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We’re doing the rounds with my eldest. Leeds last week, Liverpool next week and Warwick in September. He’s going to Oxford with his college, so no parents on that one.
We really liked the Leeds campus, but some of the accommodation was a bit tired and the new stuff seemed expensive.
My lad wants to do History, and the syllabus at Leeds appealed to him.
What have you seen and been impressed / unimpressed with?
Tired accomodation is what you want. Thats where the parties happen.
some of the accommodation was a bit tired and the new stuff seemed expensive.
This was the case at all that we visited. The middle option that my daughter found to be the minimum acceptable (bathroom based) are all priced spookily close to the value of the maintenance loan. You need to feed yourself from your loan - prepare for grim accommodation. You want the best accommodation - you will be topping it up.
Went through this last year, there was a thread running then iirc.
You and your lad will find a course/campus combination that feels right. Subject to grades, she settled on Natural Science at Lancaster. She said it felt right for her and I could see her being comfortable in that location. She's not a big city girl.
What we have found is that courses are being changed at the last minute. History may not be the same, but we found Bath and York were both changing the modules they were offering and it took some pressing to get those details out of them - looking at you Bath.
Good luck with the Oxbridge option. Eldest did similar with his college and ended up at Cambridge. Daughter did the same and fell at the final hurdle, couldn't get a place via pooling. She wasn't bothered, I think she preferred Lancaster. Treat it like any other application - they both didn't fancy the course options at Oxford so looked at Cambridge.
As above, scruffy accommodation is best, friends who lives in the newly renovated houses were so paranoid about looking after it, ours was is desperate need of refurbishment and that meant we got away with all sorts in there.
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This has been our recent experience too, with both our daughters. From my own experience, 25+ years ago, it has always been that way.
What does seem to have changed (from the experience of some friends) is that the private sector is as expensive - I'm pretty sure that our private house rental back in the 90s was cheaper, but ropier, than university accomodation. Now they too seem to be priced according to the loans available. I've no idea if the quality has improved though.
The course is the most important thing
We got private accommodation in a purpose-built student block and it was good with a gym, security staff and cleaners for common areas. Cheaper if you can get in on a newly-opened property that isn't fully let
Me and son did Bristol open day on Saturday - very impressed with the talks given for 3 flavours of Engineering courses, and Bristol itself seems a good spot, walkable city size. For accomodation (wherever he ends up going) his plan is to do something like a catered halls so he can meet as many people as possible, as early as possible.
We did it last year. My daughter is currently doing A-Levels (chemistry right now), she has deferred so will go in 2026.
She wants to do Archaeology but as a BSc so that limits the options.
We know Lancaster well from going to women in STEM events and it is great but not an option for us. It is like going to centre parcs.
York was brilliantly set up for the open day and the course tutors were really enthusiastic and engaging. Accommodation is good and the city is on hand and great of course. Number one choice.
Durham is lovely and we have had really good visits there. They gave my daughter a fantastic offer so it is actually the fall back, it is the highest rated course in the country and 5th in the world so very flattering. Accommodation is good if you like the history and old houses. Expensive and in demand however. The city is not as appealing to our daughter as York. Very close second.
Preston put on a really good day and do a fantastic degree but wasn't right for her.
Glasgow is beautiful but couldn't give a monkeys if she went there or not and that has been evident every step of the way. The open day was rubbish compared to everywhere else. They actually increased the offer over the standard requirements. A pity because it is my place of birth and we may well be moving North again in the next year.
Oxford and Cambridge were out for us because they only do BA's.
plan is to do something like a catered halls so he can meet as many people as possible, as early as possible.
This is a good plan. It's over twenty years since I was there but I did this in my first year (not an option for second and third) I met everyone at meal times.
A quarter of a century later I'm still in touch with one person from my course and loads from my halls
My lad is doing Maths, Physics and Photography A levels, just finishing his 1st year, so we're starting to look at Uni's. He went to have a look at Leeds with a few mates on Saturday. We live in Leeds. Think we're going to Huddersfield and Sheffield this coming Saturday.
