A friend of mine posted this letter to me in another community and i was wondering if anyone could be of help,ill post all replies back to her.

from jan in liverpool

my daughters off to uni this year. we've got just weeks to hand in her final choice and a 'insurance' choice, and i'm terrified! we get this wrong, it'll effect the next 3 years of her life...
we still have 2 open days to go to, sheffield, and nottingham on trent, we've already seen sheffield hallum.... these are the 3 we have to choose from...
it's the choice between 'red brick' uni's, and 'modern' thats confusing me.... out of all that we've looked at, the 'modern' uni's, john moores (liverpool) sheffield hallum, nottingham on trent, manchester met, all have better facilities, better accomodation, and seem to have a more 'hands on' approach to the business course she's doing.. and she'll only need at best, 2 B's and a C to get in.. ((sheffield hallum and nottinham trent have both dropped the grades to C's for her)) the 'red brick' uni's, sheffield, liverpool, manchester, st.andrews, seem old fashioned in thier approach, they don't have modern amenities that the new uni's do... but to an employer, saying you were a student at 'sheffield' is alot more impressive than saying you went to 'sheffield hallum' and she'll need her A's to get into any of the 'red brick'....
so why? what makes the old uni's more impressive? when it seems the courses in the modern uni's are alot more practical?
up to a few days ago, it seemed she'd end up in sheffield, or sheffield hallum, but according to the league tables for last year, nottingham on trent did great in business, something like 7th, where as sheffield hallum were 14th, and sheffield were 17th, so both modern uni's did alot better than the red brick uni....
i didn't get the oppertunity to even consider further education, so this is all new to me. i've looked at league tables, read reports, so now i'm looking for opinions of those who have been there and done that....
thanx
janx

It's all about reputation and credibility. Red bricks have a long standing historical element and distinguished reputation (although you would find this hard to believe if you came with me to one of my Uni's guild nights hehe.) I'm at University of Liverpool and I had to take an interview to get in...was definitely worth it one of the best moves of my life!! :thumbsup:

Shouldn't it be up to the daughter what university she goes to?

thanx starchild....
credibility & reputation v's better resources???? what a choice...
as far as i'm concerned, making it to 'any' uni is an accomplishment..

so you are enjoying liverpool?
good luck with your degree
janx

silda
of course it's my daughters choice.
as a caring parent, i feel i should exhaust every avenue i can find, to get 'any' information that will help my daughter make this decision.
my reading league tables, reports, talking to people who have 'been there', is my way of making sure that any advice or information i have to offer my daughter, will be sound.

thank you for the replies
janx

ps... chelle, this is much appreciated, thank you x x

your welcome jan xxxx

I'm a teacher in Sheffield and i have been to both Hallam (to do my BA) and the Uni (post grad). She will have a great time at either one and should have a positive experience of student life. As for the hands on vs traditional debate. It is true that red brick institutions carry some credability but more and more employers nowadays value practical experience. If she can get on a course that includes a placement year she will be streets ahead of the competition straight away when applying forjobs, no matter what uni she has attended. More and mor graduates are finding themselves unable to secure graduate jobs. Having a c.v that demonstrates that you can apply skills and knowledge is as vital, if not more so, than a good class of degree. If she can combine the two..... As for which is better; i can't speak for buisness studies but two years ago Hallam actually came out as good, if not slightly better than the uni in league tables for English Studies. At the end of the day the best advice i can give is to tell her to go with the course she thinks she will enjoy the most.
Good Luck:thumbsup:

thanx for the advice, very much appreciated!
hugs janx

It also depends on what course she wants to do as Sheffield Uni specialises on different courses to Sheffield Hallam. I had to go to Hallam, as Sheffield Uni didn’t do the course I wanted (Media studies). I have been told that Hallam has the better facilities, I don’t know if that’s true though!

Originally posted by jandancer33

so you are enjoying liverpool?
good luck with your degree
janx


I love Liverpool University,

I get the best of both worlds as I'm doing a degree that would more commonly be found in modern universities - a media related degree - but when I apply for a job as you said...employers will be more impressed that I earned a degree at a red brick.
:D

Thanks for the wishful thinking in the luck department. :thumbsup:

lol is everyone just studying media and business these days?

