[helpmekid]

So does anyone currently go to this uni? if yes, rea

[Xanderis]

I am studying Public Relations. And I love every bit of it.
Harrow campus is being re-built and all sorts of upgrades are happening. Can be annoying , but will turn out great when its finished.
Classes, buildings and surroundings are pretty much new and library and Mac rooms are fab!
My lecturers are great. You do not spend too much time in classes to be fair, I have about 15hrs a week.
I had same feelings as you did, but there is nothing wrong with this uni

[helpmekid]

(Original post by Xanderis)
I am studying Public Relations. And I love every bit of it.
Harrow campus is being re-built and all sorts of upgrades are happening. Can be annoying , but will turn out great when its finished.
Classes, buildings and surroundings are pretty much new and library and Mac rooms are fab!
My lecturers are great. You do not spend too much time in classes to be fair, I have about 15hrs a week.
I had same feelings as you did, but there is nothing wrong with this uni

Thanks

[Zainchawdry]

I'd also like to know who else goes there and what they think of it, i currently have an unconditional there and it looks like ill be going there as exams never turned out the way i wanted them to.

[helpmekid]

(Original post by Zainchawdry)
I'd also like to know who else goes there and what they think of it, i currently have an unconditional there and it looks like ill be going there as exams never turned out the way i wanted them to.

What course you applying to?

[criminal]

(Original post by helpmekid)
So does anyone currently go to this uni? if yes, read on , if no , ( sorry but in a nice way can you leave)

If you go there, HOW is the uni ? if it good ? is it bad ? alot of people say its bad and that but hardly any of them actualy go there. So can i ask , what course you are doing, how is the teaching and area of the uni
Thanks

I dont go there but i plan on accepting their offer of BBC for criminology.. I've been to the Regent Street campus for an open day. Its seems pretty nice. The location is great.. to sum up, i think the uni is as good as you make it, if you go there and work hard and make sure you get that 2:1 i think you should be fine. The people who say its bad are the people who have never been there, they are the type of people that think a unis position in the league table is all that matters.. With ABC i can get into other places which are higher in the table, but i would prefer Westminster because of what the course has to offer. Also, the location is great as mentioned before.. just go for it, dont listen to these pathetic people who spend their time criticising other unis

[Zainchawdry]

(Original post by helpmekid)
What course you applying to?

Law LLLB

[bhx]

Oh my god, I just wrote a huge comment and I've lost it. In short, I study BA TV Production and I love it.
Harrow campus is different to the rest - you get that "normal" communal feeling that you don't normally get in London unis. It's like 25 minutes from Baker Street on the tube.
Course wise, I love it. Don't know anyone that hates their course. Most are pretty challenging on the practical side. At the moment my course are producing a 4 part 30 minute each drama which is the biggest project of any course like mine in the UK.
My only complaint is that my theory lectures seem a bit pointless at times but that's because we share with Journalism, PR and Radio which means we get a broad knowledge of them all but bit too specific at times.
It's one of the best modern unis for media. Got good-great equipment that you can use whenever you want, got that sort of atmosphere that makes you want to do stuff. It seems our department (Mass Communications) is always focused on getting us ready for our career and actual jobs so you're treated that way as well.
My course has a 90% rate of jobs after 6 months, I was offered a job at the Olympics the second week I was at uni.. The list goes on.

..It's not so great in other departments but if you do your research right you'll know where to go.

Hope this is of help to you or anyone else

[bhx]

To throw this out there, I'm not being paid (although I definitely should be) to say good things about the course, I just had no information on this forum when I was applying and thought I'd do a good deed and then some imbeciles have decided to neg me for telling the truth.

I'll accept that a lot of the other courses are not good. I would never study Law or History here, it's not the right place for that. But for my course, at the very least, it is very, very good.

[BexiG]

(Original post by bhx)
To throw this out there, I'm not being paid (although I definitely should be) to say good things about the course, I just had no information on this forum when I was applying and thought I'd do a good deed and then some imbeciles have decided to neg me for telling the truth.