He wants to Mechanical Engineering-Motor sport but we know it's going to really hard for hi get in so looking at other mech eng options and physics degrees as well....
I don't envy him at the moment, he's got a lot on his plate and doesn't know what to do. I can;t really help that much as I didn't do A levels and uni from school, I went part time uni in my late 20's early 30's. My wife did the usual route and is trying to help where she can, but I think it's changed a lot....
What we have found is that courses are being changed at the last minute. History may not be the same, but we found Bath and York were both changing the modules they were offering and it took some pressing to get those details out of them - looking at you Bath.
I can assure you that somewhere in the marketing department, the people responsible for keeping the website and prospectus up to date on course content are tearing their hair out waiting for Programme Leaders across the uni to get back to them with any changes to their courses!
ads678 with an interest specifically in motorsport related do look at the pre1992 unis, like Oxford Brooke, Liverpool John Moores, Loughborough, Bath, UWE, because they can be more 'hands on' than traditional/Russell group. Through Formula Student many have a good rapport with industry. Do make sure the degree is accredited with iMechE (if mechanical) which might mean 4 yrs to Masters level. I would also look at the optional modules to ensure he can get cross-over into electrical and electronics and mechatronics. Good luck!
He wants to Mechanical Engineering-Motor sport but we know it's going to really hard for hi get in so looking at other mech eng options and physics degrees as well....
My housemate did Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at Reading.
He now works for ProDrive, something to do with suspension I think. He also had a secondment to Pirelli when they were developing the new, larger F1 tyres and worked on the wheel covers. He did get to from university to ProDrive via a company making poo drying machines for fertilizers though. Anyway, he's got there without a specific motorsports course, just general engineering.
He wants to Mechanical Engineering-Motor sport but we know it's going to really hard for hi get in so looking at other mech eng options and physics degrees as well....
I suspect that's just a marketing scam! I bet it follows 75% of the main mech eng course and has a particular set of electives (which probably any Mech eng student can pick) that give it that label. I've no knowledge of that particular course but I would be surprised if it actually gives a real advantage to getting into motorsport. I've seen that same thing happen in very different departments get your course title right, and better qualified students were queing to get on to it, with almost no change to the content or delivery (in one institution I know well everything the same for the first 2 years, nobody in place to deliver yr 3 and no actual syllabus just some rough module descriptions - we will work that out once we have the students!).
Aren't all undergraduate degrees BA at Oxford and Cambridge? Some nonsense historical reason.
Maybe, but they were probably doing it first, so the question might be why later universities didn't follow the same logic.
But to address the original point, all undergraduate degrees at Oxford and Cambridge are BA, regardless of whether they're in Fine Art or Theoretical Physics, so it's not a reason to not consider them. There are other reasons, but life's too short to start on that subject.
Glasgow is beautiful but couldn't give a monkeys if she went there or not and that has been evident every step of the way. The open day was rubbish compared to everywhere else. They actually increased the offer over the standard requirements. A pity because it is my place of birth and we may well be moving North again in the next year.
I was talking to someone who does some volunteer archaeology and involved in helping students actually understand what to do on digs and she said Glasgow has something crazy like 200 students a year going there for archaeology (across all of its archaeology and ... choices) and is oversubscribed. So I'm not surprised if they put zero effort in. Interestingly my daughter is going to Glasgow to study something totally different on a small course which is always undersubscribed and I couldn't knock them for their enthusiasm.
Does BA v BSc make a difference?Oxford and Cambridge were out for us because they only do BA's.
Cheers all, some good info.
Yeah I reckon most of the course would be the same as any mech eng course but with some specifics. I know some hve good links with industry for a year out working, but I imagine you can change or select modules to suit.
Obviously he wants to be F1 pit crew, but he's never even fixed a puncture on his bloody bike....
My comments have picked up a few responses
Regarding Glasgow it was the whole open day that was a let down. Granted it is a difficult university for new visitors to navigate but as a contrast to York where students helpers were actively engaging and directing people it was poor.
The BA or BSc thing is driven by my daughter. She has always loved archaeology she attends digs already but sees how it could be a vocation in the longer term. She wants to make sure that her chemistry and maths background appears to be relevant. I don't know if the BSc will help with that or not. She is clearly a northern girl at heart too.
