrial placement (over just work experience), which implies a block of time, a whole year? This is important as the job market is incredibly competitive and having the opportunity to work in a financial institution and makes contacts will be invaluable. Also, City appears to have better industry connections. Plus a 45 minute commute is way better than 1 hour 20 minutes (1.5 hours vs nearly 3 hours round trip!).
Good luck with your decision making.

Yes I’m leaning towards city too, thanks and also both universities are offering a whole yr of work placement, they r 4 yr degrees. A

The only reason I have been considering reading is cuz of modules taught seem more focused on finance & accounting with a skim over other business topics. And it’s accredited by 4 different professional bodies.

Business with finance whereas has a broad focus over all aspects of Business such as marketing, HR, with some specific finance related modules. Hence it’s basically a Business degree which may not be valued as much.

The travel will be quite long and more expensive to go to Reading for 3 yrs tho and I visited City and loved it! But I want to consider which degree will be more valuable for me, in terms of knowledge & industry connections.

Reply 3

McGinger

It sounds like you have already entered these choices onto UCAS. If you have 'already met their requirements' how are you still holding conditional offers - have you not sent them your results yet?

Reply 4

Nnnfrgj

Original post

by McGinger

It sounds like you have already entered these choices onto UCAS. If you have 'already met their requirements' how are you still holding conditional offers - have you not sent them your results yet?

lol I’m in my second yr of college and the results r not out yet (like the certificate of the BTEC) but I have all the grades for each exam and coursework so overall my grade is going to be D*DD and both those unis requirements were (DDM) and reading gave me an unconditional offer anyways. Now the issue is which one do I go to.

Reply 5

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hi there,

Thanks for explaining your situation! It sounds like you're leaning towards City, which is a good option for your course! I wouldn't take too much from the rankings as these cannot tell you how good a fit that uni is for you and your needs. Firstly, which course do you think you'll enjoy more? There is a subtle difference between B with F and Acc and Mgmt. 'With' implies that business is a major and finance a minor, and 'and' implies an equal split. Have you looked into the modules? Which seems more interesting to you?

Secondly, which uni did you like the feel of better? Both degrees have an accounting/finance element and so would set you up well to kick start your career in accounting and/or finance as an industry, but which campus made you feel more at home?

I'd also say that if you're planning to commute. 45 mins will be much more manageable than 1h20 (as someone who commuted 1h30!)

I hope some of this helps - best of luck with the rest of your current course and your decision process 🙂

University of Bath

Reply 6

Nnnfrgj

Original post

by University of Bath

Hi there,
Thanks for explaining your situation! It sounds like you're leaning towards City, which is a good option for your course! I wouldn't take too much from the rankings as these cannot tell you how good a fit that uni is for you and your needs. Firstly, which course do you think you'll enjoy more? There is a subtle difference between B with F and Acc and Mgmt. 'With' implies that business is a major and finance a minor, and 'and' implies an equal split. Have you looked into the modules? Which seems more interesting to you?
Secondly, which uni did you like the feel of better? Both degrees have an accounting/finance element and so would set you up well to kick start your career in accounting and/or finance as an industry, but which campus made you feel more at home?
I'd also say that if you're planning to commute. 45 mins will be much more manageable than 1h20 (as someone who commuted 1h30!)
I hope some of this helps - best of luck with the rest of your current course and your decision process 🙂
University of Bath

I like readings course more cuz it’s more focused on accounting & finance. As for which campus made me feel at home?, I haven’t been to reading so I’m unfamiliar with it. My main reason to not go reading is the unfamiliarity and commute. I like city and its course, it’s just frustrating that it’s not as focused on accounting & finance which makes me feel like it may be useless to do. Although I have heard that city is well known for industrial connections and it is located in London which is home. My main concern is the outcome of these degrees, I want to ensure I can secure a placement.

Reply 7

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

Hello again,

I completely understand your concerns and you won't be the only one finding this a difficult dilemma.

City and Reading both have online chat platforms where you can ask their student ambassadors questions - perhaps they can offer advice on how they found the placement experience at both?

If you have from your research found that City is better for industrial connections then that does indicate that they'll have more placement support. Have you visited these places on open days? what impression did you get about the placement scheme?

At the end of the day its about weighing up the pros and cons and seeing which emerges as a clearer winner. There will be both pros and cons to both, and its just about deciding which is the overall better fit for what you want.

Hope this helps!

Uni of Bath

Reply 8

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

I firmed City, University of London & insured University of Reading.
City - Business with Finance with professional placement
Reading - accounting & management with
placement experience.
I’m unsure which one to go to (I have met their requirements), I live in London , 45 mins away from City and 1hr 20 from Reading. I want to get into the accounting & finance industry, but also want to consider which will be better in terms of support for placement, travel cost, usefulness of the course and general university experience. Please help x

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. As well as the things you have already listed I
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 looking at university reviews as they have a full comprehensive list of courses with reviews.

