What Uni....

[Give it to Ron]

We had a look around Buckinghamshire Uni yesterday and not impressed..at all - course seems fine but rest was crap IMO.

My daughter went to Cardiff and that was tremendous but course not exactly what he wants to do there.

 

Can anyone recommend from experience what De Montfort, Coventry, Birmingham, Canterbury - Criminology, Law Police Studies?

[Toon Saint]

We had a look around Buckinghamshire Uni yesterday and not impressed..at all - course seems fine but rest was crap IMO.

My daughter went to Cardiff and that was tremendous but course not exactly what he wants to do there.

 

Can anyone recommend from experience what De Montfort, Coventry, Birmingham, Canterbury - Criminology, Law Police Studies?

 

One of my old flatmates used to study criminology at Northumbria University in Newcastle. I can vouch for the city as a great place to live (especially Jesmond) and know that Northumbria can be very good for certain types of courses - though not as prestigious as the likes of Birmingham etc.

 

What sort of criteria are you looking for in choosing?

[Colinjb]

I attended Coventry University, Studied Automotive Engineering Design between 2002-06.

 

The Campus is bang on city central with it's main admin building just opposite the cathedral steps, a mixture of old Polytechnic and modern university buildings. Personally I had a great time there and found Coventry to be an interesting, friendly... if not exactly pretty place to be. The City centre is almost entirely contained within the inner ring road, you simply cannot get lost.

 

The specialty of the University is it's Engineering Department with a very good Nursing school too. As for Criminology/Law.... yes they do them but if the reputation of the course is a key factor I would look elsewhere.

[View From The Top]

We had a look around Buckinghamshire Uni yesterday and not impressed..at all - course seems fine but rest was crap IMO.

My daughter went to Cardiff and that was tremendous but course not exactly what he wants to do there.

 

Can anyone recommend from experience what De Montfort, Coventry, Birmingham, Canterbury - Criminology, Law Police Studies?

 

Birmingham is a top uni and has a great student scene but the drawback is that it's in Birmingham.

[pap]

Birmingham is a top uni and has a great student scene but the drawback is that it's in Birmingham.

 

Campus is Edgbaston, which isn't as shít as some areas you could wind up in.

[Give it to Ron]

One of my old flatmates used to study criminology at Northumbria University in Newcastle. I can vouch for the city as a great place to live (especially Jesmond) and know that Northumbria can be very good for certain types of courses - though not as prestigious as the likes of Birmingham etc.

 

What sort of criteria are you looking for in choosing?

 

Well yesterday 2 out of the 4 lecturers were very good - one was like Jack Regan and had 30 years Met experience - 2 were awful.

The campus was shocking and no atmosphere buzzz at all, for halls 6.5k for a box above a derelict shopping centre, a town full of boarded up shops.

I asked several questions related to course, the university, bursary, funding and the responses were almost like I had asked for winning lottery numbers.

[Berkshire Saint]

Campus is Edgbaston, which isn't as shít as some areas you could wind up in.

 

Students mainly live in Selly Oak which isn't great.

[Smirking_Saint]

Birmingham is a top uni and has a great student scene but the drawback is that it's in Birmingham.

 

This really, studied electrical engineering at Aston, top uni for the course, good watering holes but yes.. End of the day its in Birmingham.

 

I remember thinking the day could be as warm and sunny as it is today but as you pull into the city the gloom descends

[Give it to Ron]

I attended Coventry University, Studied Automotive Engineering Design between 2002-06.

 

The Campus is bang on city central with it's main admin building just opposite the cathedral steps, a mixture of old Polytechnic and modern university buildings. Personally I had a great time there and found Coventry to be an interesting, friendly... if not exactly pretty place to be. The City centre is almost entirely contained within the inner ring road, you simply cannot get lost.

 

The specialty of the University is it's Engineering Department with a very good Nursing school too. As for Criminology/Law.... yes they do them but if the reputation of the course is a key factor I would look elsewhere.

 

Thanks for this - looking at the course content its one we are going to explore and I read Coventry came top in modern uni's in 2014.

