[KentaKobashi]

RHUL Economics graduate 2011 - Stayed in Tuke halls in my first year (Flat 3C, Room 8)

1) Postman Issac is a legend.
2) The SU has it's charm in 1st year, but by 3rd has worn off.
3) My personal best from London Waterloo to Egham is 41 mins, 53 secs
4) Englefield Green is great for parties so move there in 2nd year, but the neighbours are either going to be neighbourly old folk or common as muck extras from Eastenders.
5) Egham is more expensive and therefore full of posh ***** (some are alright I s'pose)
6) RHUL Rugby has a reputation for homoerotic tendencies such as running around halls naked or doing shots out of each others' asses. They think they are "lads" but pretty much everyone thinks they are making up in brashness elsewhere.
7) However, RHUL Rugby put on a SWEET boat party at the end of the year.
8) Geologists rock! (Seriously, they are the nicest department full of enthusiastic and friendly people who don't mind a drink)
9) Opposite can be said about Economics. Most of them think they are hot shot bankers and they ALWAYS try to shake your hand. (We're not at work, why do I have to shake your hand every time you say hi?!)
10) Speaking of RHUL Economics, Hui-Fai Shing, Vinay Nundllal, Sotiris Georganas, Maris Goldmanis and Jonathan Wadsworth are the best lecturers.
11) RHUL gym weights room is TINY, so if you want to use them, get there before 7:30
12) Halls of residence are amazing.
13) When you are renting a house in 2nd and 3rd year, try to avoid Aspens if you can. They never speak to their landlords and you may find at the end of the year that they charge you for damages that were already there in the first place. It's a shame really because they are the biggest estate agent in the area for students.
14) SURHUL Summer Ball is expensive and always will be. So save yourself the time complaining and just buy a ticket or not. SURHUL never change.
15) Avoid SURHUL bouncers and security like the plague. They will kick you out for just about anything.
16) Founders, when it snows, looks amazing.
17) Kingswood is further away than it looks. It's a 30 minute walk.
18) This applies to everyone really but make friends with EVERYONE on your first night. Everyone on every floor of your halls and everyone in EVERY other halls because it makes a HUGE difference.
19) Don't be alarmed if a guy dressed in a Polar Bear costume is walking around campus, he's the mascot.
20) Everyone hates the management department.

I'll try and think of more as time goes on, and then edit it.

But my RHUL experience was easily the best three years of my life. 1st year I met the most amazing people ever, who became subsequent best friends and I met the love of my life. Don't worry about job prospects or anything like that, RHUL is fantastic, no matter what TSR says. It's about what you DO with your degree more than where you went, and for every person that went to Southamption, Warwick, Nottingham and Cambridge, there is JUST as many people who are doing just as well who are RHUL graduates.

Your parents may cry when you move in and you may be nervous during your first weekend but believe me, it is a fantastic place to learn and have fun.

[bmqib]

But more importantly, how much is your job paying you?

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by bmqib)
But more importantly, how much is your job paying you?

Haha, THAT is what is most important to you? Not, enjoying life?

I'm a Masters student.

[bmqib]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
Haha, THAT is what is most important to you? Not, enjoying life?

I'm a Masters student.

It's only three years, there is more to life. I am a bit concerned about this homoerotic cullture in Rugby you talk about, I'm going to another University of London college this september and am kind of worried about not fitting into this 'lad' stereotype even though I am very keen on making the rugby team.

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by bmqib)
It's only three years, there is more to life. I am a bit concerned about this homoerotic cullture in Rugby you talk about, I'm going to another University of London college this september and am kind of worried about not fitting into this 'lad' stereotype even though I am very keen on making the rugby team.

I won't be so rude as to call you out on what uni you are going to, but if it is a college in the centre of london like UCL or King's then I wouldn't worry about having to walk around the streets in nothing but your skin. But yeah, the homoerotic element is there, and you will probably have to do something embarrassing, perhaps even play "soggy biscuit" as some point, which the RHUL rugby team have been rumoured to do.

After initiation though, the socials are immense and you will probably be drinking 10+ pints in a sitting every two weeks or so.

