[FireAndRain]

I went to an open day expecting really great things (after everything I heard on tsr, friends, the internet, Uni Guides,) and was so utterly disappointed with the Uni, and for that matter, Brighton too. I've already made it my insurance too! Can someone please tell me what makes it such a great place? In my opinion, the so-called 'liberal' ethic of the Uni was just a big fat scam- a way to haul in the hippy students. If the Uni is so 'liberal' why was my family expected to pay top whack prices for shoddy cups of coffee?! Surely open days are expected to provide hot drinks after 4 hours of driving!! Utter rip off. Also, what is it so highly ranked?! The student reps were sat back chatting and had no idea where anything was! And in regards to those lecture rooms- my goodness- surely with the 9 grand a year I'm expected to pay, they could have provided comfortable seating! I mean it's a Uni for god sake but they seem more concerned with making money than providing decent seating and tables for students.

Brighton as a place okay-ish. But was surprised at how many tramps and druggies there were in the parks and streets. It was strange; like, there was some lovely streets and cafes, but then from one street into the next the transition was like huge! Brighton was okay but nothing spectacular, yet everyone always says how AMAZING it is, and I started to believe everyone. Perhaps you can tell me what i've got so wrong?

[medusacascade0]

Well, I would have thought you'd visit the university before you made it your insurance :/ I've firmed it and I think it's amazing!
I think what's possibly happened is that because people have said it's so great, you've gotten unrealistic expectations. At the end of the day, it's a university, not paradise.

The things that I think makes it great:
- Really good equipment (I'm doing a science degree)
- Really friendly lecturers and students
- Nice accommodation (besides east slope, but...)
- Really good transport links
- Nice city to go out in
- Nice lecture rooms

I think the seating was adequate, I don't really know what you expect, you're supposed to be learning, not going to sleep or anything...

[EffieFlowers]

I think It's a great uni, but the only thing that's putting me off having it As an insurance is that's you probably won't even get put in student accomidation.

[plimsolls]

So you were disappointed with the uni because of the lack of free drinks and uncomfortable chairs. ....?

[JustAnotherCliche]

Oh please get off your high horse. You're complaining about such trivial things. Do you really think they're going to put armchairs into lecture theatres? It's for practicality, they have hundreds of students going in and out, with bags being dumped down and the occasional drink spilt on them of course they're not there for comfort. Although I'm never uncomfortable in lectures so I don't really know what you're complaining about.

All the coffee shops are owned by the students union so they've got a monopoly over the campus and yeah the prices aren't cheap, but that's basic supply and demand. You weren't forced to buy a cup of coffee it was your choice. All the proceeds from the union shops goes towards being used on the students, I really don't mind spending a bit extra for all the fantastic things the union does for us.

Brighton is a fantastic town and I fully intend to live there after I've graduated. Yeah there are a lot of homeless people, but one of the reasons they're there is because Brighton is such a liberal place they don't get abused and made fun of as they do in other towns. I've never had a negative encounter with a homeless person in Brighton. Yeah there are also a lot of drugs about but there's two universities with a thriving night life, again what did you expect? It's not as if you walk into a club and get drugs shoved down your throat. It's a pretty liberal area so people are cool with drugs being used so long as no one gets hurt.

There are so many fantastic things about Sussex, I honestly don't understand the hate it gets on TSR. I think TSR is definitely dominated by right-wingers and they just can't handle the relaxed liberal feel of Sussex/brighton. The people are fantastic, on a sunny day the campus is absolutely gorgeous the accommodation is great (even if you get East Slope, you'll still end up having a fantastic time!) The facilities are great especially the library. There are so many societies to choose from and get involved with not to mention the sports teams. So yeah there are are countless things which make Sussex a great uni. But if you hated it that much, here's hoping you get into your first choice or bring a pillow for your poor bum for those 'oh so terrible lecture room chairs'

[throwbacktothepast]

My first visit to Sussex (besides going there as a kid to drop my brother off when he joined the uni) was on Saturday. I literally had no expectations, as I was pretty sure I was going to choose Southampton and Reading as my final two. However, once I got there everything changed and I've now put it as my firm choice!

