Help me decide Unis

I want advice on the general unis of each one of these please, including the positives and negatives in terms of studying, accommodation, employability, reputation and just the general feel of the place:
I am considering applying for IR and/or Economics at
Birmingham
Bath
Exeter
Reading
Southampton
Glasgow or Strathclyde

Reply 1

McGinger

I want advice on the general unis of each one of these please, including the positives and negatives in terms of studying, accommodation, employability, reputation and just the general feel of the place

Then go to their Open Days - this is exactly what they are for.

Reply 2

University of Bath

Official Rep

Original post

by stressedrabbit

Hello stressedrabbit,

Thanks for reaching out and its lovely to hear you're considering bath as one of your choices. Definitely a good call to go to a few open days - here you can go to some course presentations, meet some lecturers and student ambassadors to get not only a feel for the uni overall but a feel for what kind of course you'd enjoy most.

Bath - Birmingham - Exeter - Reading - Southampton - Glasgow - Strathclyde details TBC

= open day pages! Open days tend to happen in both June and September/October/November. All these unis should also have virtual resources and youtube vids of the campus and so if there were any that were too far away for you then these could be worth checking out!

You can also get in touch with our student ambassadors online and ask them questions through TAP (similar to WhatsApp but just for unis) - they'd be happy to give you advice and answer any questions you have!

Hoping this helps, best of luck 🙂

University of Bath

Reply 3

stressedrabbit

Original post

by McGinger

I want advice on the general unis of each one of these please, including the positives and negatives in terms of studying, accommodation, employability, reputation and just the general feel of the place
Then go to their Open Days - this is exactly what they are for.

Haha I’ve booked most of them, and been to a few of them already. I wanted to see it more from a student that has already been there, and hear their honest perspective

Reply 4

University of Bath

Official Rep

Well I went to Bath a few years ago, and here's what I'd call the pros and cons...

Pros of Bath

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Fantastic placement scheme and industrial links

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One of the UK's safest cities and full of green parks and gorgeous architecture

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Great for engineering, management, humanities subjects and sciences

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TEF triple gold for excellent teaching quality - all my lecturers were extremely supportive and friendly as well as experts in their field of research

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Campus quite small so feels like a little village

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Excellent sports and societies scene

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Students are genuinely happy here

Cons of Bath

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Campus up a large hill so need a bus to get from city centre to uni

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Nightlife limited - there are a lot of good pubs, a few nightclubs and cocktail bars but not as lively a scene as somewhere like Birmingham (although its only 30m on the bus to Bristol)

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City parking is limited as is campus parking for students (although this is the case for most unis)

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Cost of living is quite high - almost as high as London

I genuinely loved my time at Bath and would absolutely recommend it. I liked the size of the campus and how everything was in one place. the teaching was excellent, and the place feels like a little village. I was also really reassured by the safety of the city and was not worried about walking home or catching the bus late. Its a lovely uni, but the hill its up is annoying and the cost of living there is higher than some cities further North and in Scotland.

At the end of the day its about deciding which offers the course you'd most like to do, what you think you'd enjoy more - this is the most important factor. Then its about thinking back to the open days and which uni you felt most 'at home' at.

I hope this helps a bit more, very best of luck!

Uni of Bath

Reply 5

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Hi @stressedrabbit

I have been at Southampton for 4 years now so can hopefully give you some insights into the life.

Pros

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Great Lectures and teaching staff

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Great support available both academic and personal

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There are lots of green spaces available both within the university and the surrounding areas

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Good nightlife being in the city helps as there are lots of student places

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Many clubs and societies spanning from sports to academic

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A free bus pass for first years in accommodation

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good transport links

Cons

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Some find city universities a bit daunting however its a mix of campus and city as there are multiple campuses that are enclosed spaces but they are located across the city.

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Buses are genuinely required to get around unless you are happy with walking

I have personally loved my time here and have made life long friends, it hasn't caused to much stress money wise with student accommodation being quite cheapo if you find the right places. I was a little concerned being in a city but Southampton is very student orientated which really makes a difference. But I loved the place and couldn't recommend it higher.

Hope this helps

Nikki
Msc Palaeoanthropology

Reply 6

UniofReading

Official Rep

Original post

by stressedrabbit

Hi @stressedrabbit

I hope you're doing well.

It is great to hear that you are considering Reading! I am in my 4th and final year, and have chosen to stay in Reading once I graduate so I would love to share some of my insights with you. I don't study the same subject you're interested in unfortunately, but I will share some information which should still be relevant.

I want advice on the general unis of each one of these please, including the positivesand negatives in terms of studying, accommodation, employability, reputation and justthe general feel of the place:

Some of my absolute favourite things about Reading in terms of living and studying there include:

•

The campus vs town combination. The campus itself is very picturesque and beautiful. It is full of natural green spaces with animals, a stunning lake and loads of lovely walks. However, you don't have to compromise things to do. The town centre has so many shops, restaurants, and things to do. It is just a short bus ride or walk from the campus so is very easily accessible.

