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University of Surrey
Guildford

What is Surrey like??

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Original post by Fward

Approx how much does it cost to rent a place for 2nd/3rd year at uni??


For Guildford you're looking at £80-90 not including bills, or around £105-110 including bills.

Also as a side note about 2nd/3rd year accommodation, each year the university release two lists: One with the university managed houses (essentially the university is your landlord), and one which is houses let by landlords of which the university approves. Getting a university managed house is quite difficult although they are fairly good value (£80-85), however getting a house from the approved list is fairly easy and they're also pretty good value (We got ours from that list and will pay £78 a week). Essentially don't make the mistake of looking for a house really early on and consequently paying more for it. Wait until the university releases these lists and you'll save a fair few quid :smile:.
Students relax outside, University of Surrey
University of Surrey
Guildford
Original post by The Beaver
In terms of gigs there is a big music scene around Guilford. Firstly at the students union there is acoustic night and open mic night, as well as different music societies. In the town live music-wise there is a good amount of stuff nearby most nights, at places like the Boileroom. ACM, Academy of Contemporary Music is in the town centre, so lots of 'musicy' people due to that. Though I guess it can matter upon your tastes in music... and the 35 minute train to London means people are constantly going there for gigs.

The rest has been said basically, everything you need for shopping, good transport links, sports is there Surrey Sports Park etc, nightlife isn't amazing but not bad either...


Are there any heavy metal shows?
Original post by ShredMaster
Are there any heavy metal shows?


I know a few friends go to Woking for some stuff there regularly (It's like 10 minutes away by train) for what happens there. I don't know about metal in Guildford. However if you ask people at No Wave (student alternative music and metal society) they will know, they meet like twice a week and would know about anything local.
Original post by The Beaver
I know a few friends go to Woking for some stuff there regularly (It's like 10 minutes away by train) for what happens there. I don't know about metal in Guildford. However if you ask people at No Wave (student alternative music and metal society) they will know, they meet like twice a week and would know about anything local.


Awesome. I'm probably gonna get rejected anyway, but I really appreciate your help.
Reply 24
Hey,

I am a first year living on campus at the University of Surrey.

I have to say straight up that campus life is QUIET.

It definitely is not a party campus with stuff going on every night, let alone the weekends. I believe this is mainly due to the university having a large proportion of international students (around 50-60%) who are primarily from China. International students, especially the Chinese in my opinion, tend to be party animals and take their studies more seriously than the majority of UK students. This may be a pro or con depending on what you want from university.

The campus is beautiful, so many trees, grassy areas, animals and general nature. I have yet to be here when the weather is decent but I can imagine in the summer it will be even better.

On campus there is the main club, Rubix which hosts club nights and all sorts of other events. There is also the Living Room which is a small club underneath Rubix. Chancellors is the main bar on campus with an outside drinking patio, there is also Roots which is slightly smaller.

Guildford has an AMAZING sports centre, check out http://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/ £180 a year (this year) gets you student membership, that means unlimited gym, unlimited swimming (pools are awesome), free access to the full size sports halls (amazing basketball!), free classes and all sorts of other discounts and entries. Check the website because it's a lot to explain.

Guildford as a town is a bit boring in my opinion, I moved here from Brighton. Shopping is basically mainstream shops, hardly anything independent. There is a ridiculously out of proportion amount of Starbucks in Guildford, if you don't like to drink their overpriced designer coffees then a decent coffee shop can be hard to find.

Clubs are rather skanky in town, but you may be up for that, they also only play mainstream rubbish. Coming from Brighton I am used to a large selection of good quality clubs with specialised music, nothing of that sort here. It is also wise to point out that this is a 'squaddie' town, meaning that on the weekends the local military boys from Aldershot (I think that's where the base is) come to town to the cheap, nasty clubs for a drink or ten and bring their delightful personalities with them. You can avoid them if you go to the club(s) with the higher entrance price. The Boileroom is a fairly decent gig venue in town if you fancy live music.

Guildford is also rather pricey for accommodation off campus, pretty much similar prices as Brighton. You are looking at £100 a room a week no bills (I know because I am currently looking for a place to move out to in the summer).

