Forumites Unofficial University reviews.

[Explosivo]

I've seen a lot of threads springing up recently about people starting Uni and for everyone in my year its getting to crunch time about choosing your place of study for the next 3-4 years. So I thought why not condense everything into one. If you are currently attending a University, have just started or finished recently, write a little review for the rest of us who are struggling to choose between this and that.

Let us know what course you are studying, How well that faculty has performed for you and what you think they are good/bad at. Whats the campus and university staff in general like, how well does the Uni function, are the halls of residents good or lacking? Does the Uni have an on site bank or not, and travel times into the nearest town. Whats the weather generally like? And finally (and most importantly) Whats the evening and social life like, does everything evolve around the Union or is the surrounding area better? How much will an average night out set you back? What in your opinion is the ratio of Boys to Girls? Any anything else you can think to add.

I'll try and keep a list in this post of the University reviewed, who by, and what page.

UK & I-
Aberystwyth - Darkscull (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1741065&postcount=3) Aladdin Sane (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1741229&postcount=6) Roxsie (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1742853&postcount=10)
Bristol - Ferg (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1742891&postcount=12)
Chichester - Turkey Sandwich (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1741170&postcount=4)
Cork School of Music - Feawen (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1741208&postcount=5)
Glasgow - Hydralisk (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1742872&postcount=11)
Hull - Smokey (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1745009&postcount=21)
Nottingham - The Visioneer (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1743295&postcount=14)
NUI Maynooth, Ireland - Elephant Bandit (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1743272&postcount=13)
Reading - Gembird (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1741688&postcount=7)
Southampton Solent - iamthewalrus (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1744003&postcount=16)
York - Archaeology hat (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1742506&postcount=8)

USA-
Johnson and Wales, RI -WraithMaster (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1744315&postcount=17)
Texas A&M, TX - Redux (http://forums.weebls-stuff.com/showpost.php?p=1744945&postcount=19)

Hope this works out well, and Im guessing pap is the best place for this, if not then can a Mod please move. Also if its been done before and Ive completely missed it then can a Mod please delete. Thanks.

[TheSheep]

good idea explosivo
im still in yr11 but my bro has been to oxford and even though a degree from there is really good it takes a lot more work than others apparently

[Darkscull]

well i've just started my second year at Aberystwyth University, formally known as the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as has Roxsie. (i'm studying physics, Roxsie is history, she'll probably post what i miss out later)

the main campus is quite self contained, and is just up the hill from the centre of town (probably 10mins walk up, 5 mins down, it's that sort of hill), there is another campus for rural studies and such, but for each course you'd be at one or the other, and both campuses are pretty much the same distance from the town centre, and are on the same loop bus route.

Abersytwyth, in case you haven't seen it on the TV weathermap, is on the west coast of wales, in the middle. although it is quite a small town compared to most places with universities, it has pretty much anything you could want, since it is the social/economic/political hub of the entire area which is hemmed in by mountains.

the town and area itself is beautiful, with the irish sea being visible from pretty much everywhere. Abersytwyth comes near the top in the country (or is top, i can't remember) for student satisfaction. in fact, as one of my lecturers says: people arrive in aberystwyth, spend one night slightly toasted on the beach watching the sunset, and become so mellowed out they never leave (or study, but that's not the point :p). the weather is usually quite good, since rain clouds speed past over the town before breaking over the mountains. when it does rain, it's usually in short bursts. it does get quite windy though, since we're by the sea.

living costs aren't that much, unless you have expensive tastes, but the rent is quite high outside of uni accommodation (still affordable using even minimum maintenance loan though). the university's own accommodation is cheaper, and quite good facilities-wise (although the quality of accommodation varies wildly between halls).

the nightlife is quite good, there being one pub for every 20 students (or something like that), and lots of different kinds of places to drink (incl. one 24 hour pub, on the pier), and various clubs and clubnights both on and off campus. for eating there's lots of kebabaries, a kfc, some chip shops of varying qualities, plus some restaurants incl. a wetherspoons and some poshish places. there is a cinema on campus in the arts centre, which shows a mixture of new releases and older films (not just arty ones), and also the classic one screen cinema in the town (with a bar in it!), which shows new releases for a week (or 3, in the case of the simpsons :( ).

if you name something, there's a society for it, whether official or not (facebook is used extensively by the student population). the good societies manage to balance organising lots of activities and having a high active membership with being completely off the radar unless you like the thing they're socialising about. the exception to that is the christian union, who do the hanging about pestering people occasionally, but it goes in phases.

the academic side of the university is quite good, Aber is in the top 50 of the times best university thing (the general list). everything is organised very well, and computers and the internet are used to full effect by pretty much every department (one exception being history apparently, but that's expected :p), and most staff use email as the main communication tool. almost all staff i've encountered are very helpful, not that i've needed help with much because it's all organised so well :).
the Institute of Mathematics and Physical Sciences (IMAPS, my department) is very good, the building, the staff, the facilities, everything. every lecture theatre i've been in has been set up with good seats and a projector and computer. pretty much every lecture has been powerpoint (or some other presentation program), the files for which can mostly be downloaded off the internet, for revision purposes and to limit the notes needed to be taken (also useful if you've missed a lecture... or a semester's worth :ninja: ). the university has set up facilities for lectures to be recorded and podcasted, but it appears that only interpol and the media studies people use it.

so yeah, overall it's a good place both academically and leisurely, and unless you really really hate being outside of a city, or hate your course for some reason, then i don't see anyone not enjoying their time here.