[bmqib]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
I won't be so rude as to call you out on what uni you are going to, but if it is a college in the centre of london like UCL or King's then I wouldn't worry about having to walk around the streets in nothing but your skin. But yeah, the homoerotic element is there, and you will probably have to do something embarrassing, perhaps even play "soggy biscuit" as some point, which the RHUL rugby team have been rumoured to do.

After initiation though, the socials are immense and you will probably be drinking 10+ pints in a sitting every two weeks or so.

I'll go to UCL if I make my grades, or QMUL which is my insurance, any idea what their rugby team is like? And since you're doing postgrads, do you think it's easy for someone from UofL colleges like RHUL/QMUL go on to other top universities in US or Oxbridge for masters?

[The Assassin]

Nice username.

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by bmqib)
I'll go to UCL if I make my grades, or QMUL which is my insurance, any idea what their rugby team is like? And since you're doing postgrads, do you think it's easy for someone from UofL colleges like RHUL/QMUL go on to other top universities in US or Oxbridge for masters?

Oh yeah. Warwick and Oxford have a fetish for RHUL students for some reason, I know 7 people all but one got a 2.1 and they managed to get into these schools just fine. They obviously had to write a great application like anyone else, but at Masters level, it becomes less about "where you go" and more about "what your passion is in" and how passionate you are about it.

I guess most people on TheStudentRoom are obsessed A level students whose primary aim is to get straight A's and go to Oxbridge, and rightfully so, it'd be stupid not to. But after a week of settling into your first week at uni, you forget about what A levels you got, where your uni is in the league table and everyone is just busy chilling out, enjoying the now and enjoying learning. A level teachers have a culture of trying desperately to get kids to get an A, whereas at uni it's more to do with learning, which I appreciate more. You get less people competing with each other than at A level (though you still get some) so by the time you apply for a Masters, you don't really care about where you go, because you have had 3 years of learning some great things. All you will be thinking about (hopefully, if you have been doing it right) is about which uni offers the best department, course and environment with which to thrive in. Trust me pal, when you are sitting at an interview and they talk to you, they are more impressed with how passionate and well you can talk about your 3 years, than with which school taught you.

Masters really comes down to money, especially in the United States, so save as much as you can.

My friend played for RHUL and has no experiences with UCL or QMUL when playing them which strike out as strange.

[Mbax]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
I won't be so rude as to call you out on what uni you are going to, but if it is a college in the centre of london like UCL or King's then I wouldn't worry about having to walk around the streets in nothing but your skin. But yeah, the homoerotic element is there, and you will probably have to do something embarrassing, perhaps even play "soggy biscuit" as some point, which the RHUL rugby team have been rumoured to do.

After initiation though, the socials are immense and you will probably be drinking 10+ pints in a sitting every two weeks or so.

Im very worried about this homoerotic element in the rugby team because i love my rugby but im deeply unimpressed by the whole LAD movement.Would my lack of participation in the more dodgier activities affect my chances of playing for the team at all?

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by Mbax)
Im very worried about this homoerotic element in the rugby team because i love my rugby but im deeply unimpressed by the whole LAD movement.Would my lack of participation in the more dodgier activities affect my chances of playing for the team at all?

Probably. Not directly, but if you don't show up to initiation then they either won't pick you, pick you less or in some cases, go to your halls and drag you out.
On socials, the amount of noise and peer pressure from the banter will probably be too much for you to say no, and again, in some cases you may be severely punished if you refuse.
I think you are underestimating the lengths with which they will pressure you into doing it and overestimating how courageous you are to flat out refuse, while expecting to still play. As my friend says, you just get caught up in it all and next thing you know, it's as if you were this gigantic rugby **** your whole life.

[bmqib]

Thanks... also I heard that girls at RHUL are really slutty and kinky and it's very easy to get laid at Fresher's. How true is this?

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by bmqib)
Thanks... also I heard that girls at RHUL are really slutty and kinky and it's very easy to get laid at Fresher's. How true is this?

I got laid my first night.

It's a former women's college and popular with feminists. Feminists are great in bed.

