Is swansea a good uni?

Hello! I'm a 1st year student who wishes to transfer to Swansea University and before I went any further with the process I was wondering what you guys thought about swansea university and whether it's a good place to go or one to regret.

I'm currently at coventry university (so i guess anythings better in comparision) and studying economics so your views on student life, atmosphere and quality of course would be most appreciated!

Cheers!

Reply 1

Cicerao

14

Original post by leemyster

Hello! I'm a 1st year student who wishes to transfer to Swansea University and before I went any further with the process I was wondering what you guys thought about swansea university and whether it's a good place to go or one to regret.

I'm currently at coventry university (so i guess anythings better in comparision) and studying economics so your views on student life, atmosphere and quality of course would be most appreciated!

Cheers!

I'm from the Midlands but studying here in Swansea...gotta say I'm not a fan of Coventry. I like Swansea, nice city, good beach. University right across the road from it. Bit nippy at the moment but lovely come summer. Nice city centre, decent amount of shops. University a bit disorganised but generally a nice place to study, very nice professors and a good atmospere and social life.

Reply 2

leemyster

OP

1

Original post by Cicerao

I'm from the Midlands but studying here in Swansea...gotta say I'm not a fan of Coventry. I like Swansea, nice city, good beach. University right across the road from it. Bit nippy at the moment but lovely come summer. Nice city centre, decent amount of shops. University a bit disorganised but generally a nice place to study, very nice professors and a good atmospere and social life.

Lovely, sounds just like what I wanted from a uni. Cheers!

Reply 3

saiwa

4

I've found it pretty disappointing. The admin around the uni is awful, and the town is absolutely terrible. The library is noisy most of the time, even in the silent areas except for very early in the morning/late at night. The beach is a nice highlight, I also find all my lecturers to be very good. The whole town and feel of the uni isn't that amazing though.

Reply 4

d0000dle

8

I love the uni and Swansea as a whole. It's a great city with plenty of shops and a good and varied nightlife. The uni itself is awesome with lots to offer. I find that the silent areas in the library are generally quiet and I love living on campus.

Reply 5

MonacleMonkey

3

student life: very impressive. Wind Street is (in)famous for its legion of bars and clubs. Uni owns two nightclubs, one on campus and the other in the city. Both are cheap and easy to get to, but you wear decent shoes at your peril.

atmosphere: great mix of societies within uni, always something to do. The city itself is a rough gem. It has a tonne of awesome places to go to but you'll need to find them, as it's a small place. Renovation work is also ongoing. Student deals everywhere.

quality of course: can't comment.

Wales

That is all.

I love the uni, I think its well organised, everything is available online and the tutors on my course have been really friendly.

Lovely location, friendly people, excellent sports, I'm really happy there.

Reply 8

Grantusj

2

Three words: Wind Street Wednesdays. Your social life will be sorted for all your years here :smile:

Also, I love pretty much everything about the place, the city is nice and compact, but still with a lot to offer. The uni is great, and the lecturers for my course are incredibly helpful. I will never regret coming here! and the summer weather we are having at the moment just makes things even better!

Reply 9

easter_bunny

13

Original post by saiwa

I've found it pretty disappointing. The admin around the uni is awful, and the town is absolutely terrible. The library is noisy most of the time, even in the silent areas except for very early in the morning/late at night. The beach is a nice highlight, I also find all my lecturers to be very good. The whole town and feel of the uni isn't that amazing though.

I have to agree with this.

If you are a fan of the beach and that overrides anything else, Swansea is probably great. Otherwise, the standard of the facilities at the uni, the appearance of the uni and the organisation of the uni is far lower than it should be. Also agree with the library, it is pretty appalling. Unless you are from the middle of nowhere and will think that Swansea is a 'big' city, you will probably be disappointed with the city itself.

Reply 10

Elbonian

14

It's a nice university, particularly in the summer. It has a lovely beach on its doorstep, lots of extra curricular facilities and offers a very good night life.

However I'm not going to lie about the quality of academia. It's traditional, and as a University it is average. Teaching has its ups and downs. Personally, I have some awesome lecturers and some absolutely terrible ones where you're better off learning from the class notes yourself than attending the lectures. However I'm sure this goes on in many universities, even the very top ones.