list of facilities on campus:

3 bars incl. union,
laundrette for each hall,
shop (food, stationary, dvd rental, all sorts), jobs place, endsleigh place, in the union,
swimming pool, courts for sports that use courts, pitches for sports that use pitches, etc,
book shop (also CDs and DVDs), and souvenir sort of place in the arts centre, plus café.
oh, and 2 ATMs, plus cash machines in the bars and union that charge i think.
will edit if i've forgotten anything.

main facilities in/just outside town:
supermarkets:
co-op just by campus, somerfield in town, morrisons in retail park outside town (good bus which goes from centre-morrisons-campus, plus ones that just go to one and then back to centre), lidl and iceland next to eachother in town.

shops for useful things:
argos, smiths, deparment store thing (all sorts of useful stuff that you always forget when moving), second-hand/recycled stuff shop for cheap furniture and such, stationers/art supplies

medical stuff:
several GP surgeries, plus NHS clinic (also family planning clinic and NHS dentist), i think a dentists or too (non-nhs). although apart from the family planning clinic and GP surgeries, getting appointments is highly unlikely since priority is given to locals, so save most things except emergencies for holidays at home.
there are also quite a few opticians, for some reason.

also:
waterstones, the works, quite a few other book shops, game, oxfam plus other charity shops.

i've missed out quite a bit from that list, probably some major things as well, but that's all i can think of at the moment.

[Turkey Sandwich]

Okay, here's my 'review' of Chichester University. Hopefully it's not too long, I think I got carried away. Still, could be useful to someone - and you'd better come here now that I've gone to all this effort. ;)
Now with updates! (Which I was going to add straight after I posted, but then I lost the internet for a week, meh.)

My course: I'm in my second year doing English & Creative Writing, which I'm still really enjoying. It starts off with a good range of areas, and you get the chance to study lots of different parts of English at the same time, which (as I mentioned in another thread) is not done by that many universities. That means you can sample things for the first year (which, incidentally, is about laying the foundations and doesn't count towards the degree) and then specialize in your favourite areas, whatever they may be, in the second year. That, I believe, is the same with every course here. For example, this year I'm taking language and literature, along with some other things.

Campus: There are two campuses, Bishop Otter (the main one) & Bognor Regis. They're both really attractive, with BR being mainly Georgian architecture and BO being a mixture of really old (i.e. 13th Century Cloisters etc) and super-modern architecture (the art block was designed by the same guy that did the Gherkin). The grounds have a garden atmosphere, with trees and lawns all over the place. The main campus is fairly compact, with most of the classrooms and such centred in just a couple of areas; it takes about 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and it's about a 1 minute walk from the student village to the bar.

Staff: One of the best things about the uni is the amount of professionals they have lecturing here. I've lost count of the number of successful authors I have teaching me. Several of them are releasing new books soon, for example; and remember that programme 'The Play's the Thing'? Well, my drama-writing tutor is the woman who won it. The same goes for other subjects - like history, which has the guy who basically invented Post-modern History.

Halls: Once again, the halls are brilliant. The worst ones here are still better than any others I saw on my trips round universities in Year 13. And the best ones have absolutely everything, with huge en-suite rooms which are so nice and new they could be IKEA showrooms. Oh yeah, and they all have E3 internet connections (or whatever it's called) - basically, faster than the fastest broadband.

Facilities: Despite being small,there are most things you could need on campus. There's a bank, with limited opening hours, a chapel, a gym, a laundrette or two, some top-notch media/music equipment, a shop, and most importantly a library. The library is another one of those things which to my mind is one of the best around - it has something like half a million books, an excellent system, and some really good other things in it, such as an art gallery.

Location: It's about a 10-15 minute walk right into the city centre from the uni, and it's in a good location for student housing. Having said that, Chichester is quite small, so it only takes about an hour to walk all the way across it anyway. There's a free bus which goes right from BO to BR campus and back all day every weekday, so that's not a problem. Also, any take-away places (which are clearly important to students) will deliver to the library, where you have to pick the stuff up. In the town there are plenty of things to do, with a few big supermarkets and a fairly decent complex of restaurants, cinemas and things. One of the cinemas, incidentally, is the best I've ever been to - huge, with lots of leg room and comfy seats with headrests. Anyway, Chichester itself is quite posh - there's never any litter, the townspeople often seem to be rich and you never hear any accent other than BBC English (my friend from up north actually has people say to him 'ooh, you have a northern accent' as if it's something really unusual). To some extent I think that's reflected in the university, as it's far from urban - but that's not to say it's snobbish or elitist, as there are plenty of people from all backgrounds around. The surrounding area is nice, too - we're surrounded by towns like Arundel and some picturesque countryside.

Nightlife: Chichester is one of those places where to the untrained eye it would seem as if nothing happens, but you'd be wrong. If you know where everything is, which you will after a while, you can find something to do every night, and sometimes you'll be spoilt for choice. There are big student nights at local clubs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and practically everywhere does a huge promotion for special nights, like Halloween. There are lots of pubs and bars dotted around, all catering for different tastes (there's one which does lots of open mic nights and poetry readings etc, and has a really good atmosphere). Apparently it used to have the greatest concentration of pubs and bars per square mile in the country, but I think that accolade has been taken by Bournemouth (ironically, from my point of view). In any case, there are still lots of pubs which are good to sit in during the day, especially since they almost all serve food. However, the place you'll be spending most of your time is...