Originally posted by starchild
I love Liverpool University,

employers will be more impressed that I earned a degree at a red brick.
:D

Thanks for the wishful thinking in the luck department. :thumbsup:

Hate to disillusion you Starchild but I agree with Caz. I have worked in recruitment agencies (placing temporary and permanent staff) and employers are more impressed with experience nowadays, because they are more concerned with what you can do for them, not where you earned your qualifications (I think the only exceptions to this are, of course, Oxford and Cambridge). Incidentally I have a Business and Management Degree and I went to Sheffield Hallam as a mature student.

Incidentally, what did you think of John Moores - my daughter has an interview there next week?

My mate who's a first year at Liverpool started a degree at John Moores the previous year and quit because, as he described it, John Moores was like 3 years then 'a handshake and a couple of HMV vouchers' instead of a proper degree. :D

Although that's just one opinion, I have heard positive things about JMU- we've always been told at Liverpool U that their media department's library is more extensive than ours.

yeah i've got mates that have been to both Liverpool unis. I think it depends on the subject. John moores has got a good reputaion for it's engineering and IT departments for example. I suppose traditionally, the old polys were built around more technical subjects, so these are the ones they should be best at.

My daughter is going into PE teaching so the courses she is going for are Sports Development and Physical Education - one with qualified teacher status the other without (she would have to do a PGCE after). What are their sports facilities like, do you know by any chance?

Sheffield Hallam is her first choice because she has a steady boyfriend and doesn't want to move away, but we told her not to narrow her choices down to 2 or 3 courses. I was supposed to be going with her so I could have a wonder round the city centre while she was in the interview, but my husband is going in hospital so I think her boyfriend is going with her instead. She didn't want to go alone as she will have to stay overnight before because she has to be at the interview for 9.30 and it is on a campus 4 miles from the centre. (I. M. Marsh campus).

yeah thats one problem with john moores, it's spread out all over the place. covers a huge area. From what i know from friends the sports facillites are excellent, but i'm sure they will give her more details in the interview. They may even show her round.
It's not far to travel from sheffield to liverpool. When my ex girlfriend was in sheff i used to travel it nearly every weekend. Now i live in sheff and come back to liverpool very frequently. And with a rail card it's not very expensive. £7.50 if you book in advance.

Oops waffling on a bit there. point is, she really should judge by the course content and the facillities. Though hallam also has excellent sports facillities.

Well I am starting at Hallam in September I am a mature student who did the job before the degree! It depends on the course, but I know where I work most graduates on the accelerated management courses did not go to Red Brick Unis, with several from Sheffield Hallam, Not Trent, etc. I go to Lincoln Uni at the moment and the Tutors got their degrees at Nott Trent, Sheffield Hallam, London Metropole or through work. I looked at Nott Trent but decided it most definatly was not for me but was also offered places at Birmingham University supposedly a good Uni but just happened to get the worst scores in the country for my course!!! I was also offered a place at Leeds but the course did not leave me with so many options, Just go for where the course is most suitable and where your daughter will feel most comfortable.

DO NOT GO TO HALLAM!

You have been warned!!!

Originally posted by rarstar
DO NOT GO TO HALLAM!

You have been warned!!!
An excellent piece of advice.... :rolleyes:

Seriously.

Search for a reply I wrote in another similar thread (Sheffield Vs Hallam, I think) if you want more info.

Done it for you...

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6345&perpage=15&highlight=hallam&pagenumber=2

Mine's the last post.

Well, I admit I can relate to that, but have no experience of any other university to compare.

I don't think you can tell people not to go to Hallam, as you can't compare it against Sheffield University. The only problem I've really had with Hallam is traveling to Psalter Lane, which is the other side of Sheffield for me. The buses are rubbish up there.... but don't get me started on that!!!!!!!

I also get the feeling that Sheffield Uni student are more snobbish, but I've only met a few. Also at that uni there are more international students, which English isn't their first lanuage. I have been told that this slows down the lessons, but I don't know if that's true or not?

Lessons at Sheffield University? :o Don't know how you are taught at Hallam, sounds like you must be spoon fed.

We get lectured and have to take notes. It is upto us to understand it.