I don't know if the BSc will help with that or not. She is clearly a northern girl at heart too
Not sure any employers noticed my lad only got a BA at Cambridge.
On the mechanical engineering front, my lads mate did it at Nottingham Trent, did his placement year at Red Bull and starts at Triumph motorbikes next month now he's graduated.
BUT he was really proactive getting in early with his placement applications, many of his course mates left it too late and many didn't get a placement at all as a result.
From what he said, the F1 spending cap is making it much harder for teams to be able to offer full time roles to graduates/placement. Red Bull cancelled the all staff visit to the British GP the year he was there for cost reasons. Sadly they didn't cancel Rylan's DJ set at the Christmas party 🤣
Regarding Glasgow it was the whole open day that was a let down. Granted it is a difficult university for new visitors to navigate but as a contrast to York where students helpers were actively engaging and directing people it was poor.Interesting that wasn't my daughter's experience. I think she went to 4 open days and Glasgow actually seemed the most organised - she went on a tour led by a student. Then they had a specific "subject" afternoon which was a bit less well put together but with much more detail! Then she went back again for an interview; interestingly by that time she'd already had offers from other places without an interview which seems like they are really keen but actually meant the only people she met there were the people who stood at a desk at the open day - Glasgow did take forever to make an offer, but by then she felt she knew exactly what that course was all about, she'd met most of the staff some 3rd yr students, seen the facilities etc. UHI failed miserably - having gone all the way there the person from that department was off sick: they offered to get in touch and arrange a personal meeting but never did - was always going to be a harder sell and missed the boat completely.
The BA or BSc thing is driven by my daughter. She has always loved archaeology she attends digs already but sees how it could be a vocation in the longer term.
I've no issue if she doesn't want to go to Oxbridge or even any Russell Group uni - I was just intrigued if qualification wise the letters made any difference, or if some other uni had done a sales job on why BSc was better. e.g. does BSc focus more on the carbon dating, geophysics stuff (that's my sum total of time team knowledge!)?
The BA or BSc thing is driven by my daughter.
I’m guessing it’s based on a misconception. It’s just meaningless letters that make no difference at all in real life. As a concrete example I have a BA in a science subject and used it to get into an unashamedly science-oriented “institute of technology“ at a time when science was still valued in the US.
For most Unis, the first few years might be similar, but a BA might focus modules more around social side and qualitative tools whereas as the BSc would have science modules. Similar in most 'humanities'. In archaeology I would expect the BSc to teach some element of surveying, geophysics, and more anatomy, DNA work, other chemical tracers or radio carbon dating, whereas the BA doesn't require maths or science A level prerequisites and might focus more on the discussive, qualitative side. Both will do field work and cover modern methods etc. In geography the BA would focus on human geography and qualitative stuff, the BSc on physical geography, earth science, and quantitative stuff including satellite observation, GIS and python coding that goes with it.
My friend did a course no longer available at Durham called archaeology and human evolution which was heavy on anatomy. She has managed to make a career archaeologist, at Durham (the spin off consultancy part of the Department). It is tough getting employed because it is over subscribed, like conservation ecology people think it'll be a 'fun' thing to do. If your daughter already does digs that puts her in good stead.
@MoreCashThanDash - Cheers for that I'll let him know. Good to know that a route in actually is possible if you're Dad's not mates with a team principal.
Should add that Nottingham Trent gave me a BA in Business Studies, when it usually is a BSc.
They figured business was an art as much as a science.
Having looked at course last year and again this year the running theme is not all courses are the same even thought they have the same name. Also the actual face to face teaching also varies and a long way from time from when i was in Uni. 2-3 days max meaning 4 days rent for not much. Factor in reading weeks and finishing late may or early june didnt seem to appear on the prospectus. Its still worth it but I reckon theres going to be a few students with a £1m loan on their yearly statement at 61. Some Unis are doing 2 year courses as a USP.
Aren't all undergraduate degrees BA at Oxford and Cambridge? Some nonsense historical reason.