The Union: The SU bar is actually the best place around here, as during the evenings they have something going on 90% of the time, and during the day it has a great atmosphere, something like a cross between a bar and a coffee shop. Since the university is quite small, there'll always be someone up there you know. There are plenty of comfy sofas, pool tables and games machines, and the decor is, once again, very fresh and modern (also there's a free cash machine). The Union itself, as in the people who sort out the newspaper, societies, activities and such, are a bit disorganised at the moment, but that seems to be changing - I think perhaps they're only just learning to cope with being a full university. Also, the winter and summer balls are cheaper than most places, yet somehow still better. Last year we had a funfair and a casino on the field, amongst other things, all for only £30 a ticket.

Notes: The uni only has about 5,000 students, so everyone seems to know everyone else. If you like a bit of community spirit, this is the place to be.
Also, the ratio of girls to boys is very high. If I remember rightly, there are 2 girls to every boy. On certain courses, like English, it's 3 to 1, and in halls it's more like 5 to 1 for some reason.
Another thing to note is that the student body is made up of something like 50% arts students and 50% sports students; there is practically no science. Dunno if that makes a difference to anyone, but there you go.
Also, apparently we have an some award-winning choirs, so if you're into that sort of thing, this is the place.
Last but not least, Chi Uni (as it is known) is consistently one of the top universities for student satisfaction (if not the top - I can't remember) and Creative Writing and History are the most enjoyed courses of their type in the country.

Summary: Basically, everything in Chichester and it's university is about quality, not quantity. It's mostly rather small, but very good - the campus and halls, for example, as I mentioned earlier. The same goes for the atmosphere - close-knit. A good place to go if you're after stuff like that, but not so much if you'd prefer a big, cosmopolitan university with loads of students and such. It's rather nice, though.

*Breathes out*

[Feawen]

Well, if you want to do a music degree in Ireland, I strongly suggest the Cork School of Music. The building is a few months old and worth something like 70 million euro, so everything is top notch. The course there is brilliant, with the modularisation next year I'll be able to tailor the course to specialise in what I really love. UCC music is more for composers I think, and the WIT has a good course but a little cramped for space. The WIT was my second choice though, my clarinet teacher teaches there and it's a good course.

The facilities are awesome - every room is perfectly soundproofed, they have the best recording studio in the country (supposedly), the auditorium has a moving ceiling and moving stage etc. It's all built to what the school needs because they've been waiting for so long to build it.

If you're doing music you may be stuck for nights out but Cork is good for students. The ratio of boys to girls in my year is about 4 girls to 1 guy, as far as I remember.

The downside to the school of music is that the CIT campus (the IT that we can use for societies and gym) is a 15 minute bus ride away, so it's really awkward to get to when you try to fit it into your schedule. So I'm not part of any societies or in the gym.

We don't have an official freshers week because music courses have small class sizes (100 people in the BMus course), no RAG week either. But it's because the course is different to the usual degree by nature, and it's fine. You get marked on attendance, because learning in the course is continual, it's very hard to just cram 10 weeks of harmony and do that test in 5th species counterpoint. Because the building is in the centre of town and not part of a campus there isn't accommodation on site. You'd have to rent from the apartments and student accommodations around the town.

All in all, it's the ideal course if you want to do music in Ireland. The downsides come with being in the centre of town and the work involved in a music course, which isn't too much hassle.

[Aladdin Sane]

I see Darkskull's done Aberystwyth already, but since I was sad enough to spend time writing this one out I'm going to post mine as well anyway. :p


Aberystwyth University

Aberystwyth University is situated in what is commonly referred to as "the arse end of nowhere", although translated into geographical terms it is slap bang in the middle of the Welsh coast. Yes, the place is somewhat isolated (it's about a 2 hour journey in any direction to get to any large town), but don't let that put you off. Since the town itself is very small, during term time this means the vast majority of people are students. As such this seems to give the place a very laid back, friendly feel and within time you'll get to know pretty much everyone (or what seems like it, at least). Obviously, however if you like large cities, then it's just not going to be the place for you.

Other plus points about the town are it's low crime rate - one of the lowest in the UK in fact. Of course, bad things still happen, but it's the sort of place where you don't feel unsafe walking around at night which is a definite bonus. Being quite small, everywhere is within walking distance - half an hour is about the absolute most it will take you to walk to anywhere, and the buses and taxis are all pretty cheap - you can get a bus pass for a year for £30 pounds, which then gives you "free" travel anywhere in the town.

The university itself has a rather scenic campus - nice views of the town and the sea, and lots of trees and greenery and stuff, so it's not like some concrete hell. It is, however, situated on top of a whopping great big hill, so walking up to it from town can be a bit of a mission at 9 in the morning (even more so when you are hungover). There are halls of residence on the campus, each of varying quality, but there's really nothing too horrendous there. University accommodation is generally reserved for first and third years since they encourage second years to find private accommodation in town somewhere.

I've been studying History here for 2 years now, and I can't really fault the department myself. It covers quite a broad range - Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern eras are all covered well as is Welsh History if that floats your boat. It has one of the oldest History departments in the UK, History having been taught here since the university opened. In terms of resources the university is equipped very well seeing as the National Library of Wales is not 5 minutes away from campus - this is a copyright library, so they have access to every book, article or whatever published in Britain so, theoretically, you will always be able to get the book you need.

