The Student Room Group
University College London, University of London
University College London
London

UCL - Impersonal?

Hey guys,

Just wondered if it was me, or did anyone that has been to UCL got an impersonal vibe from it? I went up there last month for my interview and was really looking forward to loving it, but when I got there I was disappointed! I don't want to live too far from home (in live in Brighton, so London is 50 mins away by train), but now I am dismayed. There doesn't seem to have any central meeting place, and when I was shown around by Archaeologists studying there (I am applying for BA Arch.), they did not seem to know there way around the Uni, apart from the Arch. Institute. Makes me kiinda think everyone keeps to themselves. Did anyone else get this impression (obviously not specifically about Arch.) about UCL, or was it just me?

Cheers!
Reply 1
I felt the same kinda.

Whereas @ manchester, all around the uni there were groups of people. @ UCL i just saw 1 student at a time wandering about. Then again because of ucl's reputation & course structure i will probably choose it as my 1st choice, despite alot of people saying if you dont involve your self in stuff you will find it lonely.
University College London, University of London
University College London
London
Reply 2
I didn't find that at all... if you make the effort and say hello to people, they're really nice! And hey, a uni full of single people isn't a bad thing necessarily :smile:
Reply 3
sleepyeba
I didn't find that at all... if you make the effort and say hello to people, they're really nice! And hey, a uni full of single people isn't a bad thing necessarily :smile:



the people at UCL are laid back and cool :cool: , although i did find rather a lot of people did smoke! :eek: was it depression, or just bad habits?

and the buildings are run down...personally think that UCL needs to remodernise to keep in line with its high academic standards.

pk
Reply 4
Phil23
the people at UCL are laid back and cool :cool:


Ah, thanks! :biggrin:
Reply 5
How can you NOT want to go to UCL to do Archaeology - their Egyptology section is one of the best - the Petrie collection is brilliant. It's probably true that people tend to keep to their own departments within college, but as long as you get into Halls for the first year, you'll meet loads of people from other faculties. As for Archaeology, UCL is perfectly located with regards to the British Museum as well as many other superb sources. Quicksilver (on TSR) is at UCL doing Geog/Econ - send him a pm and ask him for his opinion.
Reply 6
What subject u doing.. im from Brighton too btw

I thought the UCL bar was a really ncie gathering point and also the main quad with the cafe was really nice.
The law department is simply beautiful
Reply 7
I'm an American student that plans to come to UCL with a friend of mine spring of 2006 for a semester. I am able to choose bewteen Leeds, Warwick, and UCL, but I'm more and more liking the idea of being in London. I'd like to know what the lifestyle is like in comparison between the three. What's the general reputation of each school in one sentence?

Also, I'm a huge fan of the Manchester/Factory music and club scene so would I be able to make it up there easily from UCL? from Leeds? I heard Leeds is undergoing a renaissance - is that true?
Reply 8
REChoppy
I'm an American student that plans to come to UCL with a friend of mine spring of 2006 for a semester. I am able to choose bewteen Leeds, Warwick, and UCL, but I'm more and more liking the idea of being in London. I'd like to know what the lifestyle is like in comparison between the three. What's the general reputation of each school in one sentence?

Also, I'm a huge fan of the Manchester/Factory music and club scene so would I be able to make it up there easily from UCL? from Leeds? I heard Leeds is undergoing a renaissance - is that true?


Hey
I live in London and I can say its fantastic, my sister went to Warwick- that is good but, you're restricted to the campus really as the nearest city is conventry which isnt great. Leeds is a good uni town from what I've heard, but I dont know enough about it. It depends on where you're from in the USA, if you've never had the city life then I recommend London, but it can get expensive. You can get to Manchester, but its not as easy as you might think- its easier to get there from Leeds. Hope I helped
Reply 9
sone
Hey
I live in London and I can say its fantastic, my sister went to Warwick- that is good but, you're restricted to the campus really as the nearest city is conventry which isnt great. Leeds is a good uni town from what I've heard, but I dont know enough about it. It depends on where you're from in the USA, if you've never had the city life then I recommend London, but it can get expensive. You can get to Manchester, but its not as easy as you might think- its easier to get there from Leeds. Hope I helped


Well my friend and I are from just outside Chicago but even so we are pretty ambitious. I have heard of the expense thing though :frown: but is that just cos you find so much more to spend on? If you live in London then you would know a lot I'm sure. thanks.
Reply 10
It's a bit of both. If you really want to keep to a tight budget then it's not too hard - but you will find that everything is a bit more expensive. The real problem for me is/was that there is so much to do here that it's quite easy to do everything and spend waaaay too much. Yep, i'm in debt. *Begins waving the 'I'm in debt' flag!*

I've learnt my lesson now and have cut down to a very reasonable rate of expenditure... It just depends on what and how much you want to do. Oh yeah, if you're lazy then transport can be expensive, (for the underground anyway). But if you're going out and know a few people then taxis are usually affordable anyway. The buses are cheap. But yeah...underground is bad unless you know you're going to be out for the whole day // into the evening, in which case I think a day travelcard is reasonably priced. (Lots of short trips are expensive - 2 pounds for one stop!!! But it's 5 pounds for any number of stops you want in a day...)
Hey guys,

Just wondered if it was me, or did anyone that has been to UCL got an impersonal vibe from it? I went up there last month for my interview and was really looking forward to loving it, but when I got there I was disappointed! I don't want to live too far from home (in live in Brighton, so London is 50 mins away by train), but now I am dismayed. There doesn't seem to have any central meeting place, and when I was shown around by Archaeologists studying there (I am applying for BA Arch.), they did not seem to know there way around the Uni, apart from the Arch. Institute. Makes me kiinda think everyone keeps to themselves. Did anyone else get this impression (obviously not specifically about Arch.) about UCL, or was it just me?


Ummm i felt EXACTLY the same, everyone seemed pretty reserved around the schools and kept to themselves, which kinda put me off a little... i was also slightly disappointed with the buildings, as they were VERY.... 60's, which was a shame. But i stayed over for the night with some friends at international house and it was really nice, the people were friendly, and even the most anti-social people seemed to have a few friends, which reassured me.. It's probably best not to go by first impressions, it is London after all!! =P
Reply 12
beekeeper_
Ummm i felt EXACTLY the same, everyone seemed pretty reserved around the schools and kept to themselves, which kinda put me off a little... i was also slightly disappointed with the buildings, as they were VERY.... 60's, which was a shame. But i stayed over for the night with some friends at international house and it was really nice, the people were friendly, and even the most anti-social people seemed to have a few friends, which reassured me.. It's probably best not to go by first impressions, it is London after all!! =P



i hope u r right!!!!

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