Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

University College London

London

Ok so who here honestly dislikes being at UCL?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 40

mfc20

blue_shift86

are u a toff? There's a wiff of poshness bout ya. Anyhow inase i didn't make it clear i have tried putting it behind me but when people blank u and think of u as being inferior u can't help wondering why that is. After three years the only thinkni can think of is background. Maybe toff can smell the state in me and think me as being inferior or whatever, but all i know is that there are a lot of rude people at ucl.

There isn't that mutual respect thing that there was at my highschool.

'Am i a toff' mmm lets think, look at my location. I live in Boro, a place voted the worst to live in the UK by channel 4. So there you go there's no way in hell there are any toffs within a 40 mile radius of where I live. I'm a down to earth normal guy who lives for the crack and banter with the lads, and the ******* around with your mates. Still I actually give people a chance rather than just shout them down as 'arrogant toffs'. I used to have this mindset about all southeners, but after meeting a few I can say they're not all bad! You should do the same man, grow up!

University College London

London

Reply 41

blue_shift86

mfc20

i gave them 4 years....i dont even talk to them let alone shout at them :rolleyes:

As 4 borough, u could be a footballers kid from a private school, lol.

Reply 42

littleshambles

Yes UCL is very private school but it's not class-elitist. I come from a single parent family on benefits and there has never been a problem, and 95%+ of the people I've met have been absolutely lovely, though I'm not sure if they like me much, but that's an altogether different problem really isn't it? I know one or two other people from state schools. It's been fairly irrelevant to my experience of uni to be honest, although it is really really weird (to me) sometimes to be in such a differently constituted social world; sometimes people will talk about things which people of less affluent class backgrounds will have had limited experience of, but in a way which suggests they're normal. That doesn't hurt me or anything but it brings home how disparate my life and the lives of the people around me have been up until this point. Like, on my course and in general, almost everyone has lived in at least 2 different countries and has travelled abroad a lot, whereas I have almost never been abroad and have only ever lived in England, which does give me a niggling sense of inferiority and being out of place, and a pretender of sorts. Just little things like that. But they are normal people, they're not monsters.

Academically elitist? Not really, people don't spend that much time talking about other universities as we're too busy with **** that matters. The fourth in the world stuff is just a bit of fun, Jesus.

Maybe you get blanked when saying "Hi" because they know you think they're all ***** and you don't even talk to them anyway.

Things I am not really happy with at UCL:

You don't really get to "make friends" so to speak with your tutors or lecturers, or see them that much at all in general. It's really sad. I know that is not the point of university - the point is self-directed study for the most part - but it would be nice to get some more contact with the department and for them to give you a better idea of what it is you're supposed to be doing. Considering [I imagine] you'd get a lot more chance to do this under e.g. Cambridge's system it is something I'm disappointed about. You feel, academically, like a little fish in a very big, very empty pond sometimes. We have a 5-minute appointment with our personal tutors this term. That's it. 5 minutes! It's just something you have to accept though really.

Socially the problems I feel I'm having here are not exclusive to or because of being at UCL, I don't think. Perhaps with different organisation it would be easier to maintain friends, but by a certain cut-off point it seems that it's very difficult to build a circle or widen your circle. It's a very insecure position to be in, not to have a defined group with whom you socialise. Maybe that is peculiar to UCL - I wouldn't know.

Reply 43

littleshambles

blue_shift86

dont u miss the playground fights, the swearing, the pissing teachers off, the funny unintellingent jokes and pranks, the normal people with normal accents?

These r the things ucl lacks and why i find it boring here. It is such a dull place where the only 'excitement' is when people get lashed and go clubbing. No one has a sense of humour and people getceasily offended by jokes/comments that people wouldnt think twice about in a state highschool

mate, grow the **** up

Seriously it's university and you want people to **** about? I'm not paying £30,000 to have some idiotic wideboys try and **** up my lectures and have fights in the library.

Reply 44

Nemezys

I've got to say, this thread has done nothing but put doubt in my mind. :frown:

UCL is currently my first choice and although I know the course and your degree are ultimately the most important thing, being happy and having friends which make you happy whilst at uni is an important factor to consider if you hope to do well during your course.

:s I'll have to see for myself during the next Open Day - that's if I actually get an offer lol XD

Reply 45

blue_shift86

littleshambles

mate, grow the **** up

Seriously it's university and you want people to **** about? I'm not paying £30,000 to have some idiotic wideboys try and **** up my lectures and have fights in the library.

haha...sucks to be u. £30k is a lot of money:O. I pay £3k a year and i moan about that!

Reply 46

littleshambles

blue_shift86

haha...sucks to be u. £30k is a lot of money:O. I pay £3k a year and i moan about that!

Yeah, I do too: that's the total of my tuition and maintenance loans over 4 years. I imagine, unless you're not receiving any maintenance loans at all (which considering your OP I find unlikely) that your total debt will be somewhere in the region of about £18-20,000 yourself, so I'd guess it only sucks slightly less to be you?

Reply 47

Maxxie

Nemezys

I've got to say, this thread has done nothing but put doubt in my mind. :frown:

The biology open day's ***** (well thats what I thought), it's much better when you're actually at the uni...

Reply 48

blue_shift86

littleshambles

i'm living at home saving on rent and food, but i bank the loan, get a ucl poor person's bursary and get government bursary for a few k :biggrin:

...So plan is to keep spending to a minimum and to minimise debt as much as possible.