As for night life, it isn't lacking. Allegedly it has more pubs per square mile (and the town is about a square mile in size) than anywhere else. I don't know if that is true or not, but there a lot of drinking establishments, ranging from your usual trendy bar type place to the more traditional pub. There are a handful of clubs, but none of them are very big, so if you're into clubbing then it might not be so great for you. Prices are generally reasonable in most places, with the price of a decent pint of ale not being more than about £2.50, and even less on your lager type drinks. Most places have pound parties, happy hours and various other offers throughout the week. And of course there is the student union. Whether or not you'll like this depends on how much you like cheesy music, but I suspect it's about the same as most student unions.

All in all I'd say it's a great place, but granted only if you prefer smaller towns. Oh, and if you don't mind hills and rain, of course. :p

[gembird]

Right then *rubs hands* time for a Reading review I think...

Reading university is a campus uni, although some of the halls of residence are just outside. There's the main campus and Bulmershe, which has self-catered flats, a shop and a few of the arts facilities- it's about 20 minutes walk away from the main Whiteknights campus. Whiteknights has shops, cafes, bars (of course- Mojos is the best imo), a nightclub and a media doodah place where they do the radio station and newspaper. Reading is a research university, so it's particularly good for anyone who's doing a science degree. There has been a lot of fuss because they closed down Physics, but a lot of Physics-related courses are still running- Computer Science, Cybernetics and the various engineering departments bring in about three quarters of the money the university gets each year, and the rest of the sciences bring in most of the rest.

Reading is really welcoming for all sorts of people- there's a good 'alternative' scene, to the point where being into rock music isn't the alternative, it's the majority. but there's plenty to do whatever you like. The union nightclub, 3Sixty, is good for cheesy music some nights and the chart type stuff the rest of the time. Mojos is a smaller bar, which tends to be where all the nerdy/sciencey/metal people hang out even though it isn't particularly 'I like Maiden' inclined. The main campus isn't too far from town- the furthest edge is about 30 minutes walk if you go through campus, and there are various bus routes which are around £2.50 return.

The nightlife in town in damn good too- there are little pubs like the Turks and the Rising Sun which are 'metal' pubs, trendy bars like Yates's, old man pubs with ales (woo hoo!), a massive cinema, Q Bar and Vodka Revs for dance/R&B music and Face Bar for metal/goth/emo/ska/classic rock clubbing and live gigs. One of the better places to go is Fez- they have something for everyone depending which night you go, and the drinks are cheap.

Um... yeah. The only thing I can say about the halls of residence is that mine looked like a total dump, but it was really good fun living there (Bridges Hall if anyone's interested). The food wasn't great, but that's to be expected in catered halls. I would say that if anyone wants to go to Reading, try to get into one of the halls on campus- they're so much closer to everything you need. I'm biased, but I would recommend Bridges simply because the atmosphere there is so good- the bar staff were all students, the older students have a committee every year to look after freshers and actually befriend them instead of being like "Urgh, kids" and the facilities, although old, are much better than in some of the newer halls.

So yeah, that's Reading from my perspective. It's fun. Come here if you're mental and a bit geeky, you'll fit right in :p

[Archaeology hat]

University of York (www.york.ac.uk)

The University of York is a campus university, the majority of the halls of residence and department buildings are on-campus. However a few buildings (Fairfax House, my halls of residence) and Kings Manor (Departmental buildings for the department of Archaeology and some History) are further into town. The University buildings are on the whole, from the 1960s and 70s, so grey concrete everywhere. That said they are some of the more tasteful examples of architecture from that period. The university, it is mumbled around campus, has the highest Duck to Student ratio of any British university and there are alot of ducks. It is said that if you kill a duck then you get asked to leave the university. Although no-one has, to my knowledge tried this to discover the truth in it. As well as being a campus university, York is collegic, there are a number of colleges such as Vanbrugh (my college), Langwith, Derwent, Goodricke and so on, named after various academics. There is a fair degree of College rivalry, especially it seems, in freshers week. Vanbrugh students wander around in "Vanbrugh, possibly the best college in the world" hoodies for example.
The town itself (about half an hours walk from campus to the centre of town) is great. In addition to its beautiful medieval streets such as the shambles, the minster, which is visable from most parts of town and its many medieval or faux-medieval churches the town is said to bost a pub for every day of the year. Which is not an entirely implausible propersition there are streets where there is a pub every other building for stretches of the street.
There are a number of clubs such as Ziggys, which caters to the Alternative/Rock/Emo scenes and Toffs.
Most interestingly for to student on a limited pub, a pub over by the York St Johns (Who pride themselves on being the polytechnic little sibling) Limes Court houses there is a pub which, on a wednesday provides a hot meal with reasonable portions for 25p if you take part in the quiz before hand.
If I had to recomend a college to anyone going to York, with my limited experience I would recomend Vanbrugh, this is because its Provost is relatively old and was new in the 60s and 70s so knows how to throw a good party, and a load of brand new halls have been build with excelent quality housing. I would not recomend Goodricke, as despite its friendly atmosphere, it's halls of residence resemble prisons, and have gained the world "cell" before their Block letter.
So thats York, its great, lots of walking involved though. Bring a bike.

[gembird]

The university, it is mumbled around campus, has the highest Duck to Student ratio of any British university and there are alot of ducks.

You lie! We blatantly have more ducks than you. And ours are evil zombie ducks of death :p See the YouTube Reading University documentaries for proof (the guy in it called Little Ed is my other half!).

I would not recomend Goodricke, as despite its friendly atmosphere, it's halls of residence resemble prisons, and have gained the world "cell" before their Block letter.