[View From The Top]

Campus is Edgbaston, which isn't as shít as some areas you could wind up in.

 

The campus is very much in Selly Oak. It may like to think it's in a smarter postcode, but it isn't.

 

I lived (Kings Heath) and taught (Kings Norton & Northbridge) in the city for a number of years, it's sh*t.

 

It's only blessing is that it's over the other side of the city from Nechells, Lozells and the other ghettos.

[Colinjb]

Thanks for this - looking at the course content its one we are going to explore and I read Coventry came top in modern uni's in 2014.

 

Any questions mate do let me know. I still live in the city (hopefully not for much longer though, solicitors permitting) so would be happy to help.

[Give it to Ron]

Any questions mate do let me know. I still live in the city (hopefully not for much longer though, solicitors permitting) so would be happy to help.

 

Will do thank you my experience of Coventry was a bit sullied as when at senior school we stayed in an old church - some of our slutty older girls got involved with some locals who robbed us, food, shoes etc - they even had a **** in the corner and wiped their arse in one of the sluts sleeping bags - justice :-)

 

My daughters friend goes to Coventry but more care related course.

 

Appreciate the help.

Edited 19 June, 2014 by Give it to Ron
wrong school

[sandwichsaint]

Canterbury is a massive student town now, not sure what you are really looking for?

In the big scheme I'd say it was a pretty quiet/safe/pleasant place to live, would imagine accom is dearer than some other areas.

Not over-much going on, strong pub/music scene, limited choice of clubs but always full, usual regional theatre/galleries type set-up

Big ratio of girls over boys; Christchurch College (the old teacher training college) is massive now and has a ratio of something like 80-20 F/M.

Not particularly central for going anywhere else, London an hour by train. SMS two and a half hours by car or train.

Not sure if you are looking for any sports opportunities? Club cricket and hockey are both very strong in Kent (and very sociable), there is some football but a lot of it isn't very good.

 

Can't comment specifically on the courses but UKC and Christchurch both have very good reps.

[buctootim]

I'd go for Canterbury if the course is comparable. You're more likely to get a good degree being somewhere you like and are happy - and as already said Canterbury is a great studenty town in a nice part of the world.

[KelvinsRightGlove]

I was always told look at the uni, not the course. People don't generally know the ins and outs of which courses are good at each place, but the names of the institution will hold much more weight.

 

For example, when I went to uni in 2007 the course I was doing was highly rated, but the courses at places such as Hull were seen as better. But, out of Leeds University or Hull University, which is going to look better? It sounds cynical, but people are snobs really (also lazy).

 

I'd say go for the best uni you can, and ideally somewhere where you are going to live.

 

Another more recent example is my step-sister, who went to uni a few years after me. She put in loads of research and ended up going to Teeside University. The course was great, and they did have great facilities. But, ultimately, she still ended up being met with "I've never heard of that Uni, is it new?" etc. Also, she was stuck in Middlesborough for 3 years, and ended up hating it. I feel for her, as I had a cracking time at uni (would certainly recommend Leeds for a student), whereas I feel she really missed out on the whole student experience. Obviously, it's not all just about the nightlife, and where you are living, but it's only a few years, and you really should try to make the most out of it.

 

Sadly, I think it is a bit like "it's not what you know, it's who you know", only "it's not what you do, it's where you go".

[stu0x]

Birmingham is a top uni and has a great student scene but the drawback is that it's in Birmingham.

As an ex student I would endorse this heartily, although apparently it's improved immeasurably since I was there. Great campus, dreadful city.

 

Out of interest, what made him choose that course? Got a particular career in mind, or just chose something that sounded interesting?

[Gorgiesaint]

Thanks for this - looking at the course content its one we are going to explore and I read Coventry came top in modern uni's in 2014.

 

Studied there back between 1988 & 1991 so its probably changed a lot since I was there. Don't forget Warwick Uni is 20 min bus ride from Coventry as well which was always highly regraded in my day.