So to answer your question no international students do not slow the learning process down.

Most of my units are lecturers followed by a seminar, apart from the independent study units where you teach yourself.

Originally posted by rarstar
Seriously.

Search for a reply I wrote in another similar thread (Sheffield Vs Hallam, I think) if you want more info.

Mate that may be the experience of your course, but I don't think you can write off the whole uni based on this.

as far as hallam letting in anyone, again this is depending on the degree. For example, a BEng in mechanical or electrical engineering, requires 20 (old A'level) points, and I don't know anyone who has been let on with less. These courses are very well respected in industry.

As I said, every course and university school is different. So people should choose their course according to course content, job prospects, facillities etc.. not on the odd person saying yeah hallam/The uni is cr*p

OK.

Hallam University has been shut today so the Union can have a day where they try to persuade people that students should have all wednesdays off, for social purposes.

I'm not joking.

Just to clarify what rarstar said. Hallam union have been protesting outside university today. The protest is about having wednesdays for sports and personal development, which was the case a couple of years ago. More recently, less students are given time off on wednesdays, which was tradidtionally when sports activities could take place between all universities. Unions are known to protest about stuff generally.

Oh and the university wasn't closed. The university hardly ever closes. In fact if the university was to be closed for a day they would lose somewhere in the region of 10,000 man hours. This was the problem recently when the Uni closed because of power cuts.

Oops waffling again there. sorry!

Originally posted by rarstar
OK.

Hallam University has been shut today so the Union can have a day where they try to persuade people that students should have all wednesdays off, for social purposes.

I'm not joking.

Why specifically Wednesdays?

As I mentioned, wednesdays has always been the traditional day for university sports. For all universities. So wednesday, or at least wednesday afternoons were generally left free of lectures. However hallam seem to have stopped this more recently. So the union, being a union, are protesting.

>>> Oh and the university wasn't closed.

I got an email saying all lectures were cancelled.

I don't see why people who want to play sports can't do it in the evenings. I'd rather not have to cram more hours into each day in case someone I've never met fancies a game of badminton.

Originally posted by rarstar
>>> Oh and the university wasn't closed.

I got an email saying all lectures were cancelled.

I don't see why people who want to play sports can't do it in the evenings. I'd rather not have to cram more hours into each day in case someone I've never met fancies a game of badminton.

Just because lectures are cancelled doesn't mean that the university is closed. Lectures not taking place doesn't stop people from using the library for example, also it doesn't mean that the hundreds possibly thousands of administration workers in university get a day off. As far as they are concerned it's business as usual, which means that the university is not closed.

Well said wendy. incidentally just cos your silly course may have cancelled lectures doesnt mean that every other course has. Stop taking out your issues with your course on the whole uni. You chose a cr*p course. Deal with it!
By the way I wasn't supporting the whole wednesdays off thing, i was just explaining why it was happening. As I said, Unions protest about stuff. At EVERY uni! fact of life, it's what they're there for.

I take it from your snooty reply that you were in some way involved with the protest.

I wholeheartedly apologize for mistakenly stating that the University was closed, when in actual fact it was just that all teaching was cancelled.

I would also like to thank-you for taking the time to inform me of this technicality. God knows what might happened to me, or anyone-else similarly mistaken should this not have been pointed out.

Thanks for such a useful post. I suppose I'll just get on with my life, living in hope that I never make such a dangerous mistake again.

By the way: if you weren't involved, don't feel the need to inform me. I couldn't care less either way.

You seem to have a problem with my dislike for the University. Not sure why that is.

I'm not just having a go for no reason - my arguments are all based on fact.

I didn't "pick a crap course" but I'm having to deal with it. The course was nothing like what was described in the prospectus or what I was told when I asked specific questions to lecturers and university staff before joining. I was either lied to or the lecturers didn't know what they would be teaching in a few months time. This does not speak well for the university, no matter how you look at it.

I know people have a right to protest, but I don't want it disrupting my learning. What's wrong with that?

I know some people have had good or ok experiences, but I haven't and as someone was asking how the University was I think I am right to point that out.