They are (or were) and then a few years after you finish you can pay some small fee and they give you an MA. 🙂
But in terms of coursework, if you're doing a science, the BA instead of Bsc doesn't mean anything - it's still the same, science-based course.
Also, if you spend another few years at Oxford, you'll get a DPhil rather than a PhD. Just to be different I guess.
My prediction is there will be some PPI shenanigans on course mis sold to students in the future.
Regarding Glasgow it was the whole open day that was a let down. Granted it is a difficult university for new visitors to navigate but as a contrast to York where students helpers were actively engaging and directing people it was poor.
Yeah but Glasgow is a phenomenal place to live.
Big enough to always have something on.
Small enough to not be overwhelming.
Super friendly.
Just an absolutely fantastic place to learn about life.
Last year’s episode (URL suggests there’s an older one) https://singletrackmag.com/forum/off-topic/uni-open-days-2/
They are (or were) and then a few years after you finish you can pay some small fee and they give you an MA. 🙂
5 years, apparently. Not aware there's a fee.
Whilst BA vs BSc likely won't matter in the UK it can cause some confusion in other countries. I'm in Canada and recently had to educate my HR department after they summarily rejected a candidate from Cambridge as they didn't have the right degree.....
Have been doing the rounds - Leeds last week, Leeds Conservatoire a few weeks before that, Leeds Arts tomorrow and Leeds Becket at the end of the month (I am sensing a theme here!). To be fair he is also looking at other locations, but does like Leeds as a city.
Re the accommodation at Leeds, the blocks they had open this year at the open day were not the most representative in my view (older kids have already been there) - have a look at some of the blocks a bit further out like Devonshire or Lupton etc that might suit. I wouldn't be put off by the distance from the Uni as a 30 minute walk or bus ride is perfectly reasonable.
Have a look here for University of Leeds accommodation locations and links.
Yeah, been looking. Done Sheffield - good!, Exeter - great!, Bangor coming up. Maybe Southampton too and one other. They only apply to 5, right?
Yeah, been looking. Done Sheffield - good!, Exeter - great!, Bangor coming up. Maybe Southampton too and one other. They only apply to 5, right?
Apply to 5, can look at as many as they like to narrow it down though!
To be fair, most kids I know narrowed it down to 5 through online research and then used open days to double check .
We missed all this with eldest as it was Covid times. He discounted a lot of unis if they weren't able to successfully run an open day over Zoom!
The research resulted in a top 2, that we have now seen, but I am encouraging him to look at some more, just in case, or he might see somewhere that really appeals. Tbf, the top 2 put on really good open days. I was sold... but I am not the student!
From what I can see open days are almost targeted more at the parents than the students!The research resulted in a top 2, that we have now seen, but I am encouraging him to look at some more, just in case, or he might see somewhere that really appeals. Tbf, the top 2 put on really good open days. I was sold... but I am not the student!
Yeah, seems about right. We go, get overawed with new facilities, clean accommodation, keen teaching staff, and then recall our days, which have a tinge of Withnail and I when remembering the accommodation*, and think, it's great nowadays! Well baring fees and loans that is.
* The Camden flat resembled our post-grad Kings Cross flat for bit. Well we had mice and cockroaches, not a rat. It was above a takeaway curry house and next to a brothel. Sometimes the toilet fell off the wall when you flushed it.
From what I can see open days are almost targeted more at the parents than the students!
I work at a uni. On our Open Day registration forms, there's an option to say whether you're a parent or a prospective student.
These days it's getting up to about 35-40% of all signups being parents. They're hugely involved now, so yeah there's been a big move over the last decade or so to provide more info to parents.
While I agree that you have to be interested in the course, we all do better and are more motivated doing stuff we enjoy after all, don't neglect that you'll be living in this place for most of 3/4 years and if you love the course but the city bores you then you'll miss out of so much that Uni offers.
We looked at a few with my daughter - Canterbury, RHUL, QMUL, but from the moment we arrived at Warwick then she 'got the feels' for it. Partly due to their comparatively massive Arts centre and the opportunities that provided, and the enthusiasm of the girl at the mini societies fair talking about their student theatre socs, but the campus and the nice little town of Leam just made her want to be there. 3 years on, and results and graduation left to do and there's not a single regret at the choice.