[Give it to Ron]

He wants to join Police. .....I know I blame his mother!!! I am trying to get him to look at more Russell group uni's but not many do this course plus he is a 'do the bare minimum' type but has a great fact memory.

 

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[Unbelievable Jeff]

Sounds like me. Get to Warwick.

[70's Mike]

MY youngest son has just finished first year at Uni of Kent in Canterbury.

enjoyed himself I cannot be sure if that means the course or social life.

fairly good transport links and about 2.5 hours drive from here

[Killers Knee]

Birmingham is academically the best of those you mention by a mile. They have amazing sports facilities as well, think its called the Monroe Sports Arena.

[hutch]

I attended Coventry University, Studied Automotive Engineering Design between 2002-06.

 

The Campus is bang on city central with it's main admin building just opposite the cathedral steps, a mixture of old Polytechnic and modern university buildings. Personally I had a great time there and found Coventry to be an interesting, friendly... if not exactly pretty place to be. The City centre is almost entirely contained within the inner ring road, you simply cannot get lost.

 

The specialty of the University is it's Engineering Department with a very good Nursing school too. As for Criminology/Law.... yes they do them but if the reputation of the course is a key factor I would look elsewhere.

I was there as well, but it was 40 years ago when it was still Lanchester Poly. It's probably changed a bit since then.

[Nexstar]

Just finished 3 years at UKC down in Canterbury. Top 20 uni (by most leagues) these days and has a nice campus. Canterbury itself offers most of what anyone would want really, plenty of pubs, restaurants, clothes shops etc. Clubbing-wise it's not brilliant but that's about the only negative. As people have said, easy to London and a little over 2 hours back to Southampton by car. Great uni for sport, pretty much anything you want to try your hand at and well established teams and leagues particularly for football, rugby, hockey and tennis.

 

In terms of accommodation I was in a nice flat, en-suite room and that was about 5.2k (2 years ago). Cheapest accommodation back then was 3.5k.

 

Good uni, nice campus, great sports facilities.

 

I would say though that reputation-wise it towers over Canterbury Christchurch at a glance. CCCU is generally 100+ in uni league tables and is based in the middle of the city, so doesn't have the same student campus feel to it. Good uni for teaching courses mainly, but not a whole lot else.

[Chez]

Get to ull lad. Beer, food and housing all dirt cheap leaving more money for beer. Seriously don't go for a campus style uni. Go for one in a decent sized city with plenty of nightlife as three years in some out of town uni campus will do your nut in the end, I would imagine.

 

Oh, and employers are all of an age that they know which unis are were polys.

[igsey]

I'm a student now at Southampton uni, so I've got friends dotted at various places around the country studying different things. The overall consensus seems to be the further north, the better, purely because everything (most importantly accommodation) is cheaper. My second choice uni was Sheffield, and from what I saw the couple of times I've been, it's a very good university and a decent student city.

 

I have a couple of friends in Bristol at the University of West England who are absolutely loving everything about it, and the first year accommodation is pretty decent too; a friend studying at the University of Kent (in Canterbury) who is also thoroughly enjoying it, she's completely in love with the city and her course (international business); one friend went to the University of Essex to study psychology and is enjoying it there too, although I don't think she likes the city (Colchester) so much.

 

 

My personal choices (as you make five) were:

 

Southampton - campus and facilities are fantastic, I'm sure you know about the city, and the student's union is really really strong. Biggest downside is people confusing it with Solent, where you can study for a degree in social media.

 

Sheffield - loved the city (wee, trams!) and the campus was large and very impressive, lots of top-notch equipment.

 

Birmingham - very easy campus for travelling (has its own train station) and the campus is impressive, but the facilities were a bit lacking - the chemistry department was two floors of a building, whereas Southampton has 3 dedicated buildings. A man sold me an ostrich burger though, so there's that.

 

Nottingham - never went to visit it, only uni that rejected me out of hand due to a communication cock up on their part. I was set on Southampton/Sheffield by then so didn't chase it up. Impressive prospectus, I guess? I don't know anyone there.