Ha, so easily offended you are. As I said all lectures weren't cancelled. just pointing out the flaws in your original post.
And cos you asked me not to, i will point out that i was not involved with the protest and wasn't even slightly interested in it. Again just explaing what was happening at hallam, after your vague post.
I appologise to the author of this post, as this discussion will not help you with you choice at all. Please ignore any posts, from one persons perspective. As I mentioned earlier, make your choices based on facillities, course content etc...
Ignore people who are bitter about their course from either uni. Make an informed and educated decision.
Good luck

>>> Ha, so easily offended you are. As I said all lectures weren't cancelled. just pointing out the flaws in your original post.

You were pointing out technicalities that weren't necessary.
Teaching was disrupted due to a protest about sports is all that was needed.

All posts are 'from one person's perspective'. It would be of no use to the topic originator if everyone just said 'yeah, Hallam's nice'. They have seen some good and some negative points raised about the university.

I was raising issues with the running and management of the university, not my 'silly' course.

I don't know about you rarstar, but all our lectures are cancelled this week anyway, because it's half term.

As I've said a few times noe mate, someone has asked which uni to go to. Because one person has had a bad experience, doesn't write off the whole uni, so making a comment like 'don't go to hallam, it's utter shi*e' doesnt really help the author of this thread. I'm not giving bias to halam here, i'm just saying they should make their decisions based around important things, not just one persons opinion of their own, unrelated course. I'm sorry if this has offended you.

Originally posted by rarstar
>>> Ha, so easily offended you are. As I said all lectures weren't cancelled. just pointing out the flaws in your original post.

You were pointing out technicalities that weren't necessary.
Teaching was disrupted due to a protest about sports is all that was needed.

All posts are 'from one person's perspective'. It would be of no use to the topic originator if everyone just said 'yeah, Hallam's nice'. They have seen some good and some negative points raised about the university.

I was raising issues with the running and management of the university, not my 'silly' course.

And protests don't happen at any other uni's? Happens all the time all over the country.
Giving your perspective is fine, but telling someone not to go to a uni, based on your limited experience, is a bit harsh i feel.

what are you talking about?

of course they aren't going to make a decision based on one persons opinion, that's why there's a thread full of contrasting opinions.

Originally posted by rarstar
You seem to have a problem with my dislike for the University. Not sure why that is.

I don't have a problem with this I have a problem with students who think that those of us who work in the administration departments of colleges and universities get the same long holidays that they do:(

I work in a college of further education (not Sheffield College nor either of the Universities) and we get this all the time and it is rather irritating to say the least.

However, rant over this has nothing to do with the original subject of the thread which was "which uni?" but I agree with the others having a bad experience yourself does not qualify you to "bad mouth" the entire university, try being a little more objective and a little less subjective as you would need to be in your assessable work in order to get your grades.

BTW the idea of sports on one particular day of the week also applies to the schools and colleges in this area, I think it was introduced originally as a way of providing an easier way to work out a timetable - so if anyone is to blame it's the education departments of the lea or whoever thought of the idea in the first place.

Originally posted by rarstar
what are you talking about?

of course they aren't going to make a decision based on one persons opinion, that's why there's a thread full of contrasting opinions.

indeed there are, but at least some of us try and give an objective opinion other than 'don't go there it's shi*e'

at least if you're going to give an opinion to a query, word it a little better next time.

oh and there is a thread here full of contrasting opinions, but the only opinion people have taken a dislike to is yours. I think that may point out, that your opinion wasn't very well thought out.

An afternoon of Sport devoted to a Wednesday is a very good idea and should be kept..

Too many of us lazy gits never get any exercise nowadays.

I also wish undergraduate students didn't assume staff or phd students, get the same holiday as them. :(

Sorry, I understand what you're saying but I've got to stick with this.

I've had to suffer the place for three years now because of a set of naive fools, basically who can't do their job properly. Someone asked for opinions on the University and mine would be the same every-time.... I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

If that's not subjevtive, I don't care - it's how I feel and 'don't go there its ****e' is not all I said - just because there were none or few positives doesn't make an argument incorrect.

How the hell does having a bad experience not qualify me to say so Wendy?

If you want to pick out the way I worded it, Andy, then you're just been pedantic.