May not be right for others - she's not a drinker / clubber so the nightlife of a big city wasn't a gap (and it's an easy Uber from Cov/short train to Brum anyway) - as much as anything she loved Jephson gardens for a wander and a coffee on a bench watching the world as much as I enjoyed the delights of Klute and QBall.
What we have found is that courses are being changed at the last minute.
That's very common at the moment (sadly). HE funding crisis means courses need to be transformed to be "efficient" in terms of some arbitrary feeling KPIs. Generally the core topics on a course are likely to be the same, but packaged into different modules. Option modules / electives are the most likely to change substantially/disappear.
Apart from a few (very) big unis, I'd expect all departments to have fewer staff over the next couple of years.
The Camden flat resembled our post-grad Kings Cross flat for bit. Well we had mice and cockroaches, not a rat. It was above a takeaway curry house and next to a brothel. Sometimes the toilet fell off the wall when you flushed it.
Mate lived in a garrett in Archway. 3rd floor, but tiny single stinky trap in the basement (so small almost impossible to drop your trews and sit down). If a wee was needed during the evening we just pee'd out the kitchen window into the ratty backyard
My lad wants to do History, and the syllabus at Leeds appealed to him.
I wish more of our prospective students made a decision on that basis, the actual content of the degree, good on him!
History topics taught will vary a fair bit from place to place depending on research specialisms of those teaching, so best to look at those third year modules on the university web-sites, to make sure they're offering something of interest.
Of course, there's no guarantees, sometime staff will be on research leave for a semester, or paternity/maternity leave, or pensioned off (increasinlgly do at the mo) due to VSS, best thing is to ask questions on visiting the departments on open days, or email.
First year modules in History tend to be quite generic, so probably less variation in content between universities, but this changes into second and then third year.
Good luck 🙂
Yeah, he's interested in late 19th and early 20th century. The "taster" lecture that they put on was an introduction to Spanish fascism, so that was him hooked!
she's not a drinker / clubber so the nightlife of a big city wasn't a gap
Sounds like my daughter. My godson is doing the rounds now, and is looking for a big city social scene , so Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham are all on his list.
In some ways (although I totally get it) its a shame thats its such a financial led decision and thus parents have to get involved. I based a significant amount of my decision based on the weather on the day and the visibility of pretty girls. At the time Bristol won, albeit it turned out that sunshine was a rare rare beast and the first winter crossing the downs on foot was a rude awakening.
its a shame thats its such a financial led decision and thus parents have to get involved
my son's chosen York, he knows the city and likes the course, for me that's all good, his decision, he's visited some of the halls there and did a taster day, still all happy, so I've not really had any involvement, though I'll no doubt be at the point of handing over £££!
I remember doing an open day visit (without parents) to Newcastle and spending most of the day at the climbing wall in the Eldon centre. In hindsight not the best way to assess a university. Ended up in Sheffield anyway, my city of birth and moving back from Bradford at the time so got a sense of familiarity as well as being a student in a city which I still love.
Also, got a BA in Geography which confused a few employers to begin with. Not really an issue though.
I was really clear from the outset though of the course I wanted to do and for it to involve a lot of field work (or as much as can be reasonably expected) and Sheffield fitted the bill at the time. Not looked back. Oh and the climbing was still great.
Back in the day (1987) I visited Huddersfield, North Staffs and Coventry.
Ended up at Huddersfield because of what I saw at the open day and they would accept me in with a BTEC (fluffed my first year of A Levels).
4 years later I came away with a mediocre degree (Mech Eng - B.Eng) that was enough to get me into a decent job that I’m still doing 33 years later, albeit with a different employer.
Weirdly one of the biggest influences on my adult life turned out to be my house mate who was a contributor to MBUK at the time (went on to make trousers apparently), so we often had bikes around the house that I could borrow.
I have since forgotten everything about the degree, however… mountain bikes. My hobby, my friends, the way I dress, where I go on-line etc can all be traced back to that.