 

Hull - it's Hull, I guess. The campus isn't fantastic but the lecturers (for chemistry at least) are some of the best in the country. Hull are consistently high up in the league tables, and combined with low entry requirements (BBB where everyone else wanted AAB) and cheap living and food, I can see why it would be attractive, if you can learn to live with that accent.

 

 

If you're willing to go really far, I can highly recommend Edinburgh uni - one of my closest friends has gone there, and is currently spending the third year of her degree on placement in Connecticut, and at least three of my lecturers studied there at some point - two for their degrees, one for his PhD. The uni is fantastic, if a bit spread out, and Edinburgh itself is really nice, and gets the comedy festival! Lower tuition fees in Scotland too. Gets bloody cold though.

 

 

Personally, my family live in Fareham, so being at Southampton means I had the option of avoiding halls in my first year living at home with my parents and retaining the job I had throughout college, saving money. I moved out in my second year, which was horrendously expensive but worth it, and being close enough to move in/out in multiple trips instead of one big one is a big bonus. I wouldn't fancy getting a year's worth of clothes, books, etc. on a train or coach.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited 21 June, 2014 by igsey

[Give it to Ron]

Thanks to all been a great help.

 

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[TheCholulaKid]

I was always told look at the uni, not the course. People don't generally know the ins and outs of which courses are good at each place, but the names of the institution will hold much more weight.

 

For example, when I went to uni in 2007 the course I was doing was highly rated, but the courses at places such as Hull were seen as better. But, out of Leeds University or Hull University, which is going to look better? It sounds cynical, but people are snobs really (also lazy).

 

I'd say go for the best uni you can, and ideally somewhere where you are going to live.

 

Another more recent example is my step-sister, who went to uni a few years after me. She put in loads of research and ended up going to Teeside University. The course was great, and they did have great facilities. But, ultimately, she still ended up being met with "I've never heard of that Uni, is it new?" etc. Also, she was stuck in Middlesborough for 3 years, and ended up hating it. I feel for her, as I had a cracking time at uni (would certainly recommend Leeds for a student), whereas I feel she really missed out on the whole student experience. Obviously, it's not all just about the nightlife, and where you are living, but it's only a few years, and you really should try to make the most out of it.

 

Sadly, I think it is a bit like "it's not what you know, it's who you know", only "it's not what you do, it's where you go".

 

 

If you're doing a generic course then the above advice might hold true however certainly not always.

 

If the course is specialized then which course you did will be more important than where you did it. I did my undergraduate degree at UCL and have friends who did the same degree at Oxford - they were offered a place at Oxford but not UCL due to the course being heavily oversubscribed. I also got a job in the field before them.

 

Granted, if they were applying for jobs not related to the course then a degree from Oxford might make the difference to some employers.

 

So, in answer to the OP - if your son needs that specific course to get into the Police then I would find out from the Police graduate recruitment which course they regard as being best - and go for that one. If they don't give a **** then (from your list) Birmingham followed by Canterbury.

[Verbal]

Hull - it's Hull, I guess. The campus isn't fantastic but the lecturers (for chemistry at least) are some of the best in the country. Hull are consistently high up in the league tables, and combined with low entry requirements (BBB where everyone else wanted AAB) and cheap living and food, I can see why it would be attractive, if you can learn to live with that accent.

 

If anyone's going to end up in that part of the world why not go to York? Better university (Russell Group) and much pleasanter city (understatement!). York also has a now well established law school.

[pap]

If anyone's going to end up in that part of the world why not go to York? Better university (Russell Group) and much pleasanter city (understatement!). York also has a now well established law school.

 

Two reasons:-

 

1) Much of the university is horrid sixties build. Imagine how uninspiring that'd be. Living in one of England's prettiest cities, yet trudging along every day to sit in its worst buildings.

2) Some of the staff are reported to be complete tossers that spit on the provincial dunderheads that they're supposed to serve.

[igsey]

If anyone's going to end up in that part of the world why not go to York? Better university (Russell Group) and much pleasanter city (understatement!). York also has a now well established law school.