BTW, what's all this crap about Admin staff? I go to University to learn. If I can't learn because of cancelled lectures, then the University is effectively closed to me. Whether you've got to go to work or not is of no relevance to me or this thread.

Originally posted by rarstar
If I can't learn because of cancelled lectures, then the University is effectively closed to me. Whether you've got to go to work or not is of no relevance to me or this thread.

Maybe this is why you are disliking University? I think you have missed the point entirely for University. University requires you to be pro-active in your education i.e independent learning. Your not spoon-fed as you were at A-Level

Because a lecture is cancelled, that doesn't mean the University is closed. All the facilities are there to access, how you choose to use them is your own choice.

But most people when a lecture is cancelled will make the best use of their time catching up, or doing some independent learning in the library preparing themselves for the next lecture.

ok, I think we should stop here. it's all getting a bit silly, and not helping anyone.

to the author, please ignore all of this, and make an informed decision. Either uni you pick, you will have an awesome few years, and hopefully will come out with a degree relevent to your career.

If it's any help, I have had a great 4 years at hallam. In final year now, and doing very well. Lectures have been well structured throughout, and the facillities we use are some of the best in the country. I can only speak of my course (engineering), but of my friends that have done other courses, their experiences have also been good. Of about 10 close mates that finished last year, no one got less than a 2-1. Two got firsts, in a range of subjects.

Anyway, good luck choosing, and enjoy your years at uni.

Skatiechik - well said.

Andy - here, here!

rarstar - grow up - you have not done courses in every school in the uni so you don't know what applies to those. If you dislike it so much why has it taken you 3 years to find out. Also some of the issues you mention should have been taken up with the student rep and taken back to the school baord - if they don't know there is a problem they can't sort it!

Originally posted by wendy
Skatiechik - well said.

Andy - here, here!



I can feel a group hug coming on!

Skatiechick - Are you for real?

Andy - I agree.

Wendy - I'm not the one moaning about people misunderstanging my working hours on a thread about choosing a University. Neither has anyone-else. It hasn't. They have.

Originally posted by rarstar
Skatiechick - Are you for real?

What a silly question? :D

*pinches herself*

Yup I think I am real! :banana:

Originally posted by rarstar

Wendy - I'm not the one moaning about people misunderstanging my working hours on a thread about choosing a University.

Neither am I:loopy:

Originally posted by rarstar

Neither has anyone-else. It hasn't. They have.

????
:confused: I beg your pardon, don't follow??

Originally posted by wendy
My daughter is going into PE teaching so the courses she is going for are Sports Development and Physical Education - one with qualified teacher status the other without (she would have to do a PGCE after). What are their sports facilities like, do you know by any chance?

Sheffield Hallam is her first choice because she has a steady boyfriend and doesn't want to move away, but we told her not to narrow her choices down to 2 or 3 courses. I was supposed to be going with her so I could have a wonder round the city centre while she was in the interview, but my husband is going in hospital so I think her boyfriend is going with her instead. She didn't want to go alone as she will have to stay overnight before because she has to be at the interview for 9.30 and it is on a campus 4 miles from the centre. (I. M. Marsh campus).

Incidentally wendy, had a chat to my mate who did sports science at john moores last night. He said that the sports facillities there are supposed to be the best in the country. the i.m. marsh campus was purpose built for sports science and research.
I can vouch that hallam has excellent sports facillities and he can vouch for John moores. Erm that doesn't really clear anything up though. Oh well, I'm sure your daughter will do well at either uni.

Thanks Andy. That's alot more helpful than the generalised rantings of a disgruntled student. We did have a wander round Hallam's facilities on the open day but you can't really tell at that speed (you go in and out of rooms too quickly). We haven't been to look at John Moores before so didn't have any info at all but no doubt they will give her a tour.

