Bachelor of...

[Rachael]

You can only really compare Warwick with other campus Universities like Keele (which I don't know) and Loughborough (which I do): it's clearly designed as a self contained student village... and to compare it with either a big city setup like Birmingham or Leeds... or even with a place like Aberystwyth is disingenuous.

Wasn't a bad place to visit occasionally when Simon Rattle and CBSO were in residence :-)

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Rachael

You can only really compare Warwick with other campus Universities like Keele (which I don't know) and Loughborough (which I do): it's clearly designed as a self contained student village... and to compare it with either a big city setup like Birmingham or Leeds... or even with a place like Aberystwyth is disingenuous.

Do you know Birmingham university at all?

OK, you have to leave campus to get to a large shoppping centre like the Bullring, but Birmingham is infact as much of a campus university as Warwick, and so I can actually compare. I'm not sure there is very much difference in size between the two, both have student residences on site, shops, bars. It's possible to not leave campus except maybe to go to a large supermarket. I'm not sure if you think Birmingham university is spread around the city because it is not, it is in Edgbaston and is very self-contained. Definitely as much so as Warwick, and in my opinion very compatible for comparison in possbily everyway.

[Andy Mellon]

Originally Posted by Lemming

Definitely as much so as Warwick, and in my opinion very compatible for comparison in possbily everyway.

The University of Warwick has a better Radio Station at least

Not sure about anything else. I have to say though, I preferred living in the Midlands to living on the South Coast. Much more stuff going on and more places to visit.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Lemming

Do you know Birmingham university at all?

I've only been registered there for 10 years.... :-)

I've got to admit that there's a huge difference between Edgebaston and Aston: the latter is clearly the Uni most equivalent to (say) Leeds or LSE. That said... neither are very comparable to Warwick... which was, until relatively recently when they started building huge science parks and the like, slap bang in the middle of the countryside, no-where near anywhere - not unlike Loughborough (30 min walk to the edge of town) or Keele (from what I used to hear a good place to have a car).

[Andy Mellon]

Well, Warwick isn't exactly slap bang in the middle of the countryside. On the South side, yes its countryside. To the East, mainly countryside and not far to the Stoneleigh Agricultural Centre (sounds like a rural idyll). However, to the North and West the university is immediately bounded by the Coventry suburb of Canley. Within 2 minutes walking of the campus, and within 5 minutes of the centre of the Academic departments. I know what you mean though, if you have a flat on campus at Warwick, there is no need to leave for anything. All you need is on site which means that the students can become almost institutionalised and unaware of anything off campus.

[Leafy Seadragon]

Fond memories of Birmingham Uni - did part of my MSc there. Wouldn't begrudge an atomic war hitting the rest of the city though (people aside). I understand that its come a long way since then (run out of concrete?) so maybe this comment no longer applies. Somehow I was lucky enough to finish my thesis in a combination of the Welsh countryside and Cheshire - no comparison, but I did miss the curries and some of the people

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Leafy Seadragon

Fond memories of Birmingham Uni - did part of my MSc there. Wouldn't begrudge an atomic war hitting the rest of the city though (people aside).

It didn't look that much better last time I passed through.... but I could echo that same sentiment with respect to significant portions of a vast number of our cities. Sadly, there's now more chance of these monuments to disasterous planning and architecture getting listed than getting knocked down!

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Rachael

Warwick... which was, until relatively recently when they started building huge science parks and the like, slap bang in the middle of the countryside, no-where near anywhere - not unlike Loughborough (30 min walk to the edge of town) or Keele (from what I used to hear a good place to have a car).

You do know that a campus university doesn't have to be in the middle of nowhere. OK, Birmingham city centre is 25 mins away or a 10 minute train journey. But that doesn't mean you ever HAVE to leave the campus, you may choose to because there are better shops. But you can live on the campus for as long as you want if you really wanted to.

Warwick university isn't slap bang in the middle of no-where. In fact it is 3 miles away from Coventry city centre. OK I admit, Birmingham University may be about 2 miles from the city centre. Is it that 3 miles which constitutes a campus university?

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Leafy Seadragon

Fond memories of Birmingham Uni - did part of my MSc there. Wouldn't begrudge an atomic war hitting the rest of the city though (people aside). I understand that its come a long way since then (run out of concrete?) so maybe this comment no longer applies. Somehow I was lucky enough to finish my thesis in a combination of the Welsh countryside and Cheshire - no comparison, but I did miss the curries and some of the people

Thanks Leafy Seadragon, with the exception of the Muirhead tower the campus is actually very nice isn't it?

Birmingham is a red-brick campus university. It's very traditional and makes you feel like you are not in a city at all, it's like a small little village really.

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Rachael

It didn't look that much better last time I passed through.... but I could echo that same sentiment with respect to significant portions of a vast number of our cities. Sadly, there's now more chance of these monuments to disasterous planning and architecture getting listed than getting knocked down!

I don't know how long it is since you visited Birmingham, but it's improved massively recently. When I arrived 8 years ago, it was a concrete mess with little choice in either nightlife or shopping.

In the last few years, areas around Broad Street and the canals have been redeveloped with new clubs and bars, and a couple of years ago we got the new Bullring, which really opens up the east side of the city centre by St Martin's church.