Help me choose between Bsc Economics at Durham Uni and the Uni of Bristol!!

I've gotten all 5 of my offers and I am struggling to chose my firm choice. Both Durham and Bristol have given me offers for A*AA so I have to chose based on the difference in course, student experience and employability. Could anyone give opinions of their preference based on these 3 aspects?

I'm unsure whether I'd like to go into finance, but I'm sure I want an Econ degree, specifically a more quantitative/ maths heavier course as I', currently doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry.

I've visited Bristol and I know I'd enjoy the student experience and I like how theres less stress over chosing colleges, unlike Durham.
(I haven't visited Durham yet, will do soon for the Offer Holder day, but I feel like it'd be a waste to turn down a higher ranked university with more prestige.)

Another thing I'm confused about is why Durham is ranked higher in the UK but lower globally than Bristol?

If anyone could help my current predicament, it'd be really appreciated!

Reply 1

DurhamRep Rosie

Official Rep

Original post

by problematic-swin

I've gotten all 5 of my offers and I am struggling to chose my firm choice. Both Durham and Bristol have given me offers for A*AA so I have to chose based on the difference in course, student experience and employability. Could anyone give opinions of their preference based on these 3 aspects?
I'm unsure whether I'd like to go into finance, but I'm sure I want an Econ degree, specifically a more quantitative/ maths heavier course as I', currently doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry.
I've visited Bristol and I know I'd enjoy the student experience and I like how theres less stress over chosing colleges, unlike Durham.
(I haven't visited Durham yet, will do soon for the Offer Holder day, but I feel like it'd be a waste to turn down a higher ranked university with more prestige.)
Another thing I'm confused about is why Durham is ranked higher in the UK but lower globally than Bristol?
If anyone could help my current predicament, it'd be really appreciated!

Hi there!

It's tricky to make a firm choice between two great universities. As a Durham Representative, I'll try to give you some useful information so you know more about studying here. 😊

At Durham, BSc Economics is very maths intensive. According to https://www.durham.ac.uk/business/courses/economics-l100/, one of the first year modules - Economic Methods - familiarises you with the use of mathematical and statistical tools in solving economic problems. You will look at equations, matrix algebra, calculus, statistics, distribution, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Between all years, you will choose optional modules, so you can tailor your degree to be as quantitative or maths heavy as you like. 🙂

I understand the stress of choosing colleges being off-putting, as I didn't rank my colleges! If you choose not to, you'll get randomly allocated where there's space - if you do want to have a look at colleges though, you can check out this comparison table (including populations, self-catered/catered, or shared bathroom factors): https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/compare-our-colleges/undergraduate-college-comparison-table/. I think the offer holder day will be a great experience, particularly as you've already visited Bristol, so you can easily compare the two. 😊 I personally love studying at Durham, but ultimately you have to choose the university that you'll enjoy the most and that will best meet your needs and aspirations, over anything like prestige.

From my research, Durham University is generally ranked higher in the UK domestic league tables, while the University of Bristol is ranked higher in global rankings. This is for two main reasons:

•

Domestic rankings heavily weigh student satisfaction, entry standards, and graduate prospects, where Durham excels due to its collegiate system and traditional academic reputation.

•

Global rankings like QS place a higher emphasis on research citations and international reputation/industry impact, areas where Bristol often scores higher, particularly in STEM and medical fields.

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions!
-Rosie (DU Representative)

Reply 2

kate1604

Original post

by problematic-swin

I've gotten all 5 of my offers and I am struggling to chose my firm choice. Both Durham and Bristol have given me offers for A*AA so I have to chose based on the difference in course, student experience and employability. Could anyone give opinions of their preference based on these 3 aspects?
I'm unsure whether I'd like to go into finance, but I'm sure I want an Econ degree, specifically a more quantitative/ maths heavier course as I', currently doing Maths, Biology and Chemistry.
I've visited Bristol and I know I'd enjoy the student experience and I like how theres less stress over chosing colleges, unlike Durham.
(I haven't visited Durham yet, will do soon for the Offer Holder day, but I feel like it'd be a waste to turn down a higher ranked university with more prestige.)
Another thing I'm confused about is why Durham is ranked higher in the UK but lower globally than Bristol?
If anyone could help my current predicament, it'd be really appreciated!

Congratulations on your offers! I go to Bristol, and I'm doing maths - although I've done finance internships etc., so I'm going towards a finance career. In terms of enjoyability, Durham and Bristol are extremely different - in Bristol you'll live in a big city, whereas I have friends at Durham who live in nearby towns and commute in since its such a small place so not many student flats available. That's a benefit of Bristol in my opinion, but of course that's only if you want more of a city uni experience, with nightlife and living in the city etc.

On the question of university rankings - they're important to some degree, but not that important. I know its hard to turn down something that on paper looks 'higher ranked', but if your goal is a finance career I can certainly tell you that employers see no difference between Bristol and Durham and going to either will not change your employability. If you're worried about where to go regarding employability, you could try looking at linkedin? I do find linkedin a bit depressing, but its useful so you can search for people that have done econ at Bristol and at Durham, and what kind of internships / grad roles they've been offered.

Hope it helps, good luck in A levels and your uni choice.

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