I'll accept that a lot of the other courses are not good. I would never study Law or History here, it's not the right place for that. But for my course, at the very least, it is very, very good.

Good to see you have a positive review about the course you're on. I have firmed Ba Hons in Contemporary Media, and after my tour and interview im really looking forward to going

Why would I get a negative rep for my comment?! just because I firmed Westminster?? loool wow!

[bruzm]

Yes, I am kind of lost because I received an offer for the MA in Marketing Communications from Westminster and also from Birkbeck (which are the only London Unis I found with this particular course).. I don't know what to do because some people talk so badly about Westminster but I also see it as one of the main Unis for Communications Studies!

[Anna Two Ways]

Hi bruzm

If you have an offer from Birkbeck you should take it. Westminster is a last resort place. It was OK a few years ago but has fallen apart recently for anything to do with media. If you are smart enough for Birkbeck you shouldn't even think about wasteminster.

[bruzm]

Hey guys, thank you so much for your help! I am an international student, so I first applied based on the courses I thought I'd like, and after would decide on the uni.. I also got an offer from Royal Holloway for Marketing, so now I'm in between Bbk and RH.. It is so hard to choose!!

[bhx]

(Original post by BexiG)
Good to see you have a positive review about the course you're on. I have firmed Ba Hons in Contemporary Media, and after my tour and interview im really looking forward to going

Why would I get a negative rep for my comment?! just because I firmed Westminster?? loool wow!

I know a few people on CMP including a flatmate and most people love it, a few hate it and changed but because of the content, not because of the quality.
It seems very much like a 3 year art foundation, with time to specialise which if you've pick CMP you probably wanted.

TV hate CMP though, they always try and book our studio when we need it hah >_>

[BexiG]

(Original post by bhx)
I know a few people on CMP including a flatmate and most people love it, a few hate it and changed but because of the content, not because of the quality.
It seems very much like a 3 year art foundation, with time to specialise which if you've pick CMP you probably wanted.

TV hate CMP though, they always try and book our studio when we need it hah >_>

hahaha...Yeah I personally picked it because even though I want to be a filmmaker I want to dabble in photography/animation etc etc...I believe its good if a filmmaker can learn different art forms and then apply it to film.

[Chls]

I study history at wmin and I'm based at regents street. I find that the history department is brilliant and I wouldn't change uni if given the choice.

My lecturers are really good and are knowledgable particularly relating to their fields. We have regular guest lecturers and events. The students get on well with each other and we go to the pub with our lecturers every once in a while and there is a really nice atmosphere in the department. I'm finishing my second year now and they are already helping us prepare for our final dissertation.

On a negative note I find that the administration departments at wmin aren't always that great and if you are dealing with them you do sometimes need to be persistent. From what I hear though this is not limited to Westminster uni.

As far as harrow is concerned, yes it is on the outer edges of London but if your based there what is the issue with living there? I don't live near there but work past there on the met line and it isn't a bad trip into London.

So people don't like Westminster and whether they have been there or not is irrelevant and they will be the ones to give this post negative rep but I really couldn't care if you think I'm being paid to write this!

[keepitnice]

Hi there ChIs

I got friends who do history at regents and yeah they say it is OK. it is a tiny course with not many students so you can't judge wmin on that. what is good is that the history degree takes people with low A levs who would not get on a history degree - they let non-academic students on history so you get a good mix. but you cant judge Harrow on that because it is totally totally dfferent - the students are mostly wasters and there seem to be drug raids every ten minutes. theres some good fun students at harrow who are on "commercial music" degree which lets face it is basically a degree in playing the electric guitar which you could do on your own anyway. please dont judge harrow by regents street. its a different situation entirely.

[MrMagicMushroom]

Hi, I'm a 1st year student studying BA Contemporary Media Practice. The uni is excellent and I'm really enjoying my course. Harrow campus is good, currently going through a lot of construction work till 2014 and already they've made the area around Northwick Park station campus side look much nicer. Because of the construction you can get free drink vouchers for use in the cafe on campus.

