Which UK universities good for physics?

[electric.avenue]

Firky - that was the impression I got when I went for interview. I took a mate with me, (to UCL, not into the actual interview), and we both thought the same. When we were shown round a bit I couldn't get over how dull and pokey it all seemed.

Simply in terms of site, Leeds is more pleasant by far - the uni is on a campus right by the civic quarter of Leeds, and also quite close to the town centre.

Manchester seemed really dull too. Though what put me off about Manchester was simply that the students seemed proper snooty.

Also visited campus uni's Lancaster and York, and thought the trouble would be the fact that they are so isolated. Liked Lancaster physics dept though.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Congratulations, and yes, UCL is a bit of a tip in terms of facilities but a shiny lab does not automatically make a good department.

 

[electric.avenue]

Thanks, Bob.

Leeds appealed to me because everyone seemed so friendly and enthusiastic about physics. Have also heard online that it is a friendly dept. They also have a quantum computing research group which strikes me as utterly fascinating - not that I'll ever get the chance to do that, but, well, you never know!

 

[Bob_the_lost]

That is a very good reason to join a university. You in halls?

 

[Firky]

Firky - that was the impression I got when I went for interview. I took a mate with me, (to UCL, not into the actual interview), and we both thought the same. When we were shown round a bit I couldn't get over how dull and pokey it all seemed.

I thought it may have changed in the six years since I had a look around but it sounds like it hasn't. It had a funny antiquated feeling about it that wasn't quaint or homely. Merely dated and stale. Like when you walk into a charity shop on the hight street. However they're supposed to be quite a good uni.

As a side note, I wouldn't live in halls. Far better to live in a shared house - living in halls is like being stuck in the holiday lodge for a year. I was in halls for two weeks when I was looking for a house and hated it

 

[electric.avenue]

Hi, Bob and Firky - no, I won't be in halls. Will be travelling in from the sticks by bus. Live in a town 15 miles from Leeds with me partner. I think a move into Leeds would be more convenient for us though.

I did live in halls for a year in London, and loved it - made loads of friends, had a lot of fun. But my mates that stayed on for a second yr in halls said you get fed up of it in your second year.

 

[Dillinger4]

<snip>
Manchester seemed really dull too. Though what put me off about Manchester was simply that the students seemed proper snooty.

I have found Manchester students a bit snooty as well.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Fair enough, i got tired of my frying pan(s) disapearing very, very quickly. Thieving bastard students

 

[electric.avenue]

Firky: yes, interesting that you got the same impression of UCL as well - I wondered if perhaps it was just me. Just couldn't get over how dull it all seemed. And the fact that they didn't even show us the labs - maybe seeing where it all went on would have made a difference. We were just spoken to in this poky little room, and then upstairs for an interview in another poky little room.

Dillinger4: glad it wasn't just me on the Manchester lot then! I asked one postgrad lass how she was finding it, and she fluttered about and said it was "wonderful being paid for being a student", then she fluttered about a bit some more and said, "But people think I look too young to be a postgraduate". Yeah, right. The sort of answer I had been expecting was solid info about the physics she was doing.

I definitely got the impression too that they were a bit anti-mature student, (the undergrads and postgrads, not the actual staff). I started a conversation with one guy from Hull, where I've lived too, and he just walked off in the middle of it, looking down his nose at me. When I said I was interested in writing about travel and science one guy who sat fashionably cross legged on the chair said, "Oh, like Bill Bryson then?", and I couldn't help feeling he was being sarcastic. The I'm-too-young-looking-to-be-a-postgrad said to me that she supposed I wouldn't be interesting in living in studenty areas, which is a bit rich given that I've lived in loads of studenty areas, and mature students are hardly banned from them.

Also the prof who did the talk really went in for the hard sell - it was almost embarrassing. Other peeps online that had been to open days there said they weren't impressed by this. One 19 yr old lad on my Chemistry course went to an open day there as well, and he said that all the students talked about was the nightlife. He said that even though he did want a good nightlife, the fact that they didn't seem to talk much about the course put him off.

Out of the six unis on my UCAS form, Manchester was way the most unattractive option after visits.

 

[Gromit]

Which UK uni's are considered to be good for physics?

Most of them have gravity and newton's laws in operation as standard.
Try dropping an apple outside your university of choice if you don't believe me.