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...enough to experience. If I ever want to move to a different university my time at Central Lancashire will have given me the skills to apply for a range of jobs elsewhere within higher education. Anyone who is forward thinking and wants to work in a friendly and proactive environment could do a lot worse than work at this university.... Read review

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Advantages: Close to town, getting a new union
Disadvantages: Some courses aren't great

...I'm now in my second year here at the University of Central Lancashire studying Journalism, one of the uni's best courses. UCLAN was the only uni I applied to, because I knew it was the best in the country for my course. I received quite a high offer for Journalism so I applied for combined honours Journalism and Football and Society as my insurance choice in case I didn't get onto single honours. On the morning of A Level results day, a UCLAN welcome pack popped through my letterbox welcoming me onto single honours Journalism! When I got to school to pick up my results everyone was so scared but I was fine because I knew I'd got the three B's I needed because of the welcome pack. I moved into Preston on 15th September 2002 after applying to live in a uni-owned house with my boyfriend. When I got there, the process to give... Read review

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...Having moved from my native London to study there, the cost of living is extremely reasonable, and with the university having strong international links there’s a great mix of people. Being an ex-polytechnic has given the university a head start when it comes to links with industry – my course included an industrial placement, I worked for British Airways and I knew people working for companies including Compaq, the Sema Group and BNFL – and the careers centre is extremely useful when it comes to finding a job at the end of your course. There’s a wide range of courses, and the procedure for changing courses is fairly painless if you change your mind once you find out what other people are doing. Meeting people is easy with guaranteed places in halls in the first year (it’s definitely worth paying the higher rent to avoid living... Read review

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Advantages: Nice, modern uni in a nice area
Disadvantages: ...errm... none spring to mind

...I am a 21 year old at the end of my first year at UCLAN and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I had offers from other universities, but after attending 2 open days, I decided UCLAN was the place for me. UCLAN is an ex-polytechinic, but don't let that put you off - ex polys don't have the bad reputation they did when they first made the switch, and UCLAN scores very highly on the inspection scores. I am studying a Combined Honours course in Japanese and Business Studies; as I remember, Combined Honours is the most popular degree course in the university (25,000 students in the uni, 7th largest in the country I hear). You can combine pretty much any subject and you have the choice of a major/minor or joint route. Ususally you study 3 subjects in your first year and choose two to study in your 2nd and 3rd years. You may also study... Read review

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Advantages: Compact area of study, easily mix with others
Disadvantages: Spread out campuses, not much interaction with these

...The University of Central England, the former Birmingham Polytechnic has now been rebranded yet again as Birmingham City University to give it that metropolitan edge. Its main campus at Perry Barr is a 15 min walk across playing fields to where I live. City University, by sheer student numbers is one of the largest Universities in the country, matching that of many of the 'red-brick' universities. Moreover, its size is not apparent when you arrive at one of its campuses. This is because it is the only university with campuses spread out over a city wide area (I think at least 6 campuses) totalling to about 25,000 students. Financially, it has been one of richer universities and certainly one of highest cashflow universities from the former polytechnics. And yes, it is true their was talk of taking some more of Aston University... Read review

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Advantages: Good social life, cheap pubs
Disadvantages: lack of individual tuition, poor course content

.... Registers were taken once or twice in each lecture - no doubt to make sure those intelligent enough to escape could be repremanded. Practical nursing information was given when students had returned from ward placements, meaning it was of little use. It also meant that students went onto the wards feeling inferior to students from other universities. I think UCL now regards a high student intake as number one priority, ensuring a high level of funding. Course content has fallen by the wayside. I left the course after 10 months, in a group of four friends 2 are continuimg. I have heard Lancaster Uni has an excellent nursing course, so do not let this put you off - go there instead.... Read review

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Advantages: A great one-day side
Disadvantages: Manchester rain often stops play

...in one of his early test matches. Up to last year he was the England cricket manager. My claim to fame is that one of my university mates Chas spent one evening getting pissed with Lloyd in a pub. Frank Hayes made a century in his maiden test match against the West Indies in 1973. He was also a fine fielder from the boundary. Lever and Shuttleworth both played for England under the captaincy of Ray Illingworth. Jack Bond was captain of the team. He now runs a pub. An interesting feature of watching matches televised from Old Trafford is the noise level of the crowd. At the start everything is hush-hush. As the beer took effect more noise was made culminating in the repetitive ‘Lancashire La La La’ chants which greeted every impending win. The most exciting match I can recall seeing was the 1971 Gillette Cup semi... Read review

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Advantages: Nightlife, good courses, great sport and a cheap cinema!
Disadvantages: Sheffield is Hilly, but saves on Gym membership!

...and Hunters Bar regions of the city (S10 and S11), to the West, and less than 2 miles from the university. I myself lived in Ranmoor House, possibly the furthest out, and it took me 25-30 minutes to walk to the main campus, 15-20 minutes to walk to the medical school, 35-40 minutes to walk to the St George's Complex, and about an hour to walk to the city centre. However, on the way to the main campus, one would need to walk through Broomhill, which from September - May every year becomes student central, with a Somerfield for all your shopping, hair dressers, independent CD/record outlet, hardware store, 5 or 6 charity shops (one in particular specialising in book and vinyl), and all the takeaway and food outlets you could need, from burgers and chips or pizza, to Indian, Thai, African, American and a couple of lovely cafes. There are also... Read review

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Advantages: High academic standards, reputation, university can be the best years of your life
Disadvantages: Can be seen as stuffy and old-fashioned, a lot of work, may not suit all

...the colleges though – I know of one student who applied to Brasenose because he was told Jesus had too high standards, needless to say, he made it to Jesus as reserve! Also although some colleges have more students from state schools than others, this shouldn’t really be important in influencing your choice; as our head of Sixth Form told us, places like Christ Church may be actively looking to increase their numbers of state schools students (hence two of my old school friends being accepted there). Each college has its own history, enough for a whole op really, but I’ll give a very brief overview of each here. If you’re considering applying, you can get a prospectus not only for the university, but also each college. Balliol. Situated on Broad Street this is one of the central colleges. It was founded in the 13th... Read review

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Advantages: Much better than they used to be.
Disadvantages: Still a way to go.

...Well I know that this train company is still listed in Ciao as Connex South Central, but for the last year and a bit, this train service has changed hands. It is now run by a company called Govia, under the new name South Central. Having been in Brighton now in university for three years I have seen first hand how the train service has been running here. When I arrived, Connex was in charge down here and had a fairly bad reputation. With an open mind, I used this service on many occasions, on both the longer routes into London and to Gatwick Airport, in addition to the suburban routes to the university station at Falmer. However, after a few months I came to realise that Connex reputation was well deserved. Often late, cancellations were common place and overcrowding due to lack of available rolling stock. To make matters worse... Read review

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