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Transport. On the topic of buses, the transport in and around Reading is excellent. It is very well connected to so many places like Oxford, London, Southampton, etc. There are also buses which go straight to the uni and connect you to all around Reading.

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Employability. Due to the size and popularity of the town, there are a ton of job opportunities in Reading. So many of my friends have graduate jobs secured. The uni has a platform to list graduate and placement year jobs which students can access. There is also a platform called Campus Jobs which offers jobs based on campus for students. The work is very flexible, pays reasonably, and is perfect to fit around studying.

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The vibe. It is a campus uni which means all teaching is based in one place. This gives it a really cosy, homely feel and makes it really easy to make friends with other students. There are tons of activities run on campus such as the visiting petting zoo, as well as lots of social and study spaces. It just generally feels like a very friendly, welcoming place.

Some of the aspects people might enjoy less:

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It can be a somewhat expensive place to live due to the proximity to London. The on campus accommodation is on the more expensive side compared to some unis, but definitely isn't the most expensive out there.

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It is not a Russel Group uni, although it still has a very good reputation and is well respected despite this.

As has been said above, going to the open days will hopefully allow you to get a sense of how it feels for you, and whether the different unis are places you could picture yourself being in.

If you have any specific questions, or anything further you would like to know, please just let us know.

Hattie😊
4MSci Speech and Language Therapy

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 7

ExeterStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post

by stressedrabbit

Hi Stressedrabbit,

I am currently studying Business and Law with Industrial Placement at the University of Exeter. I am just finishing my placement year and will be back on our Penryn Campus in Cornwall from September to do my final year at university.

Experiences across campuses may vary slightly but the general approach from the University stays the same. But I am speaking from a Penryn Campus perspective for some of the more location specific questions - please let me know if you would like to receive a more Streatham Campus specific answer.

Studying:

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Very hands on lecturers which will assist you with any queries.

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For my campus, we have very small cohorts which means more one on one time with lecturers.

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Lectures based on the lecturers experience and careers, resulting in real life application.

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Great learning platform which links all your readings, seminar tasks, lecture slides and assessments in one place making it easy to find all the necessary details.

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Tasks and assessments which are meant to be applicable and practical to the real world, teaching you transferable skills.

Accommodation:

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Only two university options in Penryn, however one is literally on campus and the other one is a 10 minute walk and is next to a train station.

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After first year you can move to Penryn town and walk to campus or move to Falmouth and walk to the beach.

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Streatham has many options of accommodation.

Employability:

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Great app managed by our careers team with many job or internship options.

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The careers team is always on hand to help you with CV writing, applications and interview practice.

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Personally I decided to do the placement year which has set me up for success after university as I now have many new practical skills and a year or experience as well - the careers team were a lot of help in achieving this.

Reputation:

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Great reputation - Russell Group university and 11th best university according to the Complete University Guide.

My experience with the University has been nothing but positive (especially if you love living in one of England's best holiday destinations all year round). The only thing some people find slightly off putting is that it is a seaside town so the night life is very limited. However, personally I don't mind as I prefer a pub over a club and we have plenty of those, not to mention beach BBQ's. If you are looking of more night life Streatham Campus in based in Exeter and you can find a few more clubs there.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is, go to as many open days as you can, find that unique aspect of the course they offer that speaks to you and make sure you like the feel of the actual location as you will spend at least 3 years there (and make sure you are OK with travelling that distance to get back home).

Hope that helps!

Klaudia
University of Exeter Student Ambassador

Reply 8

UofG Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by stressedrabbit

Hello @stressedrabbit ,

Thank you for your enquiry!

I am finishing my degree at Glasgow University currently and I can say it has been a wonderful time!

I'll share my own experience as well as the impression I have on the University. First of all, the city itself is beautiful. The gothic style of the buildings as well as the green area (Kelvingrove park) right next to the uni calm my mind in stressful uni times and inspire me to work hard. Secondly, the social life in Glasgow is very lively. It's an extremely musical city which is something I loved being a music student, but there's honestly always something to do to get away from the studies every once in a while.

Speaking of studies, I was impressed by the study spaces and the variety of types of study space. Of course there's the Main Library on campus but also lots of coffee shops very close to campus where students go to have some more relaxed study sessions and I have done this lots of times too!

In terms of the university, it is regarded highly in its prestige, and most students leave the university and are able to find work very quickly! Also, Glasgow is one of the most affordable student cities, as everything is mostly in close proximity and necessities such as groceries are highly accessible. Most accommodation is close to the university, and other student flats in areas such as Finnieston and Woodlands (and many more) have supermarkets super close.

I genuinely had to wrack my brain for something negative to say because Glasgow is genuinely such a welcoming and friendly city, and the one thing which can maybe be considered negative is that it can get quite cold every once in a while, but that's to be expected from anywhere in UK in wintertime and actually the grey skies add to the dark academic gothic aesthetic on campus.

Again, thank you for your question.
Best of luck!
Maria, PG Student Rep
MSc Sound Design and Audiovisual Practice