I've found a lot of hate on TSR for Westminster and I don't understand it, as the haters never go in detail about what course they did, its always "its so far out". A lot of hate for the Harrow campus especially. For a new university, its ranked about mid level in league tables, being a new uni its not great for all the subjects it offers, but for art, media and architecture I understand it to be very good, art and media strengths certainly show in the quality of teaching from my course. Strengths in other areas as well but I'm not aware of them, rarely do I meet someone who isn't happy with their course. It states clearly on the courses list that "Courses marked with (H) are taught at the Harrow campus, all other courses are taught at Central London campuses". If you can't make that observation for a massive decision such as university, you shouldn't be blaming the uni. Advertising does say heart of London and such which can be misleading, but transport links are strong so its not such a big deal for anyone I know. A lot of people prefer the peace, and in a way it makes going into central that bit more exciting. I have never seen an advert for Westminster, not online or in person. I don't see any strange transactions into my bank account. I have seen Kingston University decals on buses and London Met adverts in the tube.

Location wise, the Northwick Park campus is about 25 minutes to Baker Street tube station on the somewhat bumpy Metropolitan line. Harrow campus sits between Kenton and Harrow, not in Harrow its self but about 10 minutes walk or a minute on the tube to Harrow-on-the-Hill. Kenton being about 2 minutes walk. Kenton and Harrow don't have much of interest to me, which is why I'm choosing to live in Zone 1 next year near Baker Street. That's due to me being in central an awful lot though so it suits. Harrow does have two shopping centers right beside each other, Rymans being where I go the most. The fact the tube station comes right onto the campus is brilliant, although you have to walk past the halls of accommodation on your way in which is very pleasing in good weather when people are out on the grass, relaxing or playing sports but not so good in the cold.

The course has been very engaging and well organized to start with, but some problems with booking rooms for crit days. Our year started with about 18-20+ hours of lectures, workshops and tutorials over 4 days, which slowly drop off as we got closer to deadlines, the extra time to be put into your projects. Lectures have been absolutely brilliant. I had the chance to sit down for an hour at lunch with one of them to learn their background and they really do love their job which already showed during lectures. Each one of them has a personality which makes the lecture that bit more interesting, and of course they all know their stuff. Tutorials are very helpful and encouraging. Crits were a bit nicer this year than I expected, but next year it will be more brutal. Photo store is well stocked and the technicians are very good, helpful and approachable.

The bad points for me are that: Being from Northern Ireland I was a fair distance away from London, so I thought this would guarantee me a spot in Harrow halls. I was wrong. I found out that the administration apparently gave in to repeatedly complaints from a few people who were from London and gave them accommodation. I did apply late due to having a late interview though. Harrow campus in select areas could do with a clean. Rooftop of the reception and around that area would be much nicer if it got a good clean. During the building works they'll be touching up the entire campus anyway. One half of the campus is more modern looking on the outside than the other, but the massive building can't really be torn down. Library book selection is very good for referencing, as is film and DVD library. Not enough printers and the windows workstations have a habit of not logging in. Good amount of modern iMacs in the library but get there early when deadlines are close or else you will be stuck. For one of the groups in a specific module, the tutor took a few weeks longer to provide feedback which annoyed students, so that can be a problem. I think because the entry grades aren't so strict, you get students who won't be as into what they're doing as others. They won't produce a lot of good work because they last minute it and didn't attend many lectures. They don't contribute to group work effectively, meaning frustration for those who are into what they do. Uni isn't all about your degree sure, but its the reason everyone is there in the first place. I didn't feel like engaging with many societies this year as I wanted to settle in well, but now I have more interest and will be much more involved next year. The central London campuses don't have the campus type feel of Harrow, so not many people stick around as they do in Harrow. I hear Area 51 is crap but never been, Undercroft is very good with a great crowd every so often but go every week and you'll get sick of it quickly.

