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Uni of Leeds or Uni of Sheffield?

I’ll be doing English lit. Both courses are good. I’m also interested in Journalism. Both unis have excellent student media. Both pretty affordable. But which one has the better student life?

Additional info: I’m not into D&B or the drugs scene which Leeds is known for. More into Sheffield's Indie rock, but there’s bound to be indie clubs in Leeds. I like somewhere lively, but also love nature.

Reply 1

McGinger

Original post

by Anonymous

I’ll be doing English lit. Both courses are good. I’m also interested in Journalism. Both unis have excellent student media. Both pretty affordable. But which one has the better student life?
Additional info: I’m not into D&B or the drugs scene which Leeds is known for. More into Sheffield's Indie rock, but there’s bound to be indie clubs in Leeds. I like somewhere lively, but also love nature.

Have you been to Uni Open Days at these Unis? This gives you a good opportunity to talk to current students - they usually lead the campus tours etc.

Reply 2

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

In terms of indie /rock nights out:
Leeds has the Key Club.
Sheffield has Corporation which is better.
Leeds used to be fantastic for the alternative scene in the 90s-mid 2000s but it's not great now - everything decent shut down.

But overall Leeds is just generally a nicer city, and Leeds Uni's Brotherton Library, as well as Leeds Central Library, are gorgeous.

I grew up in Leeds - lived there for 23 years, and attended all schools, sixth form college, and for a while the Uni of Leeds, and I've never been offered nor taken any drugs in my entire life, so I think you're worrying about nothing on that front.

Anyway now I've lived in Barnsley for 15 years so not far from Sheffield. My son works in Meadowhall - there's always some reason or other that I end up having to drive into Sheffield. Honestly I prefer Leeds.

Reply 3

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I’ll be doing English lit. Both courses are good. I’m also interested in Journalism. Both unis have excellent student media. Both pretty affordable. But which one has the better student life?
Additional info: I’m not into D&B or the drugs scene which Leeds is known for. More into Sheffield's Indie rock, but there’s bound to be indie clubs in Leeds. I like somewhere lively, but also love nature.

Hi!

Great to hear you’re interested in Sheffield!
I have found the student life here really lively - I am also a big fan of indie rock (one of the reasons I picked Sheffield!) and I can really recommend the music scene here.

Since the start of uni, I have enjoyed going to venues like the Sidney and Matilda, and the Hallamshire Hotel which often have small indie-rock groups playing for very affordable prices, and a lot of pubs also have live music nights. There are also specific indie-rock club nights which are great when you get bored of the usual pop music.

The city itself is great in my opinion, particularly the areas you will get to know as a student. If you like nature a lot, Sheffield is absolutely the place to go, because of the Peak District only being a short bus journey away - I go out with my mates for hikes/shorter walks almost every weekend in spring and summer! A bit closer to home is the botanical gardens, right next to Endcliffe Student village, so there is definitely plenty of nature going on.
Personally, I’ve found it to be a great balance between lively student life and a more unique uni experience, having the Peak District so close!

That being said, it is absolutely worth going to open days for both, or visiting the cities to get a better sense of which will work for you best.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get back in touch!

Best of luck with your decision,
Phillippa - Second year, Politics and Languages student