On the plus side, Guildford is 35 minutes train journey to London Waterloo and the trains run till late and the station is very close to campus. This means I have been many times into London for a gig or drink with friends and made it back with ease.

Overall it's a great place to study if you like to keep it chilled and concentrate on your studies. It's great if you are into sports and also like to go up to London with ease. it may not be for you if you want wild house parties every weekend and awesome clubs.

I hope I have shed some light on life here, please let me know if you want to know more!
Original post by rattymon
I believe this is mainly due to the university having a large proportion of international students (around 50-60%) !


It is generally around 20%(*see edit*) not 50-60%, only Buckingham hits 50% (and that is 50.0, LSE is ~44% in second)

Also you talk about campus life being quiet as if the only thing to do is drink and study... there is a lot of other things you can do.

I thought the same and did the same as a first year, then I discovered lots of other things to do, you just have to look for them.

Oh and comparing Guildford to Brighton, I understand that (from Sussex, know Brighton pretty well), but that's because it's Brighton, Guildford from what I have seen seems to have a lot of links in the music scene, but even with Guildford's decent sized community it won't match Brighton.

EDIT: I checked it's even lower than I said, got it confused with other figures (as you do) 11.4% EU and 13.7% International from last years figures (Sunday Times Good University Guide), I can't find my copy of for this year, though the figures will not be very different, there are limits.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 26
yay a troll!
Reply 27
Original post by rattymon
yay a troll!


You're admitting to being a troll?

To be honest, most of what you posted simply isn't true, so it's not really advice you should be giving out to people who may be interested in going to the university.
Original post by Dan1909
You're admitting to being a troll?

To be honest, most of what you posted simply isn't true, so it's not really advice you should be giving out to people who may be interested in going to the university.


Wait he's calling me a troll? :s-smilie:
Reply 29
Original post by The Beaver
Wait he's calling me a troll? :s-smilie:


It would appear so. Baffling!
Reply 30
what was freshers like???
Reply 31
Original post by Fward
I have applied for Law and Criminology



Approx how much does it cost to rent a place for 2nd/3rd year at uni??


Houses tend to be around £80 - £100 per week, excluding bills. Obviously that depends on the size of the room you're renting, and how many people are in the house in total will affect how much you pay for bills.

I lived with 3 others last year, paid £90 a week rent, and £35 a month for internet, electricity and gas. That's fairly typical, give or take £20 or so depending on what sort of house you get.
Reply 32
Original post by Rossical
what was freshers like???


Really depends on who you are as a person. I know people that had great freshers week and some that had bad weeks, just because of how socialable they were.

If you dont go out and talk to ANYONE and EVERYONE then your going to miss out, as everyone is so friendly as you are all in the same boat. Dont wait untill after freshers as in the majority of cases, the people you meet in freshers will either end up being your future housemates and/or friends for the rest of uni!

In terms of things that went on, i paid £55 for basically a very expensive so/so week worth of events. What made the week was the defo the house parties and pre drinking. Thats the best time you have to talk to your flatmates, or go to other flats to drink and meet new people!

But if you sit in your room and dont socialise or dont feel confident talking to random people, then dont expect to have a good time
Reply 33
I was at Surrey for 4 years and thought the campus and town were nice. The farmers market was great, pick up a nice piece of steak and some homemade cakes! Plenty of supermarkets, a Tesco, sSainburys and M&S.

I'm a old pub kind of person, not a clubbing person so enjoyed having a pint at the various nice pubs in town.

Original post by ReefSwell

But if you sit in your room and dont socialise or dont feel confident talking to random people, then dont expect to have a good time


Lol that is my idea of a good time.
Reply 34
Original post by Fward
I am considering putting Surrey as my firm choice, however on the open day i did not get a chance to see any of the surrounding area.

Therefore if anyone who lives there, or is a current uni student there could provide me with some information about what is available (eg. shopping, sport, gigs, nightlife ect) i would be really greatful.