Firstly, the department (Psychology) and course was about a million times better than others I've applied to, in terms of content, enthusiasm and personality. Also, I thought the campus and facilities (especially the library) were great - fairly large, but not so that you'd have to spend half an hour trying to get somewhere (like Kent, for instance). The students we talked to were very polite and helpful, none of them got lost at all! (In fact, we got to see much more on our campus tour than at other places). The accomodation all seems very reasonably priced compared to other unis, and fairly decent (apart from East Slope, where my brother had the fortune to live!) I really don't know which lecture theatre you were in, but our seats were the most comfortable we'd sat in! (And we were in them for over 2 hours!)

As for Brighton, I've always loved it. Friendly, easygoing and fun atmosphere, where everybody can be themselves without someone judging them for it. Plus I love getting an ice cream, playing crazy golf and going on the penny slots on the pier The only thing I don't like is the seagulls, but you get some kind of crazy bird anywhere you go!

My advice would be not to put something as insurance without seeing it first (unless you only applied to two in the first place). If I'd made my decision earlier, then I'd have made a big mistake!

[swbp]

(Original post by FireAndRain)
I went to an open day expecting really great things (after everything I heard on tsr, friends, the internet, Uni Guides,) and was so utterly disappointed with the Uni, and for that matter, Brighton too. I've already made it my insurance too! Can someone please tell me what makes it such a great place? In my opinion, the so-called 'liberal' ethic of the Uni was just a big fat scam- a way to haul in the hippy students. If the Uni is so 'liberal' why was my family expected to pay top whack prices for shoddy cups of coffee?! Surely open days are expected to provide hot drinks after 4 hours of driving!! Utter rip off. Also, what is it so highly ranked?! The student reps were sat back chatting and had no idea where anything was! And in regards to those lecture rooms- my goodness- surely with the 9 grand a year I'm expected to pay, they could have provided comfortable seating! I mean it's a Uni for god sake but they seem more concerned with making money than providing decent seating and tables for students.

Brighton as a place okay-ish. But was surprised at how many tramps and druggies there were in the parks and streets. It was strange; like, there was some lovely streets and cafes, but then from one street into the next the transition was like huge! Brighton was okay but nothing spectacular, yet everyone always says how AMAZING it is, and I started to believe everyone. Perhaps you can tell me what i've got so wrong?

I wont slam you for this, because you're entitled to an opinion, but here are a few reasons why I think otherwise:

- Sussex is top 20 in every league table this year, which is quite a feat when you consider that even Bristol and Nottingham can't say that.
- It's also made the top 100 in the world this year. You don't exactly fluke your way to that position.
- Research from every department has been classed as internatioanlly excellent, and the ecclectic mix of young/mature lecturers makes for a well rounded learning experience.
- Satisfaction rates are among the highest in the nation, suggesting that academic staff put students as high a priority as their own research.
- Links with aborad are some of the best in the nation. You can even study in the Ivy league if you wish to.
- The university has the only campus in the UK situated in a national park, yet it's just 8 minutes by train to the center of one of England's most vibrant/exciting cities.
- Buses run from campus every 5 minutes untill the early hours of the morning, and London is a mere 50 minutes by train.
- it's a friendly, open mided place where eveyone is accepted for who they are.

In short, what more could you want from a university?

[vedderfan94]

(Original post by swbp)
- Sussex is top 20 in every league table this year, which is quite a feat when you consider that even Bristol and Nottingham can't say that.

Yes, by The Times. Everyone knows their league tables are bull. Oxford 5th for Physics and Imperial College 12th? LOL. I could easily name 20 UK universities better than Sussex.

(Original post by swbp)
- It's also made the top 100 in the world this year. You don't exactly fluke your way to that position.

Again, by The Times. Oh, and they barely scraped the top 100 and don't appear in the top 100 on any reputable international league tables.

[Tsunami2011]

(Original post by vedderfan94)
Yes, by The Times. Everyone knows their league tables are bull. Oxford 5th for Physics and Imperial College 12th? LOL. I could easily name 20 UK universities better than Sussex.

All league tables are bull. I'm pretty sure the Times is more reputable than the Guardian oh and please name 20 universities, which are better than Sussex.

[vedderfan94]

(Original post by Tsunami2011)
All league tables are bull. I'm pretty sure the Times is more reputable than the Guardian oh and please name 20 universities, which are better than Sussex.

