Another question post...

[rurounihime]

This one has nothing to do with HP and everything to do with colleges in the UK.

I am looking into various grad school programs in the British Isles, and I am wondering if you, my lovely f-list, can help me out...

If you do or did attend school at these universities:

Leeds
Sussex
Newcastle
Kingston, London
Bangor, Wales

...what did/do you think? Now's the time to tote your school! Even if you didn't actually attend school there, but you know something about these places, please comment. I want the opinions of my peers because, as much as I love the prospectuses (prospecti?) I've been receiving, of course each university is going to talk itself up. So I want candid opinions on anything: living arrangements, scholarships, financial aid, professors, the cities and areas nearby, travel within town and to other towns, and of course... THE ACADEMICS.

Thanks so much everyone! This will be really, really helpful to me. ♥

Comments

Wales and Newcastle

[hestia-lacey.livejournal.com]

I'm a native of the North-East (of England, that is) and have spent the last several years studying at the University of wales in Lampeter. I'm studying archaeology, and can really only speak knowledgably about the departments related to that, so speaking academically, I can't really give you much helpful information. In terms of place, however, I can speak highly of both Wales and Newcastle as a place of study, though for very different reasons.

Wales is a beautiful country. Although I don't study at Bangor, I've heard very good things about it as a place; night life isn;t exactly rocking, but the selection of pubs available seems to be good. However, I haven't always heard only good things about the academic staff, though the comments I've encoutnered seemed to relate mostly to the geography types. If you're an outdoors type, or simply enjoy walking in the countryside, Wales is perfect; wherever you are, you're not every far from National Parks, mountains and a very pretty, often dramatic coastline. Getting places in Wales and around Wales vcan, in my experience at least, be difficult, so that's definately something to be wary of.

I live less than twenty minutes from Newcastle, and have done all my life. My best friend is just about to enter the final year of her Business Management degree there too. Academically, it's reputation is very good. However, the class sizes are large and unless you really, really make an effort with your lecturers you tend to be just another face inthe crowd. Of course, it's different with postgrad, depending on your course etc. etc, and you have to bear in mind that I'm used to really, really small lectures (my biggest this year had all of twenty people in it and my smallest just three). Socially, Newcastle is fantastic. It has good cinemas, good club scene (if that's your thing), but also many good pubs. Restaurants are varied, the shopping is good, and if you want to get out of the city and visit other places both locally and nationally, the transport connections are really good; Newcastle Airport and train station are easily accessible and buses run almost everywhere regularly (though not always reliably but hey, that's public transport).

I hope that ramble was useful! If you have any questions about anything, please do let me know and I'll do the best i can to answer them for you. Oh, and I used to be a representative to the Student Union from Lampeter University (Iwas the Raising and Giving Officer), so if you have any Union related questions, I can possibly help you out with them too.

Re: Wales and Newcastle

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about Wales at all. I have an acquaintance who lived there for about a year, maybe two, but I haven't had the opportunity to ask her about it, so this is wonderful. Thank you for commenting!

What have you heard in terms of bad things about the staff at Bangor? I am interested in the writing opportunities, but I think any information is helpful, especially in the regard of the professors and instructors.

I am definitely curious about how... well "cut off" (for lack of a better phrase) Wales is from everything. I have heard that the countryside is fabulous, and I tend to agree. ^__^ But I definitely would shy away from not being able to travel readily, or go other places with relative ease. What are your thoughts on that front?

I, too, am used to small lectures and seminars. I was spoiled in college because I went to a communtiy college (where it is VERY one-on-one-oriented) and then transfering as a junior to a four-year university, which allowed me to skip most of the huge lecture classes that the freshmen and sophomores usually have to take. So that is of interest to me, definitely.

Newcastle has been getting The Vote so far, it seems. ^__^ Lots of people like it! That's nice to hear, and very helpful. (And yeah, I think possible unreliability is just part and parcel to pub trans in any city, often enough. ^_~ )

Your ramble was very useful, thank you for it! And yes, I would love to hear about the Student Union at your uni. Would you consider it fairly indicative of how other unis run their student unions, or it is unique? I haven't ever really belonged to a student union, at least not one that I took active participation in. So I am curious about general things... anything you can tell me would be welcome.

Re: Wales and Newcastle

[hestia-lacey.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry this reply has taken so long; ironically, my preparations for returning to uni in Wales have rather got in the way of everything else in the last few weeks.

Although transport in, to and around Wales is difficult, it's only really a problem if you're the kind of person who needs to be places -now- as opposed to being a rather more relaxed individual, who is happy to watch the hills and the coastline and the trees as they go by. If you're able to use a car, even better; you'll have a much greater freedom and range of movement.

You asked about the Student Union too. If you go to Newcastle, you'll be a part of the National Union of Students (NUS). If you were to study in Wales, you would be a part of the National Union of Students in Wales (NUS Wales). There's very little difference between the two, except that NUS Wales has language policies and union positions (namely that of the Welsh Affairs Officer) that are absent from English universities. They also run campaigns that are slightly different to those of the English universities.

As I've already mentioned, Lampeter is a bit special in that is one of (in fact, I think it might be -the-) smallest uni in the UK, with only 750 students on campus. As such, out union is totally dissimilar to pretty much every other Union out there. So rather than bore you with union policy in the backwaters, I'll give you a very brief, general overview of typical union structure in the UK (it's still boring, but it'll be more relevant to you at least).

Generally, you have three Sabbatical officers: the President, who is responsible for the management of the Student Union Exec and the general day-to-day running of the Union; the ENTs Officer who is responsible for organising and publicising events (parties etc.) that take place through or at the Union and the Welfare Officer, who is there to help students access financial, medical, emotional and pretty much any other kind of aid you can imagine. The Sabbatical officers are full-time, and are paid as their jobs require a full day's work to be done properly.

They are supported by an Executive Committee of unpaid students, who execute their duties at the same time as they are completing their course. On a typical exec, you would expect to find a Clubs Societies and Associations (CSA) Office, an Athletic Union (AU) Officer, a Women's Officer, an LGB Officer, a Student's With Disabilities (SWD) Officer, an Environment and Commerical Services (ECSO) Officer, an Raising and Giving (RAG) Officer and finally and probably of most relevance to you, the International Students Officer (ISO). The responsibilities of the Exec vary a little from Uni to Uni, but if you want to more about their typical roles, you should take a look at the NUS website, www.nusonline.co.uk.

It's a lot to take in, but I would really encourage you to become familiar with the Stiudent's Union where ever you study; it really helps you become familiar with your rights as a student and can be fantastic support network. Again, I feel I've rambled rather a lot more than advisable, but I do hope this has been useful in some way.

Re: Wales and Newcastle

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't even worry about it taking a long time. I myself have been quite distracted by RL, so I understand. No worries!

Thank you SO MUCH for such a detailed explanation of student unions in the UK! Wow. This is so much information. I really appreciate it. Everyone has been so helpful in response to my questions, but this is great. Thank you! ♥