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Please Help!! Glasgow vs Sheffield

Hey everyone

So I got unconditional offer from both Glasgow and Sheffield this year and I can't decide which to go! I'm an international student so I'm not really familiar with universities in the UK. Please give me some advice.
I'm studying psychology and I know that Glasgow has a higher ranking in psychology. But I have also heard that Sheffield got a better reputation.
Some also say that Sheffield got a higher student satisfaction rate and students there are happier.
These days I've got so much opinion from my cousins and friends and I'm so confused. One of my cousins even strongly discourage me to go to Glasgow because she stressed that Glasgow is a really dangerous city famous for drugs and gangs with a high crime rate, is that true? Also some also concern that the terrible freezing weather and the fact that it gets dark pretty early will effect students' mood and emotions. It just sounds so horrifying, is that also true? I think the uni is really really beautiful and reading comments here tells me that students enjoy studying there... So I'm so confused.

And for Sheffield, I think the campus is also very nice ,looks bigger and more equipped(Don't know if it's the truth tho) Watching the videos on Youtube also makes it seems like the campus is super fun and vibrant. Yet, I guess my concern is its psychology ranking is way lower than Glasgow? And I've also heard that Glasgow s harder to get in...

So... I got sooo much opinion on the two uni these days and I'm head aching about which to choose. Again I'm not from the UK so I don't know which sounds better to ppl as well. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me some downsides of studying in the 2 uni so that I know what to expect. Please please help. Thank you so much



(I'm posting in both uni forum so ppl can c it lol)
Original post by nathui
Hey everyone

So I got unconditional offer from both Glasgow and Sheffield this year and I can't decide which to go! I'm an international student so I'm not really familiar with universities in the UK. Please give me some advice.
I'm studying psychology and I know that Glasgow has a higher ranking in psychology. But I have also heard that Sheffield got a better reputation.
Some also say that Sheffield got a higher student satisfaction rate and students there are happier.
These days I've got so much opinion from my cousins and friends and I'm so confused. One of my cousins even strongly discourage me to go to Glasgow because she stressed that Glasgow is a really dangerous city famous for drugs and gangs with a high crime rate, is that true? Also some also concern that the terrible freezing weather and the fact that it gets dark pretty early will effect students' mood and emotions. It just sounds so horrifying, is that also true? I think the uni is really really beautiful and reading comments here tells me that students enjoy studying there... So I'm so confused.

And for Sheffield, I think the campus is also very nice ,looks bigger and more equipped(Don't know if it's the truth tho) Watching the videos on Youtube also makes it seems like the campus is super fun and vibrant. Yet, I guess my concern is its psychology ranking is way lower than Glasgow? And I've also heard that Glasgow s harder to get in...

So... I got sooo much opinion on the two uni these days and I'm head aching about which to choose. Again I'm not from the UK so I don't know which sounds better to ppl as well. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me some downsides of studying in the 2 uni so that I know what to expect. Please please help. Thank you so much



(I'm posting in both uni forum so ppl can c it lol)





Hi!!I looked round Sheffield loads and was intending to go there, the campus is beautiful and you're right, the uni is very well equipped, every building is very modern inside, and they have an amazing brand new library.

However I'm now going to Glasgow as I missed out on my Sheffield offer and got into Glasgow through Clearing. It's absolute rubbish saying it's a gang/drug/dangerous place in any way. All cities have that risk, and they even call Glasgow the Sheffield of Scotland. Glasgow is a beautiful city of culture, and if your course is ranked higher there then I see no reason why that can't be your first choice.

From my experience, Glasgow was easier to get into than Sheffield as the course at both Sheffield and Glasgow is an ABB course, I got BBC and was accepted to Glasgow but not Sheffield, but again I don't think this should be something that affects your decision. As an international student, maybe Glasgow's city of culture is more your thing? There are so many international students at Glasgow it's great, but Sheffield has the beauty of being a city uni, in that you're 15 minute walk to the city centre from the accommodation, but also that your accommodation feels like a campus uni because it's in the middle of a massive grassy open area.

Glasgow's accommodation is also very close to many local parks and the river so again they're quite similar.

Honestly I think you'll be happy at either, they are both very very well regarded universities here. I went to a Grammar School and they only ever pushed us to go to the best Universities, and Glasgow and Sheffield were both alwys near the very top of the list


You're very lucky to have 2 unconditional offers, & I hope I've maybe helped with your choice, or at least clearing up some things - you shouldn't always make a decision based on what our friends say!!!
Good Luck :smile:
Graduation day, University of Glasgow
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Hey,I am in the same dilemma. Can you please help me out?You must have already finished your studies and experienced it first hand. I have offers in brain sciences from Glasgow, Sheffield (unconditional) and Manchester (conditional ). Please guide me on this.
I'd say Glasgow is the better school, here are my thoughts.