[liftorrot]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
RHUL Economics graduate 2011 - Stayed in Tuke halls in my first year (Flat 3C, Room 8)

1) Postman Issac is a legend.
2) The SU has it's charm in 1st year, but by 3rd has worn off.
3) My personal best from London Waterloo to Egham is 41 mins, 53 secs
4) Englefield Green is great for parties so move there in 2nd year, but the neighbours are either going to be neighbourly old folk or common as muck extras from Eastenders.
5) Egham is more expensive and therefore full of posh ***** (some are alright I s'pose)
6) RHUL Rugby has a reputation for homoerotic tendencies such as running around halls naked or doing shots out of each others' asses. They think they are "lads" but pretty much everyone thinks they are making up in brashness elsewhere.
7) However, RHUL Rugby put on a SWEET boat party at the end of the year.
8) Geologists rock! (Seriously, they are the nicest department full of enthusiastic and friendly people who don't mind a drink)
9) Opposite can be said about Economics. Most of them think they are hot shot bankers and they ALWAYS try to shake your hand. (We're not at work, why do I have to shake your hand every time you say hi?!)
10) Speaking of RHUL Economics, Hui-Fai Shing, Vinay Nundllal, Sotiris Georganas, Maris Goldmanis and Jonathan Wadsworth are the best lecturers.
11) RHUL gym weights room is TINY, so if you want to use them, get there before 7:30
12) Halls of residence are amazing.
13) When you are renting a house in 2nd and 3rd year, try to avoid Aspens if you can. They never speak to their landlords and you may find at the end of the year that they charge you for damages that were already there in the first place. It's a shame really because they are the biggest estate agent in the area for students.
14) SURHUL Summer Ball is expensive and always will be. So save yourself the time complaining and just buy a ticket or not. SURHUL never change.
15) Avoid SURHUL bouncers and security like the plague. They will kick you out for just about anything.
16) Founders, when it snows, looks amazing.
17) Kingswood is further away than it looks. It's a 30 minute walk.
18) This applies to everyone really but make friends with EVERYONE on your first night. Everyone on every floor of your halls and everyone in EVERY other halls because it makes a HUGE difference.
19) Don't be alarmed if a guy dressed in a Polar Bear costume is walking around campus, he's the mascot.
20) Everyone hates the management department.

I'll try and think of more as time goes on, and then edit it.

But my RHUL experience was easily the best three years of my life. 1st year I met the most amazing people ever, who became subsequent best friends and I met the love of my life. Don't worry about job prospects or anything like that, RHUL is fantastic, no matter what TSR says. It's about what you DO with your degree more than where you went, and for every person that went to Southamption, Warwick, Nottingham and Cambridge, there is JUST as many people who are doing just as well who are RHUL graduates.

Your parents may cry when you move in and you may be nervous during your first weekend but believe me, it is a fantastic place to learn and have fun.

I train there 24/7 , it is tiny , however, has the essentials so long as people don't bicep curl on the squat rack. I come to this conclusion after having been to various, gyms that are huge and have crazy amount of weights. All we needed was just a bigger room tbh instead they wasted 300k on worthless machines.


Apart from that Egham is expensive for a place 25 miles out of London...

[KentaKobashi]

(Original post by liftorrot)
I train there 24/7 , it is tiny , however, has the essentials so long as people don't bicep curl on the squat rack. I come to this conclusion after having been to various, gyms that are huge and have crazy amount of weights. All we needed was just a bigger room tbh instead they wasted 300k on worthless machines.


Apart from that Egham is expensive for a place 25 miles out of London...

Are you that hench guy who works in Tesco but also goes to RHUL gym?

[liftorrot]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
Are you that hench guy who works in Tesco but also goes to RHUL gym?

Hahah no but I have seen him around.

[gm15]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
RHUL Economics graduate 2011 - Stayed in Tuke halls in my first year (Flat 3C, Room 8)


17) Kingswood is further away than it looks. It's a 30 minute walk.

19) Don't be alarmed if a guy dressed in a Polar Bear costume is walking around campus, he's the mascot.
20) Everyone hates the management department.

