Studying (animal behaviour) in the UK!

[Eifie]

Edit: I'm pretty sure that I'll be choosing either Aberystwyth or Lincoln now. I have applied to Animal Behaviour at both universities. Comments about those two universities or about studying animal behaviour are still wanted! :)



Hello! I am a Norwegian girl who wants to go and study in the UK. I have applied to four different universities and one college, but choosing which one I'll go to might be a little bit difficult. I have visited the college, but never been to the universities or to the cities they are located in. So I thought "why not ask the British people at pkmn.net? Maybe they know something!" :)

I have applied to:
- Writtle College (Chelmsford, England)
- The University of Reading (England)
- The University of Exeter (Penryn campus, England)
- The University of Lincoln (England)
- Aberystwyth University (Wales)

So, does anyone know anything about these universities or cities/towns? Do you live there, have you been there, have you studied there? Would you recommend it, or do you know something I should know before choosing that place?


If you know anything about studying animal behaviour (or similar), your comments are welcome, too! :)

I have applied to Animal Behaviour (and welfare) at Exeter, Lincoln and Aberystwyth, Animal Science at Reading, and Animal Management at Writtle.



Obviously, I'll do my own research by going through their websites and gathering information, but it would be fun if someone from here could help! :)

[Wolstenholme]

Well, I'm currently beginning to look at universities and the only one of these I've been to is Lincoln University as it's the closest to my home, I think Lincoln is a good choice as it recently got lots of new science equipment and the accommodation was in good shape. Lincoln is also a good choice because it's a city with a lot of culture and there is a lot of stuff to do and see if you want to experience Britain.

However, that said, Reading would be another brilliant choice as it's one of the 'red brick' universities meaning that it has been long established and has a lot of prestige. The science equipment will probably not be as new or high-tech as the equipment at Lincoln seeing as it hasn't been (to my knowledge) refurbished for quite a while. Reading is probably your best choice in terms of the actual lectures though as they will most likely have more of the best-of-the-best staff.

This is just my opinion formulated from limited experience. Others may have more to say on other universities and will (most likely) contradict what I've said. But make of my words what you will.

[JSM]

Hi there, I live in Exeter! Exeter university has an excellent reputation in general, although I can't be sure on the specific facilities or anything for animal science. Exeter is a lovely city and I feel privileged to have grown up here! I have visited the uni a few times and it looks excellent (I'm not going there because I wouldn't get in =P).

The city itself is awesome, there's plenty of things to do. Lot's of student nights out if you're into that sort of thing. Great location too! Near enough for a daytrip to the coast or surrounded by plenty of countryside. I'd really recommend it! If you have any specific questions about the city itself I could answer them =D

[Awkward Squirtle]

I don't know much about those, but I'd recommend looking at league tables online in addition to just their websites.

[lets all go out for some frosty chocolate milkshakes]

"red brick" uni just means they spend more time and effort on research than teaching tbh, and for an undergrad degree they can kinda suck sometimes because everyone there is like all "this is SO above my station what am i even doing teaching i bring in the most money into this department" and it shows




you might find more joy in thestudentroom re: uni opinions as they have entire sections of the forum for this (if you haven't been there already), but like most online communities its full of annoying nerds sometimes

[Turner]

I'd personally say that unless there is a uni which is exceptional for Animal Science (in which case you should choose that) or that there are unis in your list of possibilities that are exceptionally bad (You shouldn't choose those) you should just pick based on location, convinience, cost etc. I don't think going to a university that is say, 15 places higher than another on this year's annual league table is really going to mean much to an employer at the end of the day. Also remember that some universities may not necessarily provide a better 'Animal Science' course than another but they may instead have better connections to the field/company/whatever of where you want to end up working. Google is your friend for that, though, really this advice can pretty much be applied to any subject you want to study.

[Wrath of Zuruggu]

I've heard a lot of good things about Aberystwyth from friends and previous lecturers that studied there. It's supposed to be a good uni in a great location. I went to an animal college and know a lot of animal-y people and Aberystwyth just seems like the place to study. I've never been there myself, however.

I'm at UEA studying -something- in biology, potentially ecology (the study of organisms and their interactions with the environment - think conservation).

[Milsap]

Lincoln's animal science bit is pretty cool, did a summer school there as they also do forensic science.

Only down side to the Riseholm Campus (where they do all the animal-related bits) is outside of the city, while the main campus is right in the city centre.

[Specstile]

I go to lincoln univeristy! But i do biomedical science and i have to say i love it

[Liam]

I've applied to do Zoology, so I guess I am in a similar boat as you. I also applied for Exeter, but it's not one of my choices any more, so I can't really direct you in which sort of uni would be the best for you... my firm is Manchester. I have heard that Aberystwyth is a nice place, though!

[Eifie]

Thank you so much, all of you! :D

I have received a reply from all the universities now and I think I am closer to making my choice. I have decided not to go to Exeter or Reading because they turned out to be quite expensive. (£16500 for Reading and £17500 for Exeter - and that's just the prices for the first year, the next two years will be even more expensive!) It's not easy being an international student. :P Lincoln and Aberystwyth are less expensive, and I don't really think studying at Exeter or Reading will be so much better than the others. I imagine they're all good in some way, so why choose the most expensive one?

Writtle is obviously the cheapest since it is a college (only £9800!) but I have decided that I'd rather go to a university. So I'm left with Aberystwyth and Lincoln! Aberystwyth is a little bit cheaper than Lincoln and I've heard that it's a great place to study, but I've also heard good things about Lincoln. Right now, I think that I might end up choosing Aberystwyth, but I still have until 5 June to make up my mind!

So if anyone else have good or bad things to say about Aberystwyth or Lincoln, I'm still interested in what you have to say. :)

Again - thanks to everyone who have replied so far! You've been very helpful! :D