*gasps* That happened in my hall of residence too, only I was oddly proud to be living in Cell Block H. Yeah. Actually, that reminds me- one hall of residence in Reading has bars on the ground floor windows:eek:

[Roxsie]

Aberystwyth University

Other plus points about the town are it's low crime rate - one of the lowest in the UK in fact. Of course, bad things still happen, but it's the sort of place where you don't feel unsafe walking around at night which is a definite bonus.

I cannot emphasise this enough - for about 6 months the main crime story in the local news was and i quote "Coat stolen". Which was apparently a coat left in the main grungy pub completely unattended and someone picked it up. Most of the crime in aber is purely opportunistic, for instance if you leave your door open someone would go in and nick something but they wouldn't actively try to get in.

Also the other thing that everyone must emphasise is the high amount of pubs and a very active nightlife (most of it "walking" past my window). There are so many different social groups and very little friction between them, we all end up in the bay pissed off our faces in the end.

As well as the social life the courses are great and it is extremely easy to swap if you find you aren't on the right course for you. I discovered this when moving from straight history to modern history and politics, one conversation and a coupla emails and i was sorted.

[Hydralisk]

Glasgow University - veryily good.

The sheer beauty of the buildings themselves will have you mesmerised - it saddens me to think of how many students at Glasgow don't fully appreciate the architecture of the buildings, lecture halls, etc. Indeed, the common room in the astronomy department was once the lecture theatre of Lord Kelvin! You might get lost at first wandering around, but you will pick up key locations (read: pub and lecture halls :p )

The people around Glasgow are mostly friendly (although there is invariably the people who seem set to be life-long arseholes), and will happily point you in the right direction. Two main union bars, both of which are very cheap, are wonderful places to relax, and have a very wide assortment of entertainments available. Both the Queen Margaret and the Glasgow Uni have stationary shops, snack shops, and ATMs. The food in the union cafe's are reasonable, but if you are concerned about health, give the fish and chip shops a body swerve. Wetherspoons is always a delight to visit - I believe that there are 2 in Glasgow - but give the lesser-known ones a try, you will find some bargain boozing there, especially if the footy/Rugby is on.

I might also point out at this time that Glasgow uni is a world-leading research facility in Sciences, with many lecturers and lab heads actually undertaking international projects with scientists world-wide. Not that the other faculties are rubbish, just that our sciences are exceptional (I think we came in top 50 universities for Physics and Astronomy world-wide or something.)

Living expenses in the halls are reasonable, although I am told that not a few flats are, to put it mildly, shite. There are plenty of laundrettes, shops, etc. on campus which will help you in your quest for a reasonably good life-style. Speaking of life-style, the social scene in Glasgow is fantastic, with a wide variety of venues hosting many different kinds of music - "The Cathouse", "The Barrow lands" (Some grand old grey-market business up there if you know where to look: shop at own risk however. )"Firefly", "Hard rock cafe" and it's twin venue up the road whose name eludes me at the moment being the first couple to spring to mind. Or if you fancy taking it easy, there's always the Cineworld just up the road from Buchanan Bus Station/Queen street, not to mention enough shops for even the most fussy of shoppers :D

Be warned, however - in the mornings, traffic can and probably will be an utter nightmare to pass through, so if you live out of town then be sure to allow plenty of time for travelling in the morning. The underground is very reliable and cheap(£1 for a single, £1.80 for an all-day), if a bit crowded, however, prepare to suffer if you dislike buses. I would advise trains if at all possible - most are fairly punctual (at Queen Street at least)(£3.30 for an adult return, I think.). So other than that, and the fact that Neds are to be avoided at all costs, Glasgow Uni is a damn good uni (from my experience).

[Nineeditslater]Fuckit, if I missed anything out, post in here :p[/teneditslater]

[Ferg]

It's such a wondrous place I'm not sure where to begin...


But the campus seems awesome enough. Pretty much all of the university buildings, including the union, are located in the same general area within about half a mile (probably less) of eachother. They sit on an odd sort of platue at the bottom of one hill and at the top of another. 5 minutes down the hill is the centre of Bristol, which includes: shops, pubs, clubs, bars, theatre, cinema and all that jazz. most of the most magical clubs are located here on the water front whereas most of the decent pubs/bars are either on the hills or dotted around.


On the hill leading up and away from the uni there's loads and loads of decent pub/club/bar things, a sainsburys, whsmith, tesco and etc. Theres also about 4 book shops within 0-2 minutes walk from the uni (inluding the awesome borders complete with tasty starbucks, which while uberly expensive, is a lovely place to hide from the rain).


The residences of the uni are either close to the uni buildings/union or are up the hill (which is about 40 minutes walk up, 30 down). Also at the top of this bastard hill is the downs, which is a beautifully huge area of park space and woodland which joins with the avon gorge and the suspension bridge. The halls of recidence up here are in a pretty area and many have their own bars if you can't be arsed to go into town (which you will, because its not as far as it sounds). The halls themselves are as random as the different universities. They range from the fantastical (which is my hall, wills hall, that has loads of events through the year and incredible food) to the slightly crappy. Price ranges are good too though and are affordable on a maintenance loan with either catered or self catered.


The night life in Bristol is one of the best. With everything deceptivley close together (or at least in a straight line) there's oodles and oodles of choice between pubs, bars, clubs and whatever. Also the union has every society known to man (apart from archery, which I was pretty pissed about) ranging from regular sporty ones too the slightly pointless such as the real ale society (basically an excuse to get completely mashed at discount prices).
It's pretty much all students that go out as well so it's kind of a safer friendlier atmosphere than most city centres at night.