Rarstar - I wasn't having at go at you but if you make statements without qualifying your reasons specifically you can expect to be challenged. Also if you have a negative outlook on everything you won't be disappointed - remember that and cheer up it could be worse- at least you have a decent football team to enjoy:D some don't

to everyone, good and bad opinions....
i appreciate the time everyone's taken to share thier views

the 'sheffield' open day (wed 25th) has been cancelled, so we wont get to look round, and unless it's rescheduled before my daughter has to hand in her final 2, (thats about 2 weeks away) i don't think she'd chance putting sheffield as her first or second.
we're looking at nottingham on trent on the 5th march, so thats still a factor.

after reading the messages here, and after hearing opinions of tutors/students at liverpool uni, having a 'red brick' degree isn't that important to my daughter anymore...

i was impressed with what i saw at hallam, and i'll be happy if my daughter chooses this uni.

so again, thank you for all the messages, those that gave advice, and even those that were just 'entertaining' lol
i also found the link to the other thread very helpful, thank you

hugs to all
janx


another couple of questions....

jobs for students? my daughter will have to work to support herself financially, will she have problems finding a job? and do both uni's help with stuff like this?

accommodation... what do you think is the better option, self catered, or the 'evening meal included'?
the hallam accommodation we've looked at has great self catered for about £70 a week, but it seems you can get a meal included in this price in some halls. with work, studies and socialising, is it likely you'll be round the halls every tea time for your meal?

thanx again x

Originally posted by jandancer33
my daughter has to hand in her final 2, (thats about 2 weeks away)

jobs for students? my daughter will have to work to support herself financially, will she have problems finding a job? and do both uni's help with stuff like this?

accommodation...


My daughter hasn't said anything about having a deadline for her final 2, but then she has only heard from 5 out of the 6 of her choices as her application was held up in the student services department at her college (some mess up with another student who has the same name). Do they have a deadline after receiving responses from all 6?

Jobs for students? - when I was at Hallam (albeit 92-96) they had a careers service there, where ads were placed by employers but I don't recall many of the others I spoke to finding anything this way - most looked in the papers or jobcentres as usual. My daughter works at Pizza Hut for a few shifts a week, could be worth giving them a try as they maintain a list of people looking.

Originally posted by jandancer33
accommodation... what do you think is the better option, self catered, or the 'evening meal included'?


This did make me laugh. She's going to be a student and unless she's doing catering if it comes to a choice between a pint and vegetables, guess what? I think you'd be a lot happier knowing that she's going to get at least one decent meal a day.

Whatever she chooses, the best of luck to her. If she needs help, then there's about 3,000 of us on here who'll do our best for a stranger to our brilliant city.

Originally posted by Sidla
I don't know about you rarstar, but all our lectures are cancelled this week anyway, because it's half term.

you lucky git. ours werent!

By the way im at Hallam by choice (I got a place at sheffield uni too) and i really enjoy it. The lecturers are very supportive and will never turn us down if we require extra tuition or need help with our assignments. Another good thing about it is the support they give online - you can email any of the lecturers at any time of day/weekend and theyll reply usually within 24 hours.
I must admit i am in a very different situation as the degree i am on is vocational and if you pass theres a 100% graduate employment rate so it wouldnt matter if you got your degree from outer mongolia and scraped through with 40% someone somewhere would probably give you a job (the NHS are desperate) I know Hallam are very keen on links with employment and often offer placements and have many a link with mayor companies employment wise.
I dont live in the halls but from what i can see they dont look TOO bad (decor subject to student - tendency to adopt on the bizarre mess look)

wendy
i think hers have to be in so soon because she's had all her offers early, or because she had all her applications in before a certain date... i know a couple of her mates don't have to get 'final 2' in for over a month... she's talking to her school mentor on monday because the next 2 open days we want to go to run over the 'due in' date... is there someone your daughter can check with a school or colledge?
as for jobs, what we were thinking about was the fact that she'll be coming home for hols, ((you cant stay in the halls can you)) so whatever job she gets will have to fit round not only her lectures, but also holidays where she comes home....
anyway, she plans to go down the week before and put in as many applications as possible...

max
lmao, so when my daughter turns up at YOUR door with her empty bowl and a rumble in her belly, saying, "but my mum said...." infact, can you do a decent roast? just let me check what day the open days been re-scheduled to????
lol, thanx for your reply....

kittykat
that was one of the things that impressed me and my daughter about the hallam open day, the way you can reach the lecturers online, pick up missed lectures online, hand in essays etc to one set place instead of searching a tutor out... they seem pretty supportive.
hallam was my first uni visit, ever, so i had nothng to compare it with, but we were both happy with what we saw... my daughter will be in central campus, what a great building!
and she already has the 'student decor' down to a tee, i dont go into her room without a safety rope and pager..... lol....

