I am in my third year at the University of Bristol and feel that I can write an honest review about being a student here.

TEACHING
The standard of teaching in my department and most others is exceptionally good. Generally speaking, the lecturers are at the forefront of research and are therefore extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject they are teaching. They can recommend the most up to date literature to read which puts students in good stead for exams and having knowledge about the current scientific debates. On my course lectures are normally easy to follow, although there is the odd lecturer who is boring or makes the lectures hard to follow. The lectures are usually written on power point and are put on 'blackboard' (an online learning resource) afterwards so if you missed parts (or missed the whole lecture!) you can down load it afterwards.

HALLS OF RESIDENCE
The university is a city based university rather than a campus based one which means that the halls of residences are in various places around the city. There are two main places where they are however. About half of the halls are at Stoke Bishop which is 1.5 miles away from the university (35 min walk). Most of the other halls are in Clifton (15 mins walk from uni) and there are a few others closer to the university such as large student houses for first years.
The halls vary in price just like any university and there is a good choice of catered and self-catered, en-suite or shared bathroom rooms. The university offers special halls for post graduates, couples and families which is good as they try and cater for all budgets and needs.
The Stoke Bishop halls can seem quite isolated as they are far from the university and the town centre. The nearest supermarket is a 20 min walk away as they recently closed the student one which was based up there as it was running at a loss. The 35 min walk can seem like a chore but when you are walking with friends it is actually quite social and helps you keep fit! If you are in halls at Stoke Bishop I would recommend bringing your bike and cycling as it is only 10 mins to university as it is all down hill. The way back up is slightly longer as the hill is quite steep. The advantage to the Stoke Bishop halls are how close they are to the downs. The downs offer beautiful open space - parts of which over look the Clifton suspension bridge. Students will flock to the downs as soon as there is a warm sunny day for BBQs, picnics and frisbee. There are also a dedicated number of runners who will be out there jogging in most weather!

NIGHT LIFE
The city of Bristol has a wide range of night life to suit everyone?s taste. Whether you prefer a cosy night in a small local pub such as the Cory Tap, live jazz music free at the union or the jazz bars on Park Street, lively bars such as Joe Publics, Henry J Beans, Green House, big night clubs like Oceana, Syndicate and The Carling Academy, strip clubs and cocktail bars. There really is something for everyone?s taste of music too- dance, indie, rock, 80?s, drum and bass, cheese, jazz just to name a few.
For students the bars and clubs have special student deals throughout the week on cheap drinks and entry. They are very student friendly and put up with the MANY fancy dress nights out that we students are so fond of.
In my experience, I have never felt threatened on a night out by crime and it is very rare that you here of people that have. I would therefore say that because the bars and clubs are student friendly, you always feel safe.

SHOPPING
The City is an excellent place for shopping. If you prefer high street stores you can eat your heart out at Topshop, Primark, Miss Selfridges, Gap etc at the new Cabot Circus shopping centre (one of the biggest in the south of England). If small individual shops are more of your thing then there are loads of unusual shops in Clifton Village, Gloucester Road and along Park Street. Plus there is a market every Saturday in Broad mead in the town centre for nice arty gifts.
If you like trawling charity shops, the ones in Clifton village are superb as the area is quite wealthy so there is always some nice (often designer!) clothes in those ones.