Thanks.


born and bred guildfordian here, happy to answer any questions :smile: Guildford is a very picturesque place, especially the town centre, there is a LOT of great shopping (especially 'teen/young adult' shops - H&M, topshop, urban outfitters, republic, river island, hollister etc... which also gives you an idea of the demographic here....)

we don't have a stadium or anything but the ice hockey and basketball matches as the spectrum sports centre are always popular, speaking of which, spectrum has most sport facilities you could ask for, and is opposite stoke park, which is great for running.

Guilfest is hosted in stoke park every year, it's quite a small festival, traditionally it was 'folk', but nowadays it's whatever we can get. This year olly murs is headlining, last year was razorlight, there's also a comedy tent/rock tent.. you get the idea. we have the county show too, but that's really something to go to if you like food, rides and farm animals.. it's very quaint :wink:

we also have a brand new civic centre called 'G live' which is becoming a popular venue for gigs - newton faulkner and the kaiser chiefs, amoung others, have recently played there. Guildford has quite a strong music scene, there are various pubs/gig venues around e.g. the Boiler room which showcase local bands.

In terms of nightlife, I'd say guildford is pretty good. On the low end there's Dusk, a pretty bog standard type of club, but then there's spoons, which is very popular, and flares if you like.. well, seventies music. The casino is a pretty huge club, but always packed and very expensive. and if you're into it, there's the 'players lounge' too, but I wouldn't know so much about that. There's a ton of brillaint pubs just about everywhere too - 'the stoke' is good.

over all guildford is a pretty good town, very safe, very picturesque, and pretty loaded too, which is maybe why there are such good ammenities.

Let me know if you had any other questions! :smile:
Reply 35
Heya,

First of all thanks for all the info you have provided.
I have now actually firmed my place at Surrey for Law and Criminology.....was a bloomin hard choice between surrey and sheffield, but chose surrey in the end due to it being a campus uni and quite near to London.

I am currently living in North Devon - which is pretty quite and has a pretty much non-existent music scence - so i am hoping from what you have said that i will enjoy surrey. The sports park is also a bonus as i am a keen netball player, and am planning to join a gym.

I have recently been looking at the accommodation costs for first year students, and how much money i will have left over from the maintenance loan/grant. On average, how much would you say you need left over for weekly food/drink/subject books ect??
Reply 36
Original post by Fward
Heya,

First of all thanks for all the info you have provided.
I have now actually firmed my place at Surrey for Law and Criminology.....was a bloomin hard choice between surrey and sheffield, but chose surrey in the end due to it being a campus uni and quite near to London.

I am currently living in North Devon - which is pretty quite and has a pretty much non-existent music scence - so i am hoping from what you have said that i will enjoy surrey. The sports park is also a bonus as i am a keen netball player, and am planning to join a gym.

I have recently been looking at the accommodation costs for first year students, and how much money i will have left over from the maintenance loan/grant. On average, how much would you say you need left over for weekly food/drink/subject books ect??


That all depends how much you may be getting in addition to the standard maintainable loan. If you don't qualify for anything but the standard loan, then it won't cover your accommodation, let alone have anything left over!

Food you can do easily for between £10 and £20 a week, then obviously nights out/eating out/etc will be anything on top of that. Books vary massively based on the course you're doing, but you can save a lot by getting to the library early in the year and checking out the ones you will need.
Reply 37
Some parts of the county are lovely.
Reply 38
Original post by Dan1909
That all depends how much you may be getting in addition to the standard maintainable loan. If you don't qualify for anything but the standard loan, then it won't cover your accommodation, let alone have anything left over!

Food you can do easily for between £10 and £20 a week, then obviously nights out/eating out/etc will be anything on top of that. Books vary massively based on the course you're doing, but you can save a lot by getting to the library early in the year and checking out the ones you will need.


I havent yet completed student finance, but using the calculator thing I have worked out that if I get a band D room I would have about £30 left over and £50 if I went for the band C room. So the loan does cover accommodation costs.
Reply 39
Original post by Fward
I havent yet completed student finance, but using the calculator thing I have worked out that if I get a band D room I would have about £30 left over and £50 if I went for the band C room. So the loan does cover accommodation costs.


As I said, that depends what you get. The standard maintenance loan won't cover most accommodation costs in Surrey, only if you qualify for extra grants on top of the base loan will it be enough.

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