Without a doubt it is a step up in reputation from Portsmouth University: however, I'm not in a position to comment on the respective Economics courses. I have a friend in his first year of Economics, and he says the Maths and Economics involved barely surpasses A-level standard. You can decide for yourself what that means.

Reply 11

Elbonian

14

Original post by saiwa

I've found it pretty disappointing. The admin around the uni is awful, and the town is absolutely terrible. The library is noisy most of the time, even in the silent areas except for very early in the morning/late at night. The beach is a nice highlight, I also find all my lecturers to be very good. The whole town and feel of the uni isn't that amazing though.

I practically live in the library and you're wrong.

It's decent.

Original post by Elbonian

I practically live in the library and you're wrong.

I've never noticed it being especially noisy either.

I also love the town and think it has pretty much everything necessary...dunno what this says about my hometown... :rofl:

Seriously though, it has a shopping centre, lots of other shops, cinemas, lots of clubs and bars and pubs...what more do you want? :h:

Reply 14

saiwa

4

Original post by Elbonian

I practically live in the library and you're wrong.

What planet are you on? Lol. Perhaps you're deaf?

Reply 15

flubadiblam

9

Original post by leemyster

Hello! I'm a 1st year student who wishes to transfer to Swansea University and before I went any further with the process I was wondering what you guys thought about swansea university and whether it's a good place to go or one to regret.

I'm currently at coventry university (so i guess anythings better in comparision) and studying economics so your views on student life, atmosphere and quality of course would be most appreciated!

Cheers!

Yeah, but its in wales. :frown:

Reply 16

Elbonian

14

Original post by saiwa

What planet are you on? Lol. Perhaps you're deaf?

Do you have to be so rude? If you find paper rustling so irritating have you considered studying at home? Were you even in the right area? The main congregation area is not the 'silent study area', I'll have you know.

EDIT: You've also claimed that town is terrible. Why, does no one ask you to go out? Incidentally, Swansea is often voted to have amongst the best for student experiences so you're obviously missing out on a lot.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

saiwa

4

The library: The main issue is the amount of people there to hang out, eat, and watch youtube or facebook on the limited computers instead of actually 'work' in the 'library'. There are a lot more problems here than 'paper rustling'. I question the amount of work you actually do in the library if you consider it to be a quiet, relaxing place.

1) The silent areas are loud. People talking, etc.
2) The law library is loud. People talking, copiers beeping, construction outside, and floors creaking.
3) The downstairs silent study area: People talking on their phones, floor creaking from law library above, numerous people eating Korean soup filling the area with a kim-chi aroma.
4) The computers are dirty, slow, or not working. Always filled with people on facebook.
5) Uncomfortable chairs. Try sitting in the law library chairs for over an hour.

Sound lovely?

The town: To me, there are more important aspects of a place than just the night life. Sure, you can get drunk for a good price here. No wonder.... what else is there to do around here? I'd predict for many people, the 'varied' nightlife of this place will become commonplace. Lets look at some of the brief details of the town.

1) Run down.
2) Filled with chavs from up on the hill, begging for change for a Special Brew.
3) Dirty.
4) Need I mention run down?
5) Inundated with litter.

The nightlife: We have the wonderful chavved up choices of:
1) Oceana (!)
2) Revs (!!!!!)
3) A casino
4) A handful of smelly, sweaty, cheap small bars
5) Play

The Uni facilities:

1) Also run down.
2) Check out the vomit in the corner of the 8th floor entrance on Penmaen. It has been there for two weeks. A nice example of how the place is kept.
3) Elevators usually broken.
4) Unhelpful and usually rude admin staff.
5) People screaming outside windows at 4:30 AM.
6) It looks like a council estate.

Please feel free to expand upon how this could amount to the best student experience? The town is great if you are a drunk, the university is great if you choose not to do work, or if you are doing a mickey mouse degree. The living accommodations are wonderful if you have incredibly low standards and enjoy living in run down and poverty stricken conditions.

Like I said, the lecturers are decent in my subject, and the beach is a nice element. Aside from that, I am disappointed with the overall quality and conditions of both the town and the university.