Study abroad in England

August 24, 2005 12:02 PM

In January I'll be studying abroad somewhere in England for my junior year of college. As my three choices for schools, I chose U. of Manchester, UCL, and U. of Bristol...

I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight as to what each area offers in terms of nightlife, proximity to airports/major cities, and general atmosphere of these places (primarily Bristol and Manchester, London is much more obvious). Any current students at any of these schools would be especially helpful.

posted by rbf1138 to society & culture (10 comments total)

What are your finances? Manchester will be the cheapest, then Bristol and London will be exorbitant.
Manchester: Full of students, massive nightlife, lots of fun to be had.
Bristol: Far fewer students, beautiful city, much smaller and fewer nightlife options.
Both have airports with flights to all kinds of fun Euro destinations, although Manchester is a bigger city and therefore will have more flights to more destinations.
posted by cushie at 12:06 PM on August 24, 2005

I guess I want to add...what is the caliber of student like at each of these universities?
posted by rbf1138 at 1:34 PM on August 24, 2005

cushie, Bristol is actually the UK's 8th biggest city (population 420,000 as of 2001) - Manchester is currently 9th (population < 400,000). although it's deceptive, because the latter is part of a conurbation and seamlessly blends in with other, less exciting places like stockport and salford, so it feels bigger and has more 'stuff'. and also manchester has always traditionally been the 'bigger' place account of its industrial past.br>
They're both vibrant and have lots of culture. I really like Bristol - it's gritty, interesting, cosmopolitan, within easy striking distance of some excellent locations (historic Bath, for instance, some nice coastline, Wales), and has a great music scene.

Manchester probably does have quite a bit more going on though, both culturally and infrastructure-wise. It certainly helps that the recent Commonwealth Games were based there, and lots of money was spent doing the place up, regenerating old broken things and building new facilities. Parts of it are still pretty grotty though. It's also a stone's though away from Liverpool, which is an interesting city with rich industrial/cultural heritage, some excellent museums and galleries, and a good nightlife in its own right. Both are not a million miles away from the Lake District, which is a beautiful area. Manchester is also more gay friendly, if that's of any concern to you.
posted by nylon at 1:35 PM on August 24, 2005

what is the caliber of student like at each of these universities

They're all well respected. What subject are you doing?

also: what in the hell happened to the formatting in my last response? And why are some of my capital letters disappearing?
posted by nylon at 1:37 PM on August 24, 2005

I'm studying archaeology/anthropology
posted by rbf1138 at 2:29 PM on August 24, 2005

meant to add, UCL is still my top choice
posted by rbf1138 at 2:29 PM on August 24, 2005

I'm currently doing Maths at Bristol, but I come from London, so I can give you a bit of perspective on both. I'm not a big one for clubs, so can't help you there, but the pubs/bars in Bristol are pretty good - I don't think I've been to a bad one yet. On the other hand, I hate going to pubs in central London - too crowded, and pricey. London is generally going to be more expensive, especially as you will probably have to live away from the university, and get the tube ever day. Having lived in London all my life (except for my time in Bristol) I wouldn't really want to be a student here.
posted by Orange Goblin at 12:18 AM on August 25, 2005

If you are gay and don't surf; Manchester, otherwise Bristol. Bristol has the clubs and the nightlife, and is nearer the waves. Both have airports, but Bristol has more discount airlines so you can to Europe cheaper.
posted by priorpark17 at 12:40 AM on August 25, 2005

Can't speak for the arch/anth courses, but from my experience in another department I can say that UCL is certainly an excellent university. My siblings liked Manchester (both studied there and did well). Bristol is lovely. All three are very well-respected universities. If money is not an object, then look carefully at the courses and choose the best for you - otherwise, give more weight to Manchester and (to a lesser extent) Bristol - they're both cheaper than London.

For example, you could expect to pay at least double in rent in London than you would in Manchester. I hear Bristol can be pretty expensive too.
posted by altolinguistic at 4:21 AM on August 25, 2005

I spent my junior year in Bristol and I had a fantastic time, the students were wonderful, and the arts/night life/ was varied enough that I never ran out of things to do. I was doing philosophy but I knew someone who came as a junior doing anth and archeology and was recruited/ decided to stay and finish her degree in Bristol.

My friends have told me that city certainly seems to be getting trendier and trendier, which isn't a bad thing.

Bristol has an airport that is easyjet access, that you need to take a bus to from the center city, so it's good for hopping off for trips around Europe.

If you do go to Bristol try to get placed in the center of the city, in Clifton (which is expensive but gorgeous), but not in the main dorm area, which is way too far from classes.

Also I would suggest living and trying to make friends with British students.

feel free to email me if you have any other questions!
posted by stratastar at 10:12 PM on August 25, 2005