Sheffield is very commonly known as a clearing school and as you'd expect based off the name - Lots of people go there through clearing due to it being undersubscribed.

While yes, lots of English kids do go through to Glasgow through clearing this isn't because the school is undersubscribed but rather due to the tuition fees for English students being £9,250, rather than the £2000? for Scottish/EU Students. So, as you can expect, English students are valuable for Scottish schools and they want to take in as many as possible. If you look at Scottish/EU vacancies for clearing - you'll see that there are a handful of odd courses available at Glasgow.

I'd say its also worth looking at the league tables. Uni of Glasgow consistently ranks higher as a school - and then when you look at the subjects themselves Glasgow has 33 in the top 10 vs 12 for Sheffield.

In terms of prestige and reputation, I would also give it the medal to Glasgow. But this is subjective based on the subject. In my knowledge, the Business school and the Medicine School are top of the league tables and quite well renowned.

In my opinion, the only thing Sheffield has going for it is its proximity to London for career events. But a lot of banks/big 4 accountancy firms are in Glasgow anyway - so it really depends on what you're studying.

Yea that's just my 2 cents.
Reply 4
Hey, I got acceptance from University of Glasgow for Msc Biotech and from University of Sheffield for Msc Molecular Biology. I am confused which to choose. Will you please help me out?
Original post by itscs_25
Hey, I got acceptance from University of Glasgow for Msc Biotech and from University of Sheffield for Msc Molecular Biology. I am confused which to choose. Will you please help me out?

Hi itscs_25,
My name is Sofia and I am a 3rd Year BSc Biochemistry student at the University of Sheffield. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are both part of the School of Biosciences. My experience of being a student in the School of Biosciences has been great! The lecturers are passionate about what they are teaching and there's lots of support available should you need it! In terms of Sheffield as a city, there is a very friendly atmosphere with lots to do as well as many green spaces to relax in. For example, The Peak District is only 20 minutes away.

Both are great universities, so it really comes down to which one you think would suit you the most. It really helps to get involved in Open Days, as this helps to get a feel for both the Department and the University as a whole.
Here is some more information on Open Days here: Postgraduate online open days | Postgraduate study | The University of Sheffield
Hope this helped,
Sofia 🙂
(edited 4 weeks ago)
Reply 6
Original post by University of Sheffield Students
Hi itscs_25,
My name is Sofia and I am a 3rd Year BSc Biochemistry student at the University of Sheffield. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are both part of the School of Biosciences. My experience of being a student in the School of Biosciences has been great! The lecturers are passionate about what they are teaching and there's lots of support available should you need it! In terms of Sheffield as a city, there is a very friendly atmosphere with lots to do as well as many green spaces to relax in. For example, The Peak District is only 20 minutes away.
Both are great universities, so it really comes down to which one you think would suit you the most. It really helps to get involved in Open Days, as this helps to get a feel for both the Department and the University as a whole.
Here is some more information on Open Days here: Postgraduate online open days | Postgraduate study | The University of Sheffield
Hope this helped,
Sofia 🙂

Thank you Sofia. I just wanted to know more about job opportunities in molecular biology available at University of Sheffield.
"Glasgow is a really dangerous city famous for drugs and gangs with a high crime rate"
Yeah... in the 1980s it was but not now! I've lived in Glasgow for 4 years now and it's total rubbish that the city is dangerous. Glasgow is an up and coming city with new cafes, restaurants and shops popping up everywhere. There are loads of students here, there's wonderful parks (the city is known as 'dear green city' because of its parks like Kelvingrove park, Pollok park, Glasgow green and the Botanic Gardens by the Uni) and fantastic coffee places everywhere. The city has worked hard at regeneration and it's really paid off. The city is vibrant and modern yet the people are just as friendly and down to earth as they used to be. I love Glasgow.

There is crime in Glasgow like in every city in the world but its drug related. Stay out of drugs and you'll be absolutely fine, you have nothing to worry about. The majority of the city is safe but some areas to avoid (every city has areas to avoid) are Possilpark, Silverburn, Govan, Calton, Riddrie
Reply 8
Glasgow isn’t as dangerous as it’s made out to be! I came here for uni in 2018 and have no plans of leaving. It is such a student friendly city, it’s so diverse in terms of cultures and people and the people are so friendly. There are so many things to do here, especially for international students and a lot of it is free to do. I’ve never been to Sheffield so I can’t comment on that but definitely don’t let the “Glasgow is dangerous” comments put you off, every city is dangerous to some degree and crime happens everywhere unfortunately. But Glasgow is often rated as the me of the best cities for student life so it can’t be that bad :smile:

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