University Campus or Home?

Person_one

Spendless wrote: »

My husband's Godson is in the same position. The course he wanted to do at a Uni which would have meant living away from home isn't running this year and the only other place doing it is the 'local' one. It's in the nearest city to us, but Godson lives 10 mins walk away from a direct train route that will drop him off opposite the Uni. Him and his parents have had the discussion about whether it is then worth adding to your debt for something that is on your doorstep and commutable. The compromise they have come up with is that he stays at home for his first year,finds his feet and a part-time job and gets to know people and then makes the decision about whether he wants to live away for the other 2 years.

Just something to throw in the pot for you to consider as others have suggested doing it the other way round, living in halls of residence for first year then back home.

Bad idea! By the time he's deciding if he wants to move out, most of his fellow students who are away from home will have already formed friendship groups, already gone through that crucial rite of passage of being thrown in with strangers and away from mum and already decided who they want to live with for the second year. Better to throw himself into it in first year and then if its not right for him come home after that.

stebiz

Person_one wrote: »

Of course they aren't all equal!

I'm no snob, but different universities are better at different subjects, or have better links with industry/research etc. or have better reputations that help get a foot in the door in a particular field.

Lots of ex polys are great for things like arts, health, teaching etc. while russell group units are generally better for hard sciences, and two universities offering the exact same degree title could have completely different course content.

You mentioned Manchester, well its no 'better' than MMU but its certainly not 'equal'! You'd have no luck trying to study primary teaching or graphic design at UofM, or chemical engineering or genetics at MMU.

What I mean is that course for course, a Business Degree at Exeter (Top 10) would in my eyes be no better than a Business Degree at Manchester (Top 40).

Are you saying that most employers would go into the actual modules that had been studied and the lecturers who taught them?

Person_one

stebiz wrote: »

What I mean is that course for course, a Business Degree at Exeter (Top 10) would in my eyes be no better than a Business Degree at Manchester (Top 40).

Are you saying that most employers would go into the actual modules that had been studied and the lecturers who taught them?

What about a business degree from Exeter and one from 'University Campus Oldham'?

katie1812

I lived at home when I went to uni and I have to say that I am so pleased I did! There are loads of groups for students living at home and I wasn't the only person on my course who lived at home so we used to drive in together or meet at the car park and walk to campus together. It definitely saved me money and to be honest with the current tuition fee prices, every penny you can save helps!

lostinrates

stebiz wrote: »

What I mean is that course for course, a Business Degree at Exeter (Top 10) would in my eyes be no better than a Business Degree at Manchester (Top 40).

Are you saying that most employers would go into the actual modules that had been studied and the lecturers who taught them?

Depends on the subject. My subject area was very small when I started. We literally all knew each other. While I was in it we pretty much all still knew all the leading lecturers in that field internationally, some on at every single course and a couple of nearly related fields nationally.

My guess is if I were recruiting in that subject area I would exactly know the lecturers well enough to make quite close judgements.

gardner1

thatlemming wrote: »

I only know one guy who lived at home for uni in the first year, and by december he had a place in halls. As someone AT uni, halls is really the place you meet so so many people, and quite frankly, grow up an awful lot.

Why ruin the whole uni experience by living at home with your parents? Can I suggest your daughter goes to thestudentroom.co.uk and asks actual students the same question, as it's her that'll have to put up with living at home while everyone else is living together. My halls are rather expensive but I'd rather have a little more debt and an amazing experience than have lived like a child for three more years.

"Why ruin the whole uni experience" what a stupid thing to say..if the op daughter has any sense she will stay at home get good degree and not be saddled with stupid debts for years
But for that to work the op will also have to ajust/relax a bit and give daughter a bit more space and freedom

MrsDrink

stebiz wrote: »

What I mean is that course for course, a Business Degree at Exeter (Top 10) would in my eyes be no better than a Business Degree at Manchester (Top 40).

Are you saying that most employers would go into the actual modules that had been studied and the lecturers who taught them?

I can't talk for today's world, but when I was 18 and going off to Uni the course I did was very popular and you could do it at one uni or another pretty much irrespective of your grades. (For example I think Nottingham wanted AAB or ABB, where as some wanted CCC/CCD). In this example the caliber of students on the course would be significantly different so there is no way you could say a Nottingham graduate would be equivalent to one of the others.

I swear when I got my first job the thing that swung it in my favour was the fact I went to the same uni as the interviewers wife! :rotfl:

Spendless

Person_one wrote: »

Bad idea! By the time he's deciding if he wants to move out, most of his fellow students who are away from home will have already formed friendship groups, already gone through that crucial rite of passage of being thrown in with strangers and away from mum and already decided who they want to live with for the second year. Better to throw himself into it in first year and then if its not right for him come home after that.

It's up to them though isn't it? It may work out exactly as you say,it may not. Only time will tell. His case is further complicated by the girlfriend who is applying to the same Uni and the same course! They were looking at living together if they'd lived away from home, so if he had lived from home he'd have been with gf 24/7. This way they do at least get time apart. My neice never moved out of halls of residence for her whole time at Uni as for yrs 2 and 3 she got a job as a residents assistant and was required to live 'on-site'.it never affected her friendship groups and she had plenty live off site.

thorsoak

To throw another spanner in the works : I know from the experience of friends that several young people have failed to gain admission at their local universities because the interviewing panel has thought that it would be in the best interests of the student to move away from their roots in order to gain some independance. So local university might not be an option.

Pee

Living away from home whilst I was at University was very important to me in establishing myself and giving a kind of trainee independence. I didn't have the option to stay at home. I went to the nearest Uni, probably, and it was over 50 miles away.

Almost all of my friends did not live at home. I can only think of two people who did. One was very troubled because her Dad had died and she needed to provide company to her mum but she has done brilliantly, as did the other girl who lived locally and was from a Muslim family.

I would say that people who live at home tend to have a peculiar idea of the value of money. You only learn about electric bills by paying an electric bill, but then in Halls of residence it is all included anyway.

Personally I can see an advantage to one year at home and then move in with friends the second year.

Different things work for different people though.