I have created a pros and cons blog, which can be read here. This is a great way to summarise the advantages and disadvantages of commuting. However, it is a very personal decision to make and is a big decision. I am a commuter student, and I travel for over 2 hours every time I attend university. sometimes the lectures may only be 1 hour; therefore, I travel for longer than I am at university. But if you are planning to live on campus then this is irrelevant.

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

In general, the university environment is a positive place where students are helped to thrive; for example, there is a Careers Centre, Research facilities, a library, a Reading Students' Union, SportsPark and lots of food venues.

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 fun fair, and lots of food and drink vendors. It's seen as one of the highlights of the year.

I hope this information above will help you with your decision-making; if you have any questions, please let us know.

All the best,
Ella
Bsc Ecology

Reply 9

Makro

Original post

by RM-UK

Both are good universities but City seems to rank higher than Reading for Finance degrees: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/accounting-and-finance
Also, City is offering an industrial placement (over just work experience), which implies a block of time, a whole year? This is important as the job market is incredibly competitive and having the opportunity to work in a financial institution and makes contacts will be invaluable. Also, City appears to have better industry connections. Plus a 45 minute commute is way better than 1 hour 20 minutes (1.5 hours vs nearly 3 hours round trip!).
Good luck with your decision making.

OP said BOTH universities offer an Industrial Placement.

Reading has a very strong business school and industry connections. I know through personal work that Deloitte's office in Reading, takes on a lot of reading uni students for placements, Oracle is also there are a number of others.

There is no one or uni that guarantees you that you'll get a placement. It's like applying for a job, you do your homework right from year 1 to apply with a strong CV, then all you wait and hope for the best. They're quite competitive so practice online psychometric tests, make sure you've joined some societies at uni and be active, any voluntary work you can pick will also hold you in good stead.

University support doesn't go beyond, CV and interview prepping. They may also advertise placement opportunities on dept. boards from previous employers but most of the effort will come from you.

Reply 10

McGinger

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

If you have an Unconditional offer from Reading then you have only two possible options - either you choose Reading as your Firm (with no Insurance, because you don't need one), or City as your Firm with Reading as your Unconditional Insurance.

Reply 11

Nnnfrgj

Original post

by McGinger

Yep that’s what I did, city is my firm and reading is an insurance

Reply 12

Sandy CityUniRep

Official Rep

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

I firmed City, University of London & insured University of Reading.
City - Business with Finance with professional placement
Reading - accounting & management with
placement experience.
I’m unsure which one to go to (I have met their requirements), I live in London , 45 mins away from City and 1hr 20 from Reading. I want to get into the accounting & finance industry, but also want to consider which will be better in terms of support for placement, travel cost, usefulness of the course and general university experience. Please help x

Hey! I'm a current City student studying Sociology with Psychology and Data Analytics, so a bit different but hopefully still helpful. I live in London about 1hr 20 away, so I get the travel situation. The commute can be a bit long but staying at home saves a lot compared to moving out, especially with London rent.

One thing I really value about City is how focused it is on employability. For example, I did a placement as part of my Data Analytics module with the Greater London Authority- amazing experience. The careers service offers so much support: CV workshops, one-to-one advice, mock interviews, networking events, and placement help from early on. They really push employability from the start, which is great if you want to get into competitive industries like accounting and finance.

For Business with Finance, Bayes Business School has strong industry links, and being in central London gives you access to loads of internships, networking and part-time jobs. Reading is a good option too, but personally I've found London offers far more opportunities alongside your degree.

In terms of general university experience, City has lots of societies, events and student support services (mental health support, academic skills workshops, careers support, etc.) that have been really helpful. Th student community is quite diverse and there's always something happening on campus.

At the end of the day, it depends on what works best for you, but from my experience, City has given me professional experience, strong careers support and being in London has opened doors in term of networking and placements.

Reply 13

serensoul

im also choosing between city and reading but for economics ,, did u decide?

Reply 14

Nnnfrgj

Original post

by serensoul

im also choosing between city and reading but for economics ,, did u decide?

Yes I chose City😝

Reply 15

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by serensoul

im also choosing between city and reading but for economics ,, did u decide?

Good evening,

It's great to hear you are considering the University of Reading.

There is an ambassador scheme at the University of Reading where prospective students can message current students; you can find more information here. There is an Economics student called Jasmine whom you can contact here.

We currently have a thread for 2025 applicants, where new students can find and talk to each other. Similarly, the student ambassadors have posted key tips for joining the university.

Also, if you have any questions, I would be happy to help.

All the best,
Ella
BSc Ecology

Reply 16

serensoul

Original post

by Nnnfrgj

Yes I chose City😝

omg same girl!!!