Aspens
Yeah they are aweful. They do absolutely nothing except show you a house once (if they don't make the tenants do this) and print off a template contract after you enter your details yourself then charge an admin fee.
They are no help if there's something wrong with the house.
When its time for new tenants to look around they have a habbit of making the current ones wait in to give tours or just let themselves in.
They give little or no notice and never ask permission - just text/call to notify.
Once I was in quite a distant part of london and had no signal and they texted to say they'd be there in x hours (they are meant to give 24) by the time I was leaving and had signal I had 40mins max before they arrived and my room wasn't exactly showroom tidy. So I had to pretend I was insisting on the legal 24 hours because I knew if they saw my room they'd go nuts.

17) You must be a slow walker then because I swear it never took me that long when I lived there. I hate to think how low that must be in mph.

20) yeah because they get tonnes of money and new buildings (well many extensions) thrown at them as they have such a huge number of internationals who are paying the highest fees and probably living in the most expensive halls.
And tbh I don't think anyone is quite sure what management is or how it is academic.

I once said all that to somebody I didn't realise was studying management and international and she got all entitled and said she thought paying higher fees should get them (and departments with loads of them) special treatment.

Economics students: yep a lot think they are bankers already.

Oh and RH is awesome when it snows. I just hope if they do the "ice" rink at xmass again it is real (or close) ice and not the plastic sheets with liquid sprayed on and dodgey skates, that buggered my ankle (red raw and bloody on one ankle bone bit), again.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my U20i

[llacerta]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
2) The SU has it's charm in 1st year, but by 3rd has worn off.

Is it awfully sad that I'm really looking forward to the SU this September (as a finalist)? Haha. Though, to be fair, I only tend to go three or four times a term, so I'm hardly a regular anyway.

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
5) Egham is more expensive and therefore full of posh ***** (some are alright I s'pose)

I do agree that Egham is more expensive, though I'm not sure that necessarily means that it's full of posh people- a lot of my friends lived in Egham the past academic year and they're certainly not all posh. The fact that it's near the station meant that it was worth the extra money for me, and I'm sure others have their reasons for living in Egham. Though if I were living in a house next year, I'd be very tempted by the Green, I admit!

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
6) RHUL Rugby has a reputation for homoerotic tendencies such as running around halls naked or doing shots out of each others' asses. They think they are "lads" but pretty much everyone thinks they are making up in brashness elsewhere.

This is so, so true, haha.

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
17) Kingswood is further away than it looks. It's a 30 minute walk.

My short legs can get me there in fifteen to twenty minutes from campus (a journey I make most weeks). Ten if I'm in a hurry. Depends which route you take, though.

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
18) This applies to everyone really but make friends with EVERYONE on your first night. Everyone on every floor of your halls and everyone in EVERY other halls because it makes a HUGE difference.

I certainly agree that it's worth making an effort, but there's no reason why you can't make friends with people throughout the year. It's a good idea to at least mingle with your flat on your first night, but if you don't meet someone in your first night or even your first week, that doesn't mean you're never going to be friends with them. I agree that putting yourself out there in a big way is a good idea, though, definitely!

Also, I can't agree enough with your penultimate paragraph. I know many people who have graduated this summer who are already doing very well; going to Royal Holloway may not be a sure-fire ticket to success (though where is?) but if a student is a hardworker and proactive, it's a place that will put them in good stead.

[KentaKobashi]

Perhaps I was wrong about the journey to Kingswood. I was drunk at the time and it was dark haha!

[gm15]

(Original post by KentaKobashi)
Perhaps I was wrong about the journey to Kingswood. I was drunk at the time and it was dark haha!

Ah well being drunk does make it take longer
Especially if you forget to go the short way.

[wanderlust.xx]

More stuff:

Maths and other science people might be reclusive but they're really nice people but some just stick to what they know. There are also mathmos that meet EVERYONE, so don't stereotype based on degrees!

If you have a choice between taking a gap year and making it on your own, or staying at uni because your mates will be there... don't take the easy option.

The graduate market is tough, don't underestimate it.