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UCL or Durham for physics

I have offers for physics from both Durham and UCL and am having a tough time deciding which to firm and insure. I also have an offer for maths and physics from Manchester (grades A*A*A with A*A* in physics and maths or further maths. The grades for Durham is A*A*A and for UCL its A*AA, both require A*A in any order for maths and physics.

I have never visited UCL and there aren't any in person offer holder days that I am aware of, so I am apprehensive if I would like it or not. I enjoyed the Durham open day and looked around two colleges which I am keen on. I hate to be that person but my parents are not so keen on UCL due to safety of London but I don't want them to influence my decision.

I am really looking for advice as I genuinely do not know what to do.

Reply 1

Sinnoh

London is fairly safe (Durham has a higher per capita rate of violent crime), but it will be a very different experience living there compared to Durham. Living costs would be higher but accommodation easier to find. You'd likely be commuting in, some parts are more cyclable than others.

Outside of that, is there anything in the course / structure of each degree that you prefer?

Reply 2

Physician

Original post

by Anonymous

I have offers for physics from both Durham and UCL and am having a tough time deciding which to firm and insure. I also have an offer for maths and physics from Manchester (grades A*A*A with A*A* in physics and maths or further maths. The grades for Durham is A*A*A and for UCL its A*AA, both require A*A in any order for maths and physics.
I have never visited UCL and there aren't any in person offer holder days that I am aware of, so I am apprehensive if I would like it or not. I enjoyed the Durham open day and looked around two colleges which I am keen on. I hate to be that person but my parents are not so keen on UCL due to safety of London but I don't want them to influence my decision.
I am really looking for advice as I genuinely do not know what to do.

In very simple terms:-

Reputation = UCL
Student Experience = Manchester / Durham
Living costs = Manchester / Durham

You can't rule out London because of the high crime rate, because the vast majority of crime occurs in the most deprived areas of London, such as Tottenham, Hackney, Dagenham, Barking etc. If you are still apprehensive about carrying your laptop about in London, it is a good idea to carry a long umbrella with you as a deterrence. London has hundreds of thousands of university students, and Bloomsbury is a particularly safe area of London, where UCL is mostly based.

Durham as a city is extremely deprived in parts, so don't be fooled into believing what the uni tells you that it is one of the safest cities. It certainly is a very safe university, but once you venture into the city, that is an entirely different matter, especially at night. Likewise, Manchester city centre is bound to attract a high level of crime, especially on weekend nights. It is part of life, unfortunately, but a bit of common sense, and not letting your guard drop, goes a long way towards keeping you safe.

Reply 3

thegeek888

Original post

by Anonymous

I have offers for physics from both Durham and UCL and am having a tough time deciding which to firm and insure. I also have an offer for maths and physics from Manchester (grades A*A*A with A*A* in physics and maths or further maths. The grades for Durham is A*A*A and for UCL its A*AA, both require A*A in any order for maths and physics.
I have never visited UCL and there aren't any in person offer holder days that I am aware of, so I am apprehensive if I would like it or not. I enjoyed the Durham open day and looked around two colleges which I am keen on. I hate to be that person but my parents are not so keen on UCL due to safety of London but I don't want them to influence my decision.
I am really looking for advice as I genuinely do not know what to do.

One word...UCL!!! 🙂

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Original post

by Sinnoh

London is fairly safe (Durham has a higher per capita rate of violent crime), but it will be a very different experience living there compared to Durham. Living costs would be higher but accommodation easier to find. You'd likely be commuting in, some parts are more cyclable than others.
Outside of that, is there anything in the course / structure of each degree that you prefer?

thank you for your reply I looked at the course structure for all when I first applied and have looked over it again I do prefer the UCL and Manchester courses, not only is it more clearly laid out on their websites, but they have more maths modules which I am interested in. I am doing a self guided tour next week of UCL so I think that could be a big factor but I do think I'm leaning more towards UCL.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