Finally Bristol is one of the best uni's in the country academically, coming in quite high on the russel group and times top 50 etc. My experience with my course (law) has also been very good. Although I presume experience and teaching style vary from course to course, I haven't heard any major complaints.


So yeah... come to Bristol :D tis a place of knowledge, excitement and optional extreme drunkardness. Plus its got something for everyone, no matter what your taste in music, fun, recreational activities, people, or general life style is. Personally I enjoy the corrie tap, which is a great little wooden (almost alpine village) pub that sells cider so strong it's only served in half pints. Nobody to this day has made it past 20. Also I enjoy the immense cheesy music of wedgies and relaxed groovyness of many of the bars.


Hope this helped :eng101:


Also if any of you have any really specific questions just ask in the thread or pm me :)

[Felix Barry]

Right, to get the "official information" on the college use this link:

CLICKIFICATION! (http://www.nuim.ie)

I'm going to say what people really wanna know about the college....

It's a lovely college situated in a town about 40 mins from Dublin.... It's got a very nice SU with a good venue for ye olde gigs.... The town of Maynooth is also home to the following

The Roost
The bar for all those students that like beer and whimsicality.... Contains bands every thursday and a great smoking area....

The LA (Leinster Arms) aka The Sweatbox
One of Maynooth's "Night Clubs".... Here is where a load of bad music happens.... But it's the only place in Maynooth where they pour decent pints and make up custom shots.... Monday night's there are really good as the music is tollerable and the drinks are €2.50 each... That's about £1.30....

Brady's
This is the place that most people go when they want to get laid.... It's simple.... If you're feeling down and lonely.... And are looking for someone to spend a night of drunken passion with.... Go here....

However....

If you are not a slut or person in need of a good shag, don't go here.... It's not the kind of place to bring your gf/bf.... Mostly due to it being shit....

Caulfields
This is the classy joint of Maynooth.... This is where the 3rd years go.... Why?.... Because it's the kind of pub you go to to wind down.... It's got a very relaxed atmosphere and the staff are friendly.... This is the kind of place that you have a few drinks in, but don't get drunk.... So most of us just have a few beers and head on to the Roost or the LA....

The College itself is really good.... There are a wide range of subjects available with plenty of resources available to help you get through your degree.... We have the best music department in Ireland that caters for all disciplines in music.... The science department is very well equipped and the Arts department (everything else) is full of wasters....

NUI Maynooth is known as the "party college" due to the fact that you can't go one night without ending up in a party.... And they actually encourage going out and having fun :) .... Which is good for the soul don't you know....

[The Visioneer]

The University of Nottingham http://www.nottingham.ac.uk

Named Institution of the Year last year, The University of Nottingham is truly a top quality uni, among the best in the country. Boasting a wide range of courses and facilities, there really is something for everyone.

Many people have heard about the famous 8:1 ratio of girls to boys...well it's more like 4:1 these days due to everyone catching on, but still pretty decent.

Campus
Located about 20 minutes drive from the centre of Nottingham, the main campus, University Park is huge, and quite simply beautiful. The last thing you expect on a university campus is vast open areas of grass, massive amounts of trees, or continuously replanted flower beds. There are many architecturally stunning buildings, including the Trent building, Portland building and many of the halls of residence.

There are other campuses; Sutton Bonington campus is exclusively a science focused campus, Jubilee campus is for business and management courses. There are also campuses in China and Malaysia, and students are free to spend time on these campuses as part of their course.

Halls of Residence

There are 12 halls of residence on the main campus, all catered, with rooms varying from single study, all the way to full en suite. There are also halls off site, and these are almost exclusively self-catered. I live in the hall furthest from the school buildings, and I can get to them in around 20 minutes. There is also a free hopper bus which runs every 15 minutes, which will take you around University Park campus, and then onto Jubilee too.

The food is pretty decent, breakfast and dinner is provided in halls, and you are given a flexible eating lunch card, allowing you to eat at any of the campus cafés or restaurants. You can get pretty much anything you want for lunch, up to the value of £4.68.

The Town
Nottingham has a reputation as being a rough place, gun crime and stabbings galore. However, the reality is very different. At night, there is a noticeable police presence, but I have never seen or heard about any problems whatsoever. Of course, there are dodgy areas, as there are in any area of the UK, but you will almost never go to them.

The night life is awesome. The number of clubs, pubs and bars is unbelievable. It has been said that you can go out to a different one every night in your first semester, and still not go to them all. There really is something for everyone.

Week One and Karni
Week One is essentially a week long party. You will be taken out every night to a different club in fancy dress, with free buses there and back. It is the best freshers week in the UK (so we're told?), and is just amazing. Check out http://www.weekonenottingham.com for all the details of this years events to get a taster.

Karni is a student run charity organisation. Most universities have RAG weeks? Well Nottingham goes to a different town or city every weekend, in fancy dress, collecting money. On top of this, they run multiple events, including the 7-legged bar crawl which is the largest bar crawl in the world. Teams of 7 people, tied together at the ankle descend into Nottingham dressed as Thunderbirds, pirates, and any number of other strange costumes. Over 4,500 people went this year, and it only gets bigger every year.

Any specific questions, you can PM me, and I'll try my best to answer them.

[katox]

Week One and Karni
Week One is essentially a week long party. You will be taken out every night to a different club in fancy dress, with free buses there and back. It is the best freshers week in the UK (so we're told?), and is just amazing. Check out http://www.weekonenottingham.com for all the details of this years events to get a taster.