In short, studying at Westminster has been great for me. Plenty more I could say, so feel free to ask.

(Original post by keepitnice)
Hi there ChIs

I got friends who do history at regents and yeah they say it is OK. it is a tiny course with not many students so you can't judge wmin on that. what is good is that the history degree takes people with low A levs who would not get on a history degree - they let non-academic students on history so you get a good mix. but you cant judge Harrow on that because it is totally totally dfferent - the students are mostly wasters and there seem to be drug raids every ten minutes. theres some good fun students at harrow who are on "commercial music" degree which lets face it is basically a degree in playing the electric guitar which you could do on your own anyway. please dont judge harrow by regents street. its a different situation entirely.

Art students are a different bunch for sure, but I wouldn't call them wasters. Harrow halls was raided due to complaints from other students and it was a joint task by the uni and the police. Good thing they don't stand for that, but students will be students wherever they are in the world. I think if the music students just played guitar so casually, types like Michael Kiwanuka have had it very easy to get where they are now?

[BexiG]

(Original post by MrMagicMushroom)
Hi, I'm a 1st year student studying BA Contemporary Media Practice....

Thanks for this!!! i've applied for the exact same course and have firmed it. I've also noticed that there is alot of negative comments about Wmin...but I've always believed they have been bias...I loved the look of the campus, the interview was tough but fair and I got good feedback. I look forward to september

[MrMagicMushroom]

(Original post by BexiG)
Thanks for this!!! i've applied for the exact same course and have firmed it. I've also noticed that there is alot of negative comments about Wmin...but I've always believed they have been bias...I loved the look of the campus, the interview was tough but fair and I got good feedback. I look forward to september

Hope it all works out for you. Any questions feel free to ask, although it will cost you (supposedly!)

(Original post by mushroomeater)
It what way do you find this rubbish uni to be "excellent"? What is excellent about it? Just about every objective indicator show that is very poor. Seriously, where is the evidence of any sort that it is "good" let alone excellent? Just asserting this is why people think you are a marketing troll.

Secondly if you are really a student on this course, why are you are enjoying it. What is enjoyable about it? And even if it is true you are a student and you are "enjoying the course" why do you think that this is any evidence of excellence. What the connection between you happening to like this course with it being good. Can you explain the connection?

IN what way do you find this excellent uni to be "rubbish"? What is rubbish about it? Just about every objective indicator SHOWS that its very good. Seriously, where is the evidence of any sort that it is "bad" let alone rubbish? Just asserting this is why people think you are a troll.

To answer your question directly, I can compare my time at Westminster to the semester I studied in higher education at a college in Bangor, Northern Ireland. The course was run by the college but administered and awarded by Queens University Belfast. An old, respected university. I didn't enjoy the course content or Belfast, the lecturers were good and quite into what they teach, but not to the level of my current lecturers. Not many students can make this comparison, nor can they take University for granted as much as me because of this experience. University is a massive investment in time and money, so if I had any doubts while being at Westminster I would have dropped out from there as well. I feel that is a valid connection.

I enjoy how my lecturers can inspire me to learn about something I don't know much about through well taught lectures, how I can start with a simple idea in a project and realize it through useful tutorials on a weekly basis. They've found a good balance between theory and practical work, so its not all taking photos like some people would like to think. I enjoy (but sometimes get annoyed) how active my uni email account is during the semester, with my course leader sending on emails from people looking for assistance on productions etc. I simply feel its time well spent and that satisfies me greatly as a student. How can I authenticate myself as a student at Westminster for you and anyone else? What is your background? ex-Westminster because Harrow wasn't in Hyde Park like it said on the site banner?

In regards to your poorly written post on the drug raid. Do you really think Westminster is the only university is the world to have students who use drugs? The campus area is nice, shame about the awful looking hospital in the background. Made a good background for a student post-apoc film though. Sure, some people simply won't enjoy Westminster, like I simply didn't enjoy Bangor or Queens. No bias in that but for on forum the criticism is ridiculous.