 

I went for Hull because of the lower entry requirements, I wanted a backup in case I messed something up. Hull wanted 300 UCAS points (equivalent to BBB or ABC) where the others all wanted AAB.

[shurlock]

Hull's a decent uni, very under the radar. Some decent unis in the North East as long as you don't go to Durham which is full of knobs. In response to the OP, Birmingham by a country mile.

 

Got a friend who's a detective in the Met. She read English at Cambridge, so I guess the plod take all sorts provided the uni is decent.

Edited 22 June, 2014 by shurlock

[KelvinsRightGlove]

If you're doing a generic course then the above advice might hold true however certainly not always.

 

If the course is specialized then which course you did will be more important than where you did it. I did my undergraduate degree at UCL and have friends who did the same degree at Oxford - they were offered a place at Oxford but not UCL due to the course being heavily oversubscribed. I also got a job in the field before them.

 

Granted, if they were applying for jobs not related to the course then a degree from Oxford might make the difference to some employers.

 

So, in answer to the OP - if your son needs that specific course to get into the Police then I would find out from the Police graduate recruitment which course they regard as being best - and go for that one. If they don't give a **** then (from your list) Birmingham followed by Canterbury.

 

That may well be a fair assessment. I did a pretty generic course (politics) without really knowing what I wanted to do.

 

You're personal example isn't the greatest though, UCL is still a VERY good uni. It really is not at all far off being Oxbridge level. It's still extremely we'll known world-wide.

[Verbal]

That may well be a fair assessment. I did a pretty generic course (politics) without really knowing what I wanted to do.

 

You're personal example isn't the greatest though, UCL is still a VERY good uni. It really is not at all far off being Oxbridge level. It's still extremely we'll known world-wide.

 

It is closer than that - in some subjects it's better than Oxford. Oxford remains the only place I know of in British HE where you can't study for a politics, philosophy or economics undergraduate degree as single subjects (the closest is economics which you can combine with history). Some claim there are advantages in this, but the only one that matters is it's a feeder degree for the British political classes. UCL and LSE are probably better in all three subjects than Oxford. In the sciences and engineering, Oxford is outdone by other universities in many subjects - not least by Imperial College.

 

Bottom line: London rules. But (to the OP) Birmingham University is very good.

[forever a red and white]

My mate is doing the police course at Bucks. It is a **** uni and a **** hole but the course is good for its purpose there are plenty of opportunities including joining the specials and a really good student union. A better overall course may provide more options and flexibility should the police thing fall through.

[Saintandy666]

Birmingham is a russell group which'll make a huge difference. Yes, you want a uni with a decent social scene (and Birmingham is good - I have a friend up there and have visited him), but ultimately it has to be about the academic experience.

[bridge too far]

My mate is doing the police course at Bucks. It is a **** uni and a **** hole but the course is good for its purpose there are plenty of opportunities including joining the specials and a really good student union. A better overall course may provide more options and flexibility should the police thing youfall through.

 

Oi mush that's my home town you're talking about It isn't the prettiest of towns but it's a good central spot for going elsewhere. Quite expensive to live here though.

[Saint-scooby]

My son is either off to UWE or UCA Farnham

 

Bristol is the place to be. Farnham (he going to get bored very quickly)

 

Boys and Girls..................UCAS points is the answer

[bridge too far]

My step-granddaughter has just heard she's got a 2:1 from Canterbury (Economics). She's had a whale of a time there, got the balance between working hard and partying hard just right and found a new skill as a cox for one of the rowing teams. She'd recommend the environment there any time.

[Give it to Ron]

My step-granddaughter has just heard she's got a 2:1 from Canterbury (Economics). She's had a whale of a time there, got the balance between working hard and partying hard just right and found a new skill as a cox for one of the rowing teams. She'd recommend the environment there any time.

 

We liked the look of Uni of Kent but saw his course is based at Medway/Chatham....hhhm he has suddenly gone of that one!

[BlakeySFC]

Birmingham is decent (as long as you mean proper Birmingham Uni, not the 'City Uni' or whatever it's called nowadays), De Montfort is reasonable.