I saw a load of people dressed in loo roll/tyvek suits/uno cards etc in Horn in Hand Monday just gone, was thinking it was a load of Trenters. Grr Nottingham Uni'ers. :p

Will do a review in a bit. :)

[iamthewalrus]

Southampton Solent University (A.K.A. Southampton Institute)

Oh dear. Frequently called the 'other' university in Southampton-second to Southampton University. So, Southampton is a two uni town, and has lots of students. Many of the clubs and bars have a kind of competitive night where teams of uni and institute guys and gurls would compete for fabulous prizes (such as booooooooze.)

The range of courses at Southampton Solent University is pretty good, ranging from a *fab* law and business school to a art school with its own gallery. There is also a school of communication and human sciences (Known as the faculty for media, arts and society) which covers everything from psychology and sociology to web design and broadcasting-we have our own TV studio :) .

The student's union bars used to be good :( . They're not any more though. There used to be 3 separate bars over 4 floors, with a different feel in each-and anyone could apply to use one of them exclusively for an evening-for free!! Alas, no more. The bottom bar has turned into some kind of cafe, the middle bar is a work area and the top bar is...well. I avoided the top bar.

Halls of residence-I'm afraid I don't know. I lived in rented accommodation the whole time, which was a bit rough at times, tbh. From what I heard from my mates and that, halls were clean and comfortable, but sometimes repairs took a while...The good thing about halls is that there is a building especially for final years students. This is good if you want to live cheaply with fewer distractions.

There are many toilet facilities throughout the library, and tea and coffee making facilities can often be found nearby...

Out and about there are masses of shopping opportunities catering to many different tastes. Pubs and clubs are abundant, with the best alternative club EVER! The dungeon. I used to go to the dungeon every Friday night. It was dark, dingy, unassuming and wicked cheap. Thursday nights were 50p night. EVERYTHING is 50p-entry, drinks, and if you get there before 11, they give you free pancakes!

To summerise: For a university with little prestige, it does very nicely. There is a massive feeling of community among the students, and there is a lot to do out and about. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and got a respectable 2:1. Its' no Oxford, well, it's Reading, well, It's no Aberystwyth...but, you get the point. It's a laugh.

[WraithMaster]

Time to get an American Uni in this thread.

Johnson and Wales University (http://www.jwu.edu), Rhode Island, USA

Johnson and Wales University (a.k.a. JWU, pronounced and popularly known as J-Woo) is smack in the middle of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. This would seem like an optimum spot for students but when you think about it, the middle of a city can get boring after a while. For one, during the day there's absolutely nothing to do. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. You're either in class or sitting around your dormatory all day, unless you have a job of course.

At night though, especially on the weekend, there's plenty to do. You can visit the shopping centre and catch a film (or IMAX film), head out to one of the many clubs or bars around, or just chill at the downtown and/or harborside campus where there are bound to be loads of people. Now with the bars since it's America there's always a risk involved. Everyone knows 'round the states you have to be 21 to legally drink, luckily none of the bartenders seem to care unless you look like you're 12, just watch out for police raids (fairly common).

One other note about life on campus is that we're not the only school in town. We have 3 other Universities in the area, including the prestigious Brown University...snooty bastards. Er...anyway, JWU in terms of courses offers a wide array of majors. Culinary Arts is our most well known major courses, hell even Emeril Lagasse (star of his own highly popular cooking program, for anyone who doesn't know) got his degree from here. The other courses include majors in Bussiness, Sports Management, Technology (my particular major is in this section, Information Science), and Hospitality (hotel work, essentially). For their wide array of majors available, Johnson and Wales has actually been dubbed "America's Career University".

In the classroom it's a bit different from what you'd expect from a Uni. Normally you'd go into a Uni classroom and see 100-200 students in a large assembly hall learning something or another. At JWU, you walk into ANY classroom and you see a max. of 40 students per classroom. This makes classes more personal and makes it a lot easier to get to know your professors (which usually is a good idea). The classes themselves are usually taught well and easy to understand (in most cases, not all) so they're a plus in my opinion. My last note on the classes is that we're using "block scheduling" which means every class is 2 hours long and you only have to take a class every other day (i.e. Mondays I'll have 2 hours of "Advanced Programming Concepts" and then won't have the class again until Wednesday). Also, due to the "credits system of the school" every class is worth 4.5 credits and a student may take up to a total of 20.5 credits per term. Essentially that means 4 classes per term, 2 a day on alternating days along with any extra classes that are worth 1.5 credits. There are also night classes that are one night a week that you can take in place of a day class, but those are 3 and a half hours long, which is annoying cause most of the night classes will start at 6:00 pm and run til 9:30 pm.

The last part I'll go over are the unique parts of this University's structure. The first thing you'll notice as a student is that there are never any Friday classes. Yes, it's always a 3-day weekend (unless you're in Culinary, they sometimes have weekend classes). Second, we're on a Trimester schedule, i.e. there are 3 seperate terms to the academic year before summer holidays (which, as you may or may not know, for American students is 3 months long...a godsend essentially). Also, the entire class structure is upside-down. Most Universities in America teach in a format where you have to take all the base Maths, Science, History, etc. courses first and then all the courses dealing with your major. In JWU's system you do it backwards and take all the major courses first (or anytime you want, really) and the base courses last so that you can decide early whether or not you want to stick with your major. It's a pretty nifty system. Finally, JWU allows all students to go on a 4-year-2-degree plan. In 4 years of learning you can earn both an Associate's Degree and a Bachelor's Degree for your field (or two seperate fields that relate to eachother as I did, Programming for my AS and Info Sci for my BA). Getting the Associate's after 2 years allows you to find an entry level position while you're still in Uni earning your Bachelor's to get a better job later on. It is really an excellent system.