Both my kids (Manchester and Durham) lived in expensive, tired halls in their first years. Both good which suited their individual preferences. I really liked Exeter when we visited.
Liverpool yesterday. Pretty good, but Leeds just edging it at the moment.
These days the financial penalty for making a wrong course or university choice is so high that obviously parents have to be involved, especially as many are paying around 600 a month to 'top up' (har har) the maintenance grant.
For those considering Exeter, our experience of having a first year there last year was pretty positive. The halls she was in (Birks Grange) were clean, safe, well managed and modern. And expensive.
A room move to a quieter spot halfway through was easily done. For those putting down 'quiet room' on the form (we did) - its very difficult for the Uni to know in advance where the idiots who want to scream and vomit till 4am every night will congregate and asking to move room can change a students experience from wanting to come home to actively enjoying the year.
For those doing a course at St Lukes Campus, remember that Streatham Campus is a fair walk away - we didn't know my daughters course would be exclusively at St Lukes (we were told it was split between the two) and so got her accommodation on the wrong campus. As it happened she didn't mind walking (30 mins) but it did mean being a bit more organized as she couldn't roll out of bed 5 mins before lectures like her mates at the St Lukes halls. There is a bus but it takes the scenic route and it costs!
Exeter itself is a very contained uni (a bit like Cambridge) with the town being so small its basically dominated by students. This can be great if you are like my daughter who is not adventurous when it comes to night life as its safe and predictable. I would have hated it as I mainly did my own thing at uni and literally went to the uni bar once before discovering the gigs and fleshpots of Brum preferably where the students wern't - this would be very difficult in a small place like Exeter.
Finally for those whose offspring have special needs (my daughter has autism), Exeter is very very supportive and the joint prime reason alongside the course for choosing it. We (and she)were not even sure if she would be able to cope with Uni and she has just passed her first year in Neuroscience with flying colours despite a few wobbles along the way.
Just our experience YMMV.
My youngest did a few days at Warwick one summer and the campus looked ace, I was really impressed, but is miles away from anywhere iirc. She did similar at Glasgow and it looked a great place to live. Can't comment on courses at either. She ended up at Cambridge but the pace of the course is brutal. The support is also incredible but I'm not sure it's for everyone really.
She ended up at Cambridge but the pace of the course is brutal. The support is also incredible but I'm not sure it's for everyone really.
Aye, quite glad youngest missed out having seen what her brother went through there. As you say, the support and contact time is excellent, especially compared to other unis.
the campus looked ace, I was really impressed, but is miles away from anywhere iirc
It's a bus ride to Leamington Spa (via Kenilworth) or Coventry (via Canley, a suburb with retail park and supermarkets and train station*) and that covers pretty much all the areas that 2nd and 3rd years live in, the bus is cheap and just runs there and back along that route at all hours. The bus ride is part of the Uni experience and like those talking about a 30 min walk across town to get places - it just becomes part of life.
I've visited Cov a couple of times and given the reputation (based on the back of the 2-tone era) I was quite impressed, it's not big city Manchester of Leeds but equally has stuff. Leam is the Uni town, so lots of student places. If your offspring wants the big city experience* they won't get it at Warwick, but it's not as 'miles from anywhere' as the geography has it.
* trains from Canley interchange and Leam direct to Brum so it is very do-able for that must see gig, not so much for every night out.
Daughter wasn't impressed by Warwick, either course or campus. Leamington would be a lovely, but damn expensive place to live - potential daughter-in-law had 3 years there.
Just goes to show, daughter studied in the new FAB which won RIBA awards and spent most of her Soc time in the very well appointed arts centre or the sports hub, can't imagine many Unis have better facilities than these 3 spaces.
Just goes to show, daughter studied in the new FAB which won RIBA awards and spent most of her Soc time in the very well appointed arts centre or the sports hub, can't imagine many Unis have better facilities than these 3 spaces.
Really is important that the kids get to have a look for themselves and make choices based on what they want/feel.
