Choice of uni pros and cons

Dreadi

Dreadi

Dreadi

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Joined
16 Feb 2006
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Ok, so i still haven't decided on my choice of uni and the decision making process inst progressing so who better to ask for advice then the people of this fine forum. :p

So the story goes, i applied to 5 uni's as an individual and got into all 5 but when going to state my decisions i found out i can only pick one firm choice and thats it. Having rushed into trying to sort my choices out, i put down a bad choice of course in my eyes (comp games dev) for all bar one uni (which i put down software engineering at UCLAN preston).
Now my first idea was to just go to Preston but then the last uni to get back to me (which was UWE Brisitol) said i could go there (which i didn't expect) but then they said I would have to do a foundation year which put me off a rather firm decision to go there so in light of this here is a list of the pro and cons as i see it.

UCLAN Preston
+ Been there and seems like a good place
+ Good friend there already doing a foundation course, meet his friends, all get on well
+ Immediate access to BSc course with option for vocational and good chance to do a year abroad/settle abroad after
+ Seem rather focused on helping students find jobs after uni

- 4 plus hours away from home so no comfort of being able to come back quick and easy
- No car for years as they dont allow them unless 20+miles from uni and i like my car/plans for future cars

UWE bristol
+ Plenty of friends in/close to/moving to Bristol
+ Close to home for comfort
+ Can keep car

- Minimum 4 years non vocational due to having to do foundation course
- Haven't been there to look around and next open day is on the uni choice deadline date

Now for me it pretty much boils down to Preston is real far away from home but bristol means foundation and 4 year minimum. I'm giving bristol a possible plus in the fact that if i did go there and do the foundation, i could apply for all the loans and such but stays at home for the first year and bank 3k or however much and use it for a car/save it in an isa or similar.

What would you do/make of the situation?
sorry for the length and all :)
 
Dreadi said:
Ok, so i still haven't decided on my choice of uni and the decision making process inst progressing so who better to ask for advice then the people of this fine forum. :p

So the story goes, i applied to 5 uni's as an individual and got into all 5 but when going to state my decisions i found out i can only pick one firm choice and thats it. Having rushed into trying to sort my choices out, i put down a bad choice of course in my eyes (comp games dev) for all bar one uni (which i put down software engineering at UCLAN preston).
Now my first idea was to just go to Preston but then the last uni to get back to me (which was UWE Brisitol) said i could go there (which i didn't expect) but then they said I would have to do a foundation year which put me off a rather firm decision to go there so in light of this here is a list of the pro and cons as i see it.

UCLAN Preston
+ Been there and seems like a good place
+ Good friend there already doing a foundation course, meet his friends, all get on well
+ Immediate access to BSc course with option for vocational and good chance to do a year abroad/settle abroad after
+ Seem rather focused on helping students find jobs after uni

- 4 plus hours away from home so no comfort of being able to come back quick and easy
- No car for years as they dont allow them unless 20+miles from uni and i like my car/plans for future cars

UWE bristol
+ Plenty of friends in/close to/moving to Bristol
+ Close to home for comfort
+ Can keep car

- Minimum 4 years non vocational due to having to do foundation course
- Haven't been there to look around and next open day is on the uni choice deadline date

Now for me it pretty much boils down to Preston is real far away from home but bristol means foundation and 4 year minimum. I'm giving bristol a possible plus in the fact that if i did go there and do the foundation, i could apply for all the loans and such but stays at home for the first year and bank 3k or however much and use it for a car/save it in an isa or similar.

What would you do/make of the situation?
sorry for the length and all :)
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I swear you can go to the uni and do a self guided tour, I did.
 
Yeah my girlfriend said the same but when its all laid out for you its much better I'd imagine as they are there solely to show you around, explain to you all aspects of the courses and so on. where as, if i went up UWE by myself i'd have a mate or two show me about and any info on the course I'd probably have to trace myself
 
You need to do some serious reading on this uni lark.