Overall, JWU is a pretty excellent school. Though it does have a couple of faults (not mentioned here were some incompetent school staff, dormatories out in the middle of nowhere if you weren't lucky enough to get the downtown dorms, and generally bad food at the dining halls...as per usual) they can be overlooked when it comes to all the benefits and good times of being downtown in a city area.

EDIT: good lord I didn't realize how long that was...

[gembird]

summer holidays (which, as you may or may not know, for American students is 3 months long...a godsend essentially)

Heh, once we get into higher education, the British summer holidays are that long too... July until October (ish). It's awesome isn't it?

[Redux]

Texas A&M

Texas A&M is located in a little Texas town called College Station. There is a good reason for it being called that. The town consists of somewhere around 65,000 persons. A&M has around 45,000 students. If you feel like living in a town with nothing but college students, then A&M is the college for you.

Texas A&M is not known for having a diverse population. In fact, College Station is often referred to as Caucasian Station. The campus is somewhere about 80% Caucasian.

I do not have a problem with paler folk. However, A&M is known for its racism. Not that every student is racist, but, if you are Indian, you have a better chance of getting beaten up in College Station than most other places.

Once, my white friend tried out the blackface thing. It isn't that he's racist. It was more of an experiment. He found that nobody would look him in the eye, and lots of little white girls were afraid of him. It really was something.

There are some good people at A&M. There was my 42-year-old roommate. There were the country boys who cut their own hair. There was that red-headed girl I should've banged. It isn't all bad.

The campus is rather large. Very large. The campus has its own bus system, and the bus also takes students to various locations outside of the campus. It is a rather good system. Of course, I always walked. Taking the bus makes me feel like a lazy-bones.

The buildings leave something to be desired. Pretty much every building looks the same. And, for whatever reason, someone decided to paint each building the same dun color. Everything is a drab brown. It is odd.

A&M has a terrific recreation center. It has basketball, volleyball, swimming, badminton, ping-pong, rock-climbing, racquetball, and there are other things I'm missing. A mile from the recreation center are a number of great tennis courts. There is always a game to play. Intramural teams are rampant. It is a wonderful time killer. It is easy to stay in shape.

Professors? It depends on what you are doing. Though A&M is known for being an engineering college, there are some of those engineering professors who barely speak English. Those classes are rather difficult. I have heard that some students drop a class because a professor simply could not be understood. Those who stick around often suffer. Also, A&M is known for its meat judging squad. A&M is known for embarrassing things.

There isn't much of a night-life. There is a road call Northgate that lies just north of the campus. Of course it lies north. Still, Northgate consists of a few bars. Just a few. That's really all that Northgate is. That's really all College Station has. Often, the best option is going to someone's house and getting very drunk. And, if you are into drugs, they are nearly impossible to find in College Station. A&M believes that self-destruction is to be done entirely through the liver.

Also, say that you are Christian. Even if you aren't, just say it. A&M has it's fair share of proselytizers. Once, I was walking with one of my Indian friends, and a crazed WASP stopped us. He handed us pamplets on the Lord and gave us a lesson. He claimed that there was truth in God. And he tried to make God sound wonderful. When he saw that we weren't buying, he claimed that a woman tried to grow back her leg, and she did, with the help of God. That is silly, because more complicated organisms have regenerative capabilities which are not particularly impressive. Though, if he was serious, then God is a pretty capital fellow.

How was my time at A&M? Well, I flunked out. I did not care much for the classes. Plus, it was just a phase I was going through. Didn't know what I wanted out of college, so I stopped going to class. However, I always stalked the tennis courts and ping-pong tables. I was in the best shape of my life. Socially inept, but fit. You tell me what's more important. Fitness, obviously. Who needs people?

A&M is not a bad college. It has 45,000 students. You don't get to be such a huge university on accident. Still, some of those students belong in a space ship to nowhere.

Just, before you go there, make sure that you glow in the moonlight. Otherwise, you are way too dark.

[Aladdin Sane]

Heh, once we get into higher education, the British summer holidays are that long too... July until October (ish). It's awesome isn't it?

They give us 4 months of holiday at Aberystwyth. June - October. \o/

[Smokey]

The University of Hull.

I am studying Chemistry here in my 4th year and I would rate it highly. The university is decently rated in the sense that it's no Oxbridge but it isn't a poly convert. The city is one of the cheapest places to live in the country with rents about £50pw. The city centre has just opened a brand new shopping complex in addition to the other. There are several cinemas and bowling allys plus the ice rink which gets a few large bands. Stereophonics are playing there in November.

The university itself was voted the friendliest and IMO has excellent accomodation for first years. the Lawns is the main halls of residence and is located a 15 minute bus journey from the uni in the village of Cottingham. There are regualr bus services between the lawns (and other halls), the uni and city centre.

The chemistry department is one of the top in the country and i would strongly recommend considering it if this is a field you would be interested in. The student union is also very good and the nightclub (Asylum) was voted the best student venue a few years back.

All in all, the accomodation is very good, the nightlife is good and the education is good. I woulod also add that Hull isn't as bad as you may think.

[Feawen]

Ireland is in the UK now? :D Ha

[Explosivo]

Ireland is in the UK now? :D Ha

Sorry didn't mean that, changed now.

Happy?