I have now been a postgraduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Newcastle for the last two years and within this review I am going to sell you the virtues of coming here (mostly)..... So if you're interested please do read on!

>>>>>General Info
Newcastle is an old red brick University and consequently it has some of those old beautiful red brick parts that they just don't build anymore (this is where you will find architecture and the buisness school). It has a fabulous reputation and I can vouch for this personally, I think it is just great. Things round here are also changing fast, just in the last couple of years that I have been here they have built a brand new very funky looking Georgraphy department and the Northern Institute for Cancer Resarch. Things are changing fast and the Uni has alot going for it. You will need good grades to come here. It is as simple as that. I didn't do my undergraduate degree here and obviously there will be course-course variation but i'd estimate that you'll need to be aiming for at least 3 B's preferably higher if you hope to come to study here. Newcastle also has a medical school which has been voted the third best in country after Oxbridge! (I know this as my friend is a medic) and the Royal Victoria Infirmary is literally on campus which I'm sure is very handy.
The best bit is how close the Uni is to Town and I really love this. Depending on which side on the Uni you're on it can take between 2 and 10 minutes to hit the city centre which is GREAT!
Sure, Newcastle is a long way from pretty much everything else (it is a five hour drive to get back to my home town...) but the cost of living here is cheaper than elsewhere, it is well linked by raod and rail the people are friendly and there is everything you could possibly need!

>>>>>>The Student Union
Again I have to admit that I havn't spend a great deal of time in the student's union. However I can tell you that it is huge and houses a number of bars, a main shop, coffee shop, sandwich shop, hairdressers, jobshop, printing and copying service, the volunteer service (SCAN) ,student support service and many other facilities. A number of pretty good bands also play throughout term times but you have to grab the tickets quick for the really good ones.
Of course there are the usual range of societies that you can join to help to integrate yourself into student life. I was a member of the sailing society in my first year here which was fun. In addition there is trampolining, the international society, diving, photography, curry club, skiing and snowboarding, hiking, surfing and all manner of others. There really is something for everyone and I really recommend you get involved.
Anyone can enter the students union in the day but in the evening you must shoe your student card to gain access.
There is also a Campus Coffee just on the toen edge of campus and a Blackwells for all your reading material. On the other side of the Uni there is a pub called the North Terrace which I am pretty familiar with and would recommend.

***My Department***
As I said before I am a PhD student in the Department of Psychology. I know very little about other subject areas. The psychology department is very specific to animal behaviour and vision and as such many of the modules offered are based around these specific areas. The Department does not offer many of what I consider to be a traditional psychology modules. I would have been dissappointed to find this if I had come here as an undergraduate and I know that many are. If you do want to study psychology here bear that it mind but aside from that the department is lovely, it was only built three years ago and I love it here!

***The Area***
The area is well connected by Metro (like the London Undergraound but alot smaller) which is another real plus of the city. Using the metro you can easily can out to the coast in about half an hour which is surprisingly lovely. Tynemouth is a pretty town, just a short walk from the huge long white beach which is Long Sands. The annual surfing competition (held in october) was moved here from Newquay (honestly...) just a couple of years ago. There are always surfers in the water year round!
If you do drive then the beautiful and deserted Northumberland National Park or Kielder Forest is just a stones throw away and the beaches further North are pristine and stunning. Red squirrels thrive in these areas like nowhere else in the country. Holy Island is worth a visit, as is Durham, Hadrian's Wall and Scotland is also as near as you can get as well. If you like exploring (as we do) then Newcastle may be just the ticket.