Did I mention Guardian? No. I just think Sussex uni students should get off their pedestal because they placed in the top 20 on a bull**** table. And not all are bull, there are international tables that use more important data than student satisfaction and student:staff ratio when ranking universities.

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, York, Birmingham, Durham, St Andrews, Leeds, Warwick, LSE, Lancaster, KCL, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Bath.

Oh, and I'm going off both domestic and international reputations.

[Alexandra's Box]

Brighton is cool. How many drunks do you think are in every other city?

[swbp]

(Original post by vedderfan94)
Did I mention Guardian? No. I just think Sussex uni students should get off their pedestal because they placed in the top 20 on a bull**** table. And not all are bull, there are international tables that use more important data than student satisfaction and student:staff ratio when ranking universities.

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, York, Birmingham, Durham, St Andrews, Leeds, Warwick, LSE, Lancaster, KCL, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Bath.

Oh, and I'm going off both domestic and international reputations.

Sussex was the 12th highest UK university this year in the times international table, so clearly it's reputable internationally too. Sussex students don't consider themselves on a pedestal at all - it's the traditional institutions like Birmingham and Manchester who are stuck up about their reputations.

[vedderfan94]

(Original post by swbp)
Sussex was the 12th highest UK university this year in the times international table, so clearly it's reputable internationally too. Sussex students don't consider themselves on a pedestal at all - it's the traditional institutions like Birmingham and Manchester who are stuck up about their reputations.

I think you should read my first post about The Times and why they are one of the most unreliable league tables.

[swbp]

(Original post by vedderfan94)
I think you should read my first post about The Times and why they are one of the most unreliable league tables.

I have no time for snobs like you - where do you study, Oxbridge?

[The Polymath]

(Original post by swbp)
I have no time for snobs like you - where do you study, Oxbridge?

Hahaha..hah..ha... good joke.

"I think you should read my first post about The Times and why they are one of the most unreliable league tables." is not exactly snobbish.

His post was fair. Imperial as 12th in the UK for Physics? Don't.Think.So. Oxford as 5th? Hmm

[vedderfan94]

(Original post by swbp)
I have no time for snobs like you - where do you study, Oxbridge?

In what way am I snobbish? I'm not looking down on Sussex as a whole, of course not. It's just not a top 20 university.

Also, I like how you assume that all Oxbridge students are snobbish about the reputations of Oxford and Cambridge.

[Venomilys]

Wait... what? everyone who told you this was misguided. Sussex is not as amazing as you have been made to believe, it is very much average. And do NOT listen to any league tables. Any.

Misinformation, it's a plague.

[Tsunami2011]

(Original post by vedderfan94)
In what way am I snobbish? I'm not looking down on Sussex as a whole, of course not. It's just not a top 20 university.

Also, I like how you assume that all Oxbridge students are snobbish about the reputations of Oxford and Cambridge.

Whilst league tables are not too useful, Sussex is ranked in the top 20 of all rankings.(11,19,19) So how can you justify your claim that its not a top 20 university. Seems like you've got a personal disliking towards Sussex.

How can you determine whether Warwick or Durham are top 10 universities then?


I'm not a Sussex student or applicant so inb4 fanboy.

[ironandwine]

Lol, big transition from one street to the next? I'm from Brighton and honestly have no idea what you're talking about. As for druggies, sorry, unless they're injecting right in front of you you're just **** stirring, and as for the homeless, fair enough, but what makes you any better than them? They aren't causing you any harm and are wonderfully interesting people. Brighton, as biased as I probably am, is an amazing place... did you even go down through all the Laines? But tbh, the fact you're complaining about not getting free stuff and the comfortability of a chair... well, you wouldn't really fit in anyway.

[swbp]

(Original post by vedderfan94)
In what way am I snobbish? I'm not looking down on Sussex as a whole, of course not. It's just not a top 20 university.

Also, I like how you assume that all Oxbridge students are snobbish about the reputations of Oxford and Cambridge.

You clearly are looking down on Sussex as a whole. I seriously am unsure of your motive, but if you're looking to undermine US students then well done, you've succeeded. I hope you find satisfaction in belittling people who are actually very proud that they will be attending Sussex University, which is a very reputable institution.