Definitely and as i said earlier in the thread, of course the course and teaching facilities etc are important, but they'll be spending 3/4 years or more living in that city / area and if they don't feel 'at home' there it affects the whole experience
The single biggest reason for anyone to drop out is that they're unhappy, not that they're failing or unhappy with the course, and location's the biggest external contributor to that (you can be unhappy anywhere, but being happy if you're in the wrong place is hard) So yep, getting a feel is massively useful. Course, you can't really know after a single visit but it's the best you can do and still helps a lot. Better still if you can have a look at the city (and figure out how accessible it is, if it's an out-of-town campus)
There was a little bit of chat there about accomodation, we had basically 3 levels of accomodation to choose from- standard, or a bit shit, or lovely but expensive. And practically every student you asked would recommend the middle, standard one, unless money is just not a factor. Glory fades basically and money in your pocket ends up better than having an extra 3 square feet of floor or a nicer kitchen. Though having said that, if a kid really recoils from the accomodation that's a very bad factor, see 1) being unhappy.
Number one thing to do is talk to the student "volunteers", they'll be getting paid but still, they'll usually be honest and pretty open with opinions. Ours were all under orders not to be excessively negative but they were encouraged to voice a reasonable negative opinion if they had one, when asked, because while obviously the open day is a big sales job there's also a big factor of "make sure students don't go to the wrong place", and one person's reasonable criticism can actually help another person find the right place. Unis want you to come to them, sure, but they want you to go the distance too and be happy and give good word of mouth and all that.
If someone's got an extra curricular thing that's important to them, they have to go and see if there's a society and if there is ask them. Don't waste time asking the uni, we could tell you "yes there is a society" or "yes we have these facilities" but what they <must> do is speak to the society and find out what actually happens, how active they are, etc. I mention this because kids just don't do it and it's maddening. 100% essential for those athletes, gamers, whatever.
The lad is having a look at Oxford today. He’s gone down with his College as part of their “Excellence” program.
Has anyone got a child studying there? What are your experiences?
We’re worried that if he gets in, he won’t fit in. What with him being a quiet northern lad from a state school / college.
This is probably just our prejudice, so I’d be interested to hear any first-hand experience.
At Oxbridge, they will apply to a specific college as well as the subject. The college will be where they live and depending on the subject, some are heavily faculty based and some will have lots of teaching time with tutors at the college. You can research the state school v private/public school intake at each college and apply to one that suits best. Also some will be known for activism, or a political leaning from the student body, so again you can pick to suit.
Fwiw, state school admissions last year accounted for 66.2% of all the Oxford undergraduate admissions.
All the stats here: (per college, per subject, per UK region etc) https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/AnnualAdmissionsStatisticalReport2025.pdf#page=18
HtS - eldest graduated from Cambridge last year, got in via a similar scheme.Totally understand your concern. Not got time to reply now, chase me up if I don't get back later
@Harry-the_Spider Right then...bear in mind this is Cambridge and not Oxford. There might (my prejudice) be more Eton/Bullingdon types at Oxford, but it still won't be as bad as it was 20-30 years ago when we were forming our own prejudices.
Just thinking of looking at Oxbridge is a big brave step for kids from "ordinary" backgrounds if it's not common in their school or social groups. Better to try and fail than wonder - the only issue is you need to get your applications in earlier.
MrsMC and I are both average wage public sector workers from normal backgrounds, both the first in our families to go to uni. MCJnr is a bright kid, but I never thought of him as Oxbridge material. Born and brought up on the nicer edge of Ilkeston, a former steel and mining town in the East Midlands. Little village CofE primary, secondary school in Ilkeston that borderline failed an Ofsted inspection (MrsMC was a governor at the time), wasn't the top academic kid at either but worked hard, especially at stuff he enjoyed (a girl he went through both schools with was ridiculously bright and ended up doing Maths at Oxford and is now a city trader apparently). Went to a different 6th form college as the local one didn't offer music, he thought he'd have a go at the Oxbridge route through the scheme, didn't fancy the course at Oxford so applied to Cambridge to do music, did his research and applied to whatever college it was.