thanx all x x x

Im going to Hallam this year, cant wait :D

This isn't based on Sheffield in particular, but on my experiences in Southampton. Its probably applicable. I would advise AGAINST choosing any kind of hall option where meals are included. Usually they are completely rubbish, schoold dinner type things, very expensive (I always knew I could make something healthier and cheaper), and the kind of people who were catered by choice were the public school types who seemed to thrive on having everything deep fried of instant. And you paid a flat rate, so if you missed breakfast (trust me, not unussual), you had wasted money. Learning to cook and look after yourself should be learned before university, but you might as well do it there. Self catered halls usually let you stay over the holidays, so holding a job will be easier

rpg
my daughters doing business studies. what are you doing at hallam?

oxbeast
thanx for the advice. my daughter can manage a mean egg butty, and is a wiz with a micro meal, lol... she does ok at home, doesn't starve, so sounds like self catered may appeal to her. besides, a very kind person called max has offered to feed her for me.. ((heeheheheehee))

hugs to all x

Originally posted by jandancer33
a very kind person called max has offered to feed her for me..

Ah now that would be me.

Originally posted by jandancer33
lmao, so when my daughter turns up at YOUR door with her empty bowl and a rumble in her belly, saying, "but my mum said...." infact, can you do a decent roast?

Would you warn her that it would proabably be nut roast but definitely no tofu.

what? no beef???? yorkshire pud??? roasties?? mmmnnn... gravy????
lol

I went to Sheffield Hallam uni and am now a graduate in the process of trying to move into and shape a career path for myself.

One thing I have realised as a graduate is that things have changed when it comes to choosing a university and a course.

The "old" view was like a "red brick" uni was definately the one with the most credibility - and a "pure academic" course not only highlighted your intelligence but also held more recognition from employers.

I must admit whilst at uni - I had a general feeling that because I did a pure academic subject I had chosen a slightly better option than choosing to do a combined degree or a specific degree like social work etc this view in my experience was definately the general feeling on the whole throughout my university.

Also the fact that the "red brick" uni's did not evan offer these types of courses left you with a feeling of credibility for the people who did the the pure academic subjects.

Looking back now - you can never be sure what the right move is. For example I did a pure degree which has no specific tie to any job. It was a struggle at first to see what I could get into etc.

However my friends who did social work, accountancy etc are now earning extremely good money getting themselves out of debt quickly and planning round the world trips etc.

Also, some other graduates I know who gained first degrees in pure subjects are working in call centres struggling to find a route into somewhere.

However, it isn't all doom and gloom the fact is struggling into a job at first is not necessarily a bad thing. You learn to work hard, understand the job market cos you have to!! and explore so many options that are open to you - you become extremely confident in the real world and become an expert at interviews. Also, because you are not tied to anything specific you explore so many areas. the only real downfall is staying in debt for a while and perhaps struggling to find the money to go travelling. But lets be honest - once you are in that much debt it becomes normality and as long as you do not go overboard i.e. credit cards etc there are always ways of finding money to do the things you realy want to do.

So the real question is what is important to you?? because having a degree is simply not enough anymore. Also, because of this - which university you go to is completely irrelevent along with your degree classification to be honest. It is now all about what is on your CV what placement did you do , what experience do you have. It is also about how confident you are, how good you are at interviews and how well you have researched the job you are going for.

Cjhiggi
XX

Yep that's very similar to what I've just put on the other post about University.

Experience is what you need ....

i'm at sheffield uni, but i had hallam down as my second choice because i would have been happy going to either. im from london and when i came to sheffield i was really impressed and knew this was the city for me, so either uni suited, i think both are really good.

both unis have a careers service and the websites can be accessed from either uni network so it is a good source of job vacancies. I reccomend a supermarket job (i worked in somerfield) because you can usually work in your local branch when you go home for holidays and they are quite flexible with hours and used to fitting around students' lectures.

HarrietStar
Hippy
cjhiggi

thanx for your advice and opinions.

hugs to all x