What is UWE really like?

Hi, I have been looking at uni's to go to and came across UWE. It stuck out to me because it offers a media & journalism course which is great because I am not having to commit to to one subject alone. Instead I get to do two essentially and get a wide skill set in both, making me more employable. Bristol also looks like a gorgeous city and the university has great tech and equipment available such as Red Camera's and DaVinici Colour Grading Suites!

Of course a university will always sell their best parts so I want opinions, I don't mind what course you're on or if you go there or not. What is the university like? What have you seen/heard? Is it good? Any help or opinions are appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

jackharrison1

Hey, I went to the open day not long ago and managed to chat to a few different students and the overall response was pretty good, as you'd expect on an open day. What i did find out that next year they have new buildings opening up for different subjects on the main campus (I'm not sure if media and journalism is in a new building). The current buildings on the campus are alright but look a bit dated on the outside but are well equipped and nice inside. One of the main draw backs i found was the accommodation, in the first year students can live in the student village, however second and third years students have to live in the city or in between the city and the campus and commute in which can apparently be a pain on some days if traffic is bad. For a student city apparently Bristol is really good and I absolutely loved it when I visited, I'm not sure how York would compare for overall student experience. Another thing is that for employability UWE is rated really highly and the number of graduates in work or further education afterwords is pretty high, also UWE has been climbing the league rankings recently aswell and is one of the highest rated ex-polys in the country. Overall I'm not too sure about your course wise but as a city Bristol is one of the best in the UK for student experience and the university does really well for where it sits compared to it's competition :smile:

University of the West of England, Bristol

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Reply 2

delicus

I'll try to talk about the pluses and negatives.

The accommodation is now more expensive than it was last year. UWE probably makes the majority of their money from accommodation. The Student Village and Wallscourt Park still have that new feel and they are comfy, but there's still expense. Like Caroll Court, you will find that the other buildings on site are outdated. Person above^ mentioned this. The good news is that there are new buildings being built and not everything is outdated. S block (mainly humanities subjects) is nice and the inside of Q block is decent (although a maze). The room and floor numbers will confuse you in any block.

What I have discovered this year is that it really isn't what the university looks like that alters your opinion and experience of it. It's the people you meet. This isn't a cheesy line. If I hadn't met the people I know through societies then UWE would be a terrible place. But because I have people I can meet and do things with the place is brighter.

Reply 3

Trip506

As somebody who left UWE and now studies abroad, I can tell you that UWE is way worse. If you are not 100% impressed and 100% sure that you will stay commited, then don't waste your money. I used to enjoy it and find it good, but I think I was just blind to the facts. In many aspects UWE does not feel like a real university in comparison. I studied computer science and only really enjoyed half of my course. When I was there I felt extremely short changed for paying 9000 pounds for about half a years worth of education and I thought to myself "I wouldn't mind if this was still a polytechnic, as long as it was cheaper". The university itself is rather ugly, the public transport is absolute shambles (really enjoyed being stuck in traffic in a crowded bus for over an hour after a long day at uni) and the accomodation prices are absolutely ridiculous. The good points woud be that the people there are very nice and down to earth and although only half of the lecturers seemed to be competent, I still know people from UWE who are now getting good jobs related to their field of study.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4

nik88

Original post by Trip506

You seem to have a very negative view of the university, as someone with an offer, im interested if you feel alone in this opinion, or if its a general consensus. I've spoken to many people who say quite the opposite, however i'd like to know more.

Reply 5

Puriten1

What Trip says is correct, Ive just graduated and UWE is a terrible university. If i could go back in time i wouldn't choose it again, maybe as a last resort. Go to Bristol university insted. :smile:

Reply 6

nik88

Original post by Puriten1

What Trip says is correct, Ive just graduated and UWE is a terrible university. If i could go back in time i wouldn't choose it again, maybe as a last resort. Go to Bristol university insted. :smile:

Could you elaborate more? I'm taking a course which does not require lectures, and is just guided by teachers, and has received positive feedback nationally, however i do know my cousin wasn't entirely happy with the organisation of his course. Saying this, every single person i know doing my course (Team Business Entrepreneurship) has said how good it is, perhaps it simply isn't effected by what you see as bad aspects of the uni?

Reply 7

delicus

To put it honestly: if I judged UWE on my course then I would feel disappointed and cheated out of money. If I were to consider the whole experience of UWE (my experience) then I wouldn't feel as bad. It is hard to consider UWE when you have no other universities you have been to to consider. As for Bristol University the comments I have heard from actual students: it doesn't feel like a university. It's basically in the center and has many buildings plotted about. Even UoB students say their university "is sh-t".