Now for me it pretty much boils down to Preston is real far away from home but bristol means foundation and 4 year minimum. I'm giving bristol a possible plus in the fact that if i did go there and do the foundation, i could apply for all the loans and such but stays at home for the first year and bank 3k or however much and use it for a car/save it in an isa or similar.
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If you stay at home you get a smaller loan and an extra year is going to cost you in top up fees (I would say an extra 3k but I don't know what top up fees they charge). Plus there is 1k tuition, ok if you're parents won't charge you anything to live at home you will get some extra money from your lea that you don't need to spend on accommodation.

+ Plenty of friends in/close to/moving to Bristol
+ Close to home for comfort
+ Can keep car
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They are possibly the worst reasons for picking a uni, you will make shed loads of new friends at uni (if you are older than normal student age it might be a reason because I accept that mature students will have less people their age to socialise with)
If you are as emotionally stable as the majority of students are, living close to home really doesn't matter - but as long as you don't get lazy and fall back on home every time it gets a little tough it doesn't matter if you are 2 miles or 200 miles from home.
As for the car, are you not planning on spending most of your three/four years ******? Who needs a car :p


The only advice I can really give you is:
Pretty much everyone has stupid amounts of fun at whatever uni they pick and they will nearly always say they made the right choice and its better than everywhere else. Fact is all students have fun.
Can't say much about the courses but if you have had a charge of heart about your course, tell the uni and ask them if you can change (that brings back in to play some of the other unis)
Look at the figures for graduates when they leave and work out what jobs people get, support of uni probably isn't that relevant because if that uni is throwing out good grads the employers will find you.
I remember going to York open days and being told how you could do years out in Japan and the US, but talking to friends there now these opportunities seem really limited. So I would try and find out as much information (hard facts and figures) about gap years and where most people do them (UK or abroad).


I did mention the dreaded top up fees when talking about your 4 year course, if this is the only thing holding you back I would urge you to cross it off the list. The loan should cover most of it and it's a pretty good deal. Even if the 4 year course gives you the same prospects as the 3 year course, if you think it is going to be a more enjoyable course then go for it, it's well worth the extra money.


Ric.
 
If you know at which campus your course is based, technically you could quite easily just wonder around no questions asked. Or... I am sure if you rang and explained your circumstances, the Uni might arrange a guide for you. I think its very important to get a good look at what will be your workplace for the next 3/4 years. Your disadvantaging your own decision making process if you don't and obviously its better to avoid making the wrong decision and cursing hindsight.
 
Dont goto uni with friends from home, you dont get the full experience. Also going to a uni close to home can be a con, as u miss so much with the mentality that u have to go home every weekend.

Go to the uni u like most, not the one which will cost the less, and please dont live at home.

saying that, ive just dropped out half way through second year becuase id go out partying 6 times a week and not goto uni. bloody goood fun though,
 
mrmoose said:
Dont goto uni with friends from home, you dont get the full experience. Also going to a uni close to home can be a con, as u miss so much with the mentality that u have to go home every weekend.
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Thats been playing on my mind as well, i mean it'd be like old times if i went to UWE, sure with some new people but also with some old where as at UCLAN i know one person only (ok its my g/fs brother and we may not stay together if i go there/at all but we get on well regardless)

Also going to a uni close to home can be a con, as u miss so much with the mentality that u have to go home every weekend
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Again i can see this being true but then again i'd rather be closer then further as UCLAN is 4+ by train and £60 quid meaning if i wanted to nip back it would be a stress where as bristol is a half hour drive and if i felt like it i could pro over and back again without even thinking about it
 
UCLAN for the reason others have given, just go for it, and by the time you are settled you'll know it was the right decision. You'll almost forget that 'home' exists.
 