Two online interviews - the college didn't accept him, but he was put into the "pooling" system. Think Sorting Hat from Harry Potter - actually think of Harry Potter or Unseen University for all of Oxbridge. He was accepted by Pembroke College to do music subject to the grades, which he got. He will admit he may not have got in if he hadn't been the 2021/Covid A level year. (Got A* in Music, Maths and Further Maths but there were no exams that year)
I was worried he wouldn't fit in - not posh, not well off, not conservative with a big or small C, doesn't drink, doesn't party much. I totally underestimated him, and Cambridge. Something like 80% of Cambridge undergrads are from state school - Yak has given details for Oxford up there. Admittedly there are a lot from state grammar schools, but for every one of them he got friends with, there was someone else from a bog standard background. If posh rich kids aren't your scene, you can avoid them. Jnr got involved in the school outreach programmes, and had some great conversations with parents worried that their expensively privately educated kids wouldn't get a place at Cambridge because they were taking more people from "normal" backgrounds. Oxbridge want the best people, they don't care where they come from.
The colleges at Cambridge - and I assume Oxford - have wealth greater than most of the African nations they stole it from, so there are a lot of bursaries and opportunities for kids from ordinary backgrounds. The accommodation at Cambridge is owned by the colleges, so there's no dodgy private landlords to deal with, and the deals including meals mean that for a stupidly expensive place for ordinary folk to live, it was no more expensive, and less hassle, than any other university accommodation.
Formal dinners look a ballache for a fussy eater who smothered everything in ketchup, but they are not compulsory and he made it work for him - by helping with the sound system at the college chapel services he got free Sunday formal dinners. Then he got involved in doing the sound for the Cambridge Union, and has met - and mic'd up - some amazing and interesting people from the world of politics, science and entertainment.
His two best friends from Cambridge couldn't be more different - one is the son of a family who have nearly finished renovating an Elizabethan manor house they bought, the other is the son of council tenants.
Like any uni, it's what you want to make of it, but there are more opportunities at Oxbridge I think. What I would say is that if a student has been the "brightest" star going through school and college, it can be a shock stepping up to the level and intensity at Oxbridge. Some students struggle no longer being the big fish in a small pond. Despite studying music at Cambridge, Jnr didn't make it to the University Orchestra until his final year - the standard of musicians not actually studying music was that high. (He did conduct them in his second year though!) Cambridge discourages students from having term time jobs so that they can concentrate on their studies - lecture and contact hours were about 20 hours a week. Not bad value really for the fees compared to others.
LittleMissMC also applied to Cambridge to do Natural Sciences, a really competitive course compared to music. Same 6th form college scheme as her brother. (She also didn't like the course at Oxford). She passed the interviews but couldn't get a place through pooling, so wasn't successful. She was made up that she got as far as the interview process, but is looking forward to (subject to grades!) starting at Lancaster in the autumn. I'm not sure she'd have been any happier or any more successful if she'd made it to Cambridge, and she says the same. I am just as insanely proud of her as I am of him.
MrsMC and I have both found that several friends/colleagues have had kids apply to Oxbridge since Jnr went, and all of the parents have had the same worries you have, and we had. "We don't know anyone who is normal who has had kids there" is a phrase we have both heard!
Happy to answer questions on here of DM if you have any other questions.
I found Oxford hard at first as an undergrad, socially (also quite Northern lad from state school), but I figured things out and ended up happy there. You never really know if it would be different at another university, because there is no control experiment, but it is quite an intense place.
First year was tough, college felt small and claustrophobic, drinking like a Blue Whale and finding the course (chemistry) really hard. Then resolving to sort myself out and get on top of the course - gave me confidence, made more friends, just relaxed into it basically.
The academic experience was life-changing - exceptionally high standards if you wanted them. At research level Oxford / Cam are merely excellent, but at undergrad they offer something quite unique to this day. I think this is a pivotal point as far as getting the crystal ball out for your lad - no one really knows if they are going to be passionate about their studies ahead of time, but if they have some love for the subject, find it inspiring, then they should try for Oxbridge imho as there is so much upside.
Everyone will have their own experiences - a guy I was close friends with left voluntarily at the end of year one to go and do maths somewhere else. Just wanted to go on the ale and phone in a 2:1 without being hassled each week that he should be doing better.