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TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Loughborough University

Loughborough University is a fantastic place to study, boasting unrivalled sporting achievement, internationally acclaimed research and providing outstanding teaching quality. Located in the heart of England, its outstanding single-site 437 acre green campus provides an environment that is both stimulating and supportive. Winning The Times Higher Education “Best Student Experience” for five consecutive years, this University has a great number of achievements under its belt, none more impressive than the accomplishments of its own graduates.

The success of Loughborough’s graduates in securing employment with the UK’s top recruiters has led to Loughborough being one of the top 20 universities favoured by large graduate employers. With employers routinely seeking Loughborough graduates in many areas of industry, this University unquestionably helps to give the best foundation to your career aspirations.

Close links with industry, business, the public sector and other professions also enables students at Loughborough to benefit from a variety of sandwich degree opportunities, with 65% of the University degrees offering this opportunity. Many of their students also have the opportunity to study and work abroad internationally.

The University ranks highly alongside other UK higher education institutions in the media league tables. In the 2011 Guardian University Guide Loughborough was ranked an impressive 9th out of 118 institutions.

Facilities

Loughborough University has a wide range of facilities open to students, staff and the local community. Amenities on campus include:

• lecture theatres
• laboratories

• rehearsal spaces
• a theatre
• conference and hotel accommodation
• restaurants
• banks
• shops
• health centre
• Loughborough Students Union

The University has the country’s largest concentration of world-class sporting facilities available for a large number of recreational and elite sporting activities. These include an indoor athletics centre and outdoor stadium, sports halls, a 50 metre swimming pool, squash, badminton and netball courts, an indoor tennis centre and outdoor courts, and state of the art fitness centres.

Although a large number of elite athletes study and train at Loughborough you definitely do not need to be elite to get involved in sport or indeed do any sport at all. A large population of the student body enjoys a wide range of recreational activities and there is something to suit all tastes and abilities. There is also an inter-hall sporting competition which sees students from all years compete against each other in a wide range of sports.

The Student’s Union

The Students’ Union aims to enhance the ‘Loughborough Experience’ for all its students through participation in the many clubs and societies, voluntary projects, charity fundraising or taking a role as a representative.

All Union activities aim to help students to develop leadership, organisational and communication skills, also ensuring a great way to get involved at Loughborough and make new friends.

The Student’s Union offers nearly 60 societies, with everything from Hot Air Ballooning to Surfing. For the sporty student the Athletic Union offers over 60 sports clubs that you can join either to continue your training or pick up something new.

Loughborough Students’ RAG is the biggest and best fundraising organisation in the country, last year breaking its own national record and raising OVER one million pounds for local and national charities.

Loughborough Students' Action (the volunteering section of the union) offers students the opportunity to get involved with the local community ensuring you can do your bit to make a difference whilst at university. With over 50 volunteer projects working with young people, the elderly, special needs, the environment, local schools and many more there is something for everyone to get involved with depending on your interests. Action do over 100 A-teams throughout the year which are one-off community projects for students who want to volunteer but can't commit the time to a regular project.

The Students’ Union building also offers a range of facilities including the Union Shop which stocks; food, stationary, clothing, gifts and more. The building also provides Blackwell’s bookshop, a taxi rank, banks, a nursery, a hairdresser, an optician, a dentist, pharmacy and restaurant outlets including Jom Makan, the brand new restaurant serving fast, fresh and delicious Malaysian cuisine.

The Media Centre at the Union offers an exceptionally high standard of media equipment and facilities, with a professional quality recording studio, its own editing suite, an award winning TV station, LSUTV, and its own radio station LCR 1350am. The Media Centre has so much to offer anyone looking for media experience, or for those simply interested in trying something new.

The Student’s Union offers events most nights to suit all tastes including live gigs and club nights.

Library

Loughborough University has one main library, with over half a million books, journals, periodicals and electronic resources. It comprises of four floors with several computer areas, as well as rooms and space for group or private study. There is also a newsagent style shop and a large café. The library also stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during exam periods.

Most books in the library can be borrowed in loan periods which vary from one day to one month, however books can be renewed many times using the library’s online system allowing students to keep books for longer periods – including over holidays.

IT & Computing

The University has a wide variety of computer labs located around campus housing nearly 500 computers. These labs have specialist software that is used on some of the courses offered. Some of these labs are also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can access them when you need to.

The campus also has wifi that you can access on your own laptop or smartphone when you need to. Every hall room is also networked and a fast broadband connection is provided as part of the accommodation price.

Sports

The University has a vast amount of sports facilities, including two open access gyms, artificial pitches, gymnastics and netball centres, badminton and indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a 50 metre swimming pool, water based hockey pitch and much more.

Anyone can access these facilities and although there is a charge, the quality is incredibly high so you can be assured that you are getting good value for money.

Healthcare

Loughborough University has its own doctor’s surgery on campus. This is an NHS practice which offers regular doctor’s appointments and specialist clinics.

There is also a pharmacy available on campus, and a 24-hour minor injuries unit available in the town centre.

Loughborough General Hospital is located a few minutes away from the university offering routine X-rays and outpatient services. The nearest accident and emergency hospital for serious injuries is located in Leicester.

Shops

There are three on-campus stores; the Students Union shop, Fuelbox and the Purple Onion. These shops offer every day essentials as well as stationary, newspapers, magazines and a variety of food items.

There are several large supermarkets in the town centre, including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrison’s, Somerfield and Marks & Spencer Food as well as a variety of budget food and grocery shops and a 24-hour Tesco on the outskirts of the town The town also has a variety of international supermarkets which cater for middle and far eastern foods as well as African and American.

There is also a market that runs every Thursday and Saturday which offers a range of products, including fresh fruit and veg.

Other shops in town include: Boots, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, HMV, McDonalds, New Look, NEXT, Poundland, Primark, Superdrug, TopShop, TK MAXX, TYLERS, WaterStones and Wilkinsons. There is