Original post

by Physician

In very simple terms:-
Reputation = UCL
Student Experience = Manchester / Durham
Living costs = Manchester / Durham
You can't rule out London because of the high crime rate, because the vast majority of crime occurs in the most deprived areas of London, such as Tottenham, Hackney, Dagenham, Barking etc. If you are still apprehensive about carrying your laptop about in London, it is a good idea to carry a long umbrella with you as a deterrence. London has hundreds of thousands of university students, and Bloomsbury is a particularly safe area of London, where UCL is mostly based.
Durham as a city is extremely deprived in parts, so don't be fooled into believing what the uni tells you that it is one of the safest cities. It certainly is a very safe university, but once you venture into the city, that is an entirely different matter, especially at night. Likewise, Manchester city centre is bound to attract a high level of crime, especially on weekend nights. It is part of life, unfortunately, but a bit of common sense, and not letting your guard drop, goes a long way towards keeping you safe.

thank you for the reply and the umbrella tip! When I went on the Durham open day we didn't go into the city due to time constraints so I don't have an idea of what it's like. can I just ask why you have put Manchester and durham as better for student experience? thank you.

Reply 6

Physician

Original post

by Anonymous

Durham has excellent accommodation for first years, and this is a big selling point to consider Durham. Manchester also provides accommodation for first years. UCL only offers a limited amount of accommodation for first years, but it is very expensive, and you would likely be staying with students from other universities belonging to the University of London. Therefore most people either commute from their parent's home, or they live in private accommodation that they must organise themselves.

UCL can feel like there isn't a great students union or togetherness amongst students, so it would be important to join several societies to make friends. It may be easier to make friends at Durham or Manchester, because students live together at the beginning.

At UCL, don't expect anyone to tell you what it takes to get excellent marks in your degree. They largely expect you to figure that out for yourself, so make sure you do find that out for yourself, so that you aren't shocked later on by the tough marking of coursework and exams.

Reply 7

DurhamRep Rosie

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I have offers for physics from both Durham and UCL and am having a tough time deciding which to firm and insure. I also have an offer for maths and physics from Manchester (grades A*A*A with A*A* in physics and maths or further maths. The grades for Durham is A*A*A and for UCL its A*AA, both require A*A in any order for maths and physics.
I have never visited UCL and there aren't any in person offer holder days that I am aware of, so I am apprehensive if I would like it or not. I enjoyed the Durham open day and looked around two colleges which I am keen on. I hate to be that person but my parents are not so keen on UCL due to safety of London but I don't want them to influence my decision.
I am really looking for advice as I genuinely do not know what to do.

Hi there!

Hello!

I’m a second year Psychology student, and although I can't give my view on Physics, I thought I’d let you know my perspective on studying at Durham. 😊 Choosing between two great universities is really difficult, so I understand the confusion. I knew I wanted to go to Durham after I attended an offer-holder day, visited my college (St Aidans), got to explore the facilities, meet the staff and knew I could envision myself there.

I think this is the basis of what your choice should come down to: whatever is going to be the most enjoyable for you for the next 3 or so years. Maybe you could look at the course for each university, compare their modules, opportunities for placement years/years abroad, location/cost of accommodation, and societies - I found these factors all really helpful to consider when I made my decision.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the open day - which colleges did you take a look at? I do think colleges are a huge part of the Durham experience, many students refer to it as their 'home away from home'. I commute as I'm a local student, so I can't say too much on this, but it does feel like a community!

I saw in a comment further below that you didn't really get to see much of the city, so I can give you some insight into this. Although Durham is quite a small area, there's lots to do: the town centre is filled with cafes/pubs/restaurants, there's a gala and a cinema, plenty of scenic walks and even things like bowling and arcade games. I never find that I'm bored in Durham, but students do sometimes choose to travel to Newcastle or other local towns to see something new. This might be another point for you to consider, choosing between a smaller town university, compared to a big city - they'll be quite different experiences I imagine.

Please let me know if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer. 🙂
-Rosie (DU Representative)

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