Yeah i guess your right, but when i went there and was in my fiends room i just imagined myself sitting there all day long and thinking 'is this what i have to home to everyday'. I know it wont be like that but with UWE the friends there have more in common with me and such and i should probably stop looking at this as a situation where I'll meet no one and spend all day locked up by myself losing my interested in hobbies such as skating and generally becoming isolated because i don't think that will happen yet thats how i see it :confused: :rolleyes:

As i said, if UWE let me straight onto the course and didn't want a foundation year from me I'd be there in a shot probably but its put me off
 
forget about your one friend there, you will be living with 50 odd strangers, of which you will probally end up best friends with at least 10 for the rest of your life.
its all about making effort, you could sit in and be no ones friends, you could flyer for the biggest club and make friends with everyone.
 
I would go for UCLAN. A lot of this depends on your character, but most people I know from Uni don't mind being a long way from home, because after living at Uni for a term their parents begin to drive them insane! Meeting new people is always good - and you'll adapt to the loss of the car.

Fact is all students have fun.
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In the interest of not giving the guy false expectations... that just isn't true. The students who have fun are those who get out and explore the opportunities Uni has to offer. I know people who seem to sit in their rooms all the time, and they're not having fun at all. It's what you make of it.
 
Mattus said:
I would go for UCLAN. A lot of this depends on your character, but most people I know from Uni don't mind being a long way from home, because after living at Uni for a term their parents begin to drive them insane! Meeting new people is always good - and you'll adapt to the loss of the car.



In the interest of not giving the guy false expectations... that just isn't true. The students who have fun are those who get out and explore the opportunities Uni has to offer. I know people who seem to sit in their rooms all the time, and they're not having fun at all. It's what you make of it.
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do both then like I do. Go out a lot and also chill in room when you want. bonus!
 
Dreadi said:
:mad:
Still can't decide.
Can you do say a year at one uni then move to another to continue where you left off ?
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Yes. Again, it depends on the course, and your ability as a student.

Those look like a poor choice of Universities (I've never heard of either). Why don't you wait for clearing and apply somewhere decent?
 
Bit late for that and i have a poor amount of tariff points due to lack of commitment in college so i consider myself lucky to get in anywhere really as i didn't think i could.
I'm thinking uclan for first year then try moving to UWE depending on how i get on up north to bypass the foundation course at UWE.

little fact, Preston is the 6th largest uni in the uk or so they told me
 
Mattus said:
In the interest of not giving the guy false expectations... that just isn't true. The students who have fun are those who get out and explore the opportunities Uni has to offer. I know people who seem to sit in their rooms all the time, and they're not having fun at all. It's what you make of it.
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Accepted, not really sure why I wrote it that definitely.
I would say though, these people that sit in their rooms, is it your opinion that they are not having fun (or at least enjoying university), because some people are just quieter than other people and they might not be much more sociable at home.
That said there are definitely people (though happily a small number) that find the change to university difficult. One person that springs to mind decided this particular uni wasn't for her and left to go to her second choice a week into term.
 
Dreadi said:
Bit late for that and i have a poor amount of tariff points due to lack of commitment in college so i consider myself lucky to get in anywhere really as i didn't think i could.
I'm thinking uclan for first year then try moving to UWE depending on how i get on up north to bypass the foundation course at UWE.

little fact, Preston is the 6th largest uni in the uk or so they told me
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Mark thresholds will be lowered at clearing to fill the positions. It's worth the wait till around August but maintain your current application regardless.

The problem is it's your money, and spending that sort of money at former technicals just to be at University would be a bad choice when you have the ability to go elsewhere.
 
Dreadi said:
Preston is the 6th largest uni in the uk or so they told me
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Out of interest did they clarify that? Number of students? Total land area? Total number of buildings? The average waist size amongst students?
There could probably be any number of universities claiming to be the 6th largest university depending on how they measure "largest"
 
|Ric| said:
Out of interest did they clarify that? Number of students? Total land area? Total number of buildings? The average waist size amongst students?
There could probably be any number of universities claiming to be the 6th largest university depending on how they measure "largest"
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Don't remember them specify it no
 
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