I’m a business major and planning to go abroad next year in the spring semester and University of Manchester and City, University London are my top two choices. I don’t know how to go about deciding though.
Any recommendations or information would be appreciated. Thanks!
Pick Manchester. Much easier to live in, great fun for students, and just a couple hours from London so you can enjoy the city on weekends without the sy today problems.
I think money should be one consideration, it’s easy to live cheaply in Manchester, whereas it’s easy to spend a lot in London (and basic costs like housing will be much more expensive). So how tight is your budget, do you want money left over to fly around Europe on the weekend? Note also that winter weather in Manchester is pretty unpleasant (cold, dark and wet), London is at least marginally better.
Another way to look at it is if you were a foreign student coming to the US for a semester, would you prefer to go to college in New York or Pittsburgh. That’s fairly analogous.
Well, if Pittsburgh happened to be in be in New Jersey 
London is incredibly expensive and student housing is often a one hour subway ride from where classes are taught.
It’s a great city to visit on weekends but not to live in as an undergraduate.
@MYOS1634, Manchester is about 4 hours away from London by car.
@Twoin18: Pittsburgh is a good analogy. Both cities are post-industry, Northern, cold in the winter, and have historic (and good) football teams with fan fervor that is nearly unmatched elsewhere. If you’re not careful, you might be converted. A former co-worker was originally from London and attended Manchester for a bachelor’s all the way to a PhD in physics. Now he flies from the US to wherever in Europe ManU happens to be playing a European final every time.
I’ve taken the Manchester-London train several times and I’m pretty sure it took 2-3 hours. The main issue would be train disruptions but otherwise it’s not too expensive if you travel outside rush hour and very comfortable. A typical undergraduate would have 9-10 hours of class a week and would be able to spend long weekends wherever they want - London, Lake District, Brighton, Cardiff, etc.
Agree it’s cold, and rainy, but then you don’t go to England for sunshine and Mediterranean skies. 
You can get used to the accent watching Life on Mars (UK)+ Ashes to Ashes.
Manchester is a really good city in which to be a student in my opinion.
I grew up in Manchester. I can see the attraction of the cheap student life there, but I was glad to leave. But then I wouldn’t want to live in Pittsburgh either.
Yes the fast train to London is 2.5 hours, but relatively expensive (particularly on a Friday afternoon) and not really something that most students will do on a regular basis. The coaches are much cheaper and it’s more like 5-6 hours with stops on the way. Some other parts of the UK mentioned above like Brighton and Cardiff are not easy to get to by train. A few weekends in the cheaper parts of Europe are probably more affordable and realistic than regular weekends in London. Or if you find a friend with a car then the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District are nice and fairly cheap (but pretty hard to see without one).
Exchange students do find ways.
I listed Brighton because it’s a personal story : going from the North to the South made me realize how small a territory Britain really is (at least compared to the Midwestern states, where you can drive hours across corn fields without a major/historical city in sight). Everything felt close and easy to get to, with trains going everywhere, much faster than Greyhound buses to boot. Beside planes and trains there are ferries too, good for overnight trips (because they’re slow.)
Some exchange students manage to have 4-day weekends!
Hopping on a plane is (normally) pretty easy too but students tend to keep those for mid semester breaks.
Yes once you’re there you realize everything there is to see and do, and you don’t end up going to London that often.
I guess that if you grew up in Manchester you’d love to leave but if you grew up in a US town or city you’d have a different perspective ;).
The only way I’d recommend London to an exchange student is if they have wealthy parents. There’s a lot to enjoy in London if you have unlimited funds.
For a kid on scholarship though, London could be quite miserable 
@MYOS1634: I-80 between SLC and Omaha/Lincoln. I never knew tumbleweeds were a real thing until driving that route through Wyoming.
And yes, England is slightly smaller than Illinois in land area. The whole UK has slightly less land than Wyoming (which holds slightly over half a million people).