Reply 49

blue_shift86

Maxxie

The biology open day's ***** (well thats what I thought), it's much better when you're actually at the uni...

you should still go to them...gives u an excuse to bunk school. I used to "go to" as many open days as possible to get time off school. :smile:

Reply 50

BeckyIsOptimistic

Those people who live at home & go to UCL: is it better/worse/difficult? Also how long is your commute?
I want to apply next year but I could live at home to minimise debt...not sure if that's a good call or not.

Reply 51

blue_shift86

BeckyIsOptimistic

it's **** in that my social life has suffered a bit...don't get to go to many socials and stuff cos it's too much hassle to come in all that way.

my journey is 45 mins by tube.

as for if it's better/worse, difficult, the commute is fine. 9amers are a big of an annoyance! (u get stuck in the train with office people in suits and have to wait up extra early). But as for the social life i don't think i'm missing out on much cos ucl doesn't really cater for my interests...i tend to hang out with people outside ucl cos i've not really made any friends in ucl in the 3 years i have been here. The friend thing could be an issue if u live at home cos people make best friends, usually, with the people they are living with (house mates etc), so if you don't live with them, you dont' really socialise with them.

on what you want to do...weighs the pros and cons i've just described and make an informed decision on that. My plans for my banked loan and grant money is to use it to go travelling after uni, whereas everyone else seems to be spending it on rent during term time:P

Reply 52

pure_joy

blue_shift86

dont u miss the playground fights, the swearing, the pissing teachers off, the funny unintellingent jokes and pranks, the normal people with normal accents?

Most ppl find THAT rude. And frankly, I'm quite glad you don't get much of it at UCL.

Reply 53

blue_shift86

pure_joy

Most ppl find THAT rude. And frankly, I'm quite glad you don't get much of it at UCL.

correction, most toffs find that rude. every person from my school would agree with me. It's all about perspective i guess.

Reply 54

Eljamaispa

blue_shift86

dont u miss the playground fights, the swearing, the pissing teachers off, the funny unintellingent jokes and pranks, the normal people with normal accents?

How exactly do you define a "normal accent" when England has an incredible variety?

Just curious.

No one has a sense of humour

I found some of the students who were doing the Nat Sci open days to be quite a laugh actually. :/

blue_shift86

i have tried putting it behind me but when people blank u and think of u as being inferior u can't help wondering why that is.

Maybe it's the fact that you see yourself as superior to them. No one likes to be looked down on and you're coming across as incredibly bitter towards these "toffs" you claim UCL is full of. It's not going to help your situation by keeping this unecessary attitude up.

blue_shift86

there are a lot of rude people at ucl.

Isn't London generally full of rude people?

Reply 55

blue_shift86

Eljamaispa

How exactly do you define a "normal accent" when England has an incredible variety?

Just curious.

Isn't London generally full of rude people?

I define normal as anythign that isn't bbc/queens english accent. Yup some NatScis are cool - i used to be a 1st year natsci b4 changing course. Met some cool grammar school people, and one okish private school person though he was a bit posh + acted much smarter than he was. Also, nah, i don't see myself as superior to anyone - my philosophy is that human kind are all equals whether they are rich, poor, smart, dumb, disabled or ablebodied - we are all equal, so i'm the last person to think myself better than someone else.
London rude people? depends what u see as rude. What most people see as rude in ucl i regard as being "throw away" remarks cos my insult threshold is higher from growing up around far nastier insults and things like that. So to me, I find the average london fine/unrude. Relatively speaking however, i did go to york once...the people there angels! :O. So kind and different.

Reply 56

Eljamaispa

blue_shift86

You sound like an okay person which is why it makes me sad that you lump all us private school people into one bag and call us stuck-up, posh and rude. :s-smilie:

London rude people? depends what u see as rude. What most people see as rude in ucl i regard as being "throw away" remarks cos my insult threshold is higher from growing up around far nastier insults and things like that. So to me, I find the average london fine/unrude. Relatively speaking however, i did go to york once...the people there angels! :O. So kind and different.

Well I'm from countryside Devon so I always find London a bit of a shock. lol

Reply 57

blue_shift86

Eljamaispa

You sound like an okay person which is why it makes me sad that you lump all us private school people into one bag and call us stuck-up, posh and rude. :s-smilie:

Well I'm from countryside Devon so I always find London a bit of a shock. lol

Y thanks

. I'm sorry for bunching you all together...it's just that I have met more stuck up private school people than down to earth ones....There are some really nice private school people i have met. This girl i know from when i was 15 was privately educated. she hated her school cos of the toffs there. She is one of the rare level-headed people that come from a private school.

as for countyside Devon! Lucky you! I've been there a few times and i think it's awesome! I've been to barnstable, darmoor a few times etc :smile:

Reply 58

Eljamaispa

blue_shift86

Y thanks

Yeah, there's always a few. Usually they're just conforming though. They tend to be nicer when they're on their own, I find.

as for countyside Devon! Lucky you! I've been there a few times and i think it's awesome! I've been to barnstable, darmoor a few times etc :smile:

Mountain biking on a wet, wintery dartmoor... :awesome:

(STFU you live in LONDON).

Reply 59

blue_shift86

Eljamaispa

Yeah, there's always a few. Usually they're just conforming though. They tend to be nicer when they're on their own, I find.

Mountain biking on a wet, wintery dartmoor... :awesome:

(STFU you live in LONDON).