Bristol University > Reviews > Applying for a course at Bristol is a nightmare

Author's product rating:   

IT Facilities	Good
Libraries	Good
Societies/Clubs	Good
Accommodation	Good
Nightlife	Good

Advantages:	Nice campus, good teaching
Disadvantages:	Very poor admin for entrants, slow and fussy, not up to date with modern technology

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

It seems to me that Bristol is a nightmare to get an offer of a place on a course.

My boyfriend applied there to study physics through UCAS. The universities are supposed to reply to the applicant by something like March, but Bristol were late responding (by more that just a couple of days). Still, my boyfriend went to visit the uni and really liked it so made it his first choice.
They sent him information about accommodation for him to fill in. The university seems to be living in the past as they did not offer a service to apply for accommodation online (like most other universities in the country). With the information, Bristol sent an A4 sized self adressed envelope for my boyfrined to send the application back in. Unfortunately, new rules mean that A4 envelopes require more than one stamp, something that the imformation pack did not specify. This meant that my boyfriend's (and many others across the country) application for accommodation never reached the university.

Still, my boyfriend was undeterred and was happy to sacrifice his choice accommodation because after all it was the excellent physics course that Bristol offered that he was interested in.

On the day that the exam results were released, pretty much everybody in the UCAS system was able to look on the UCAS website to see if their choice university had accepted them unconditionally onto the course. Unsuprisingly, Bristol had not updated my boyfriends details. Whoever works in the entry department, work very slowly with little consideratation for the applications. I think this university can just not get their heads around the modern technology of computers.

My boyfriend found out that he had gained an ABC when Bristol had wanted to accept BBB grades. Surely these grades are the same! Especially as he had gained the A in maths and B in physics, two subjects that are vital to the course, and achievements to be very proud of.
Unfortuately, after all the hassle of waiting all day to find out his fate, my boyfriend was rejected from the university.

I think this experience clarifies that Bristols admin lacks in professionalism, namely as they are stuck in the past as far as computing technology goes and they are just VERY difficult to please with all their fussy entry requirements despite they're obvious imcompetence themselves. It may be a nice place to live and study but you will have to be prepared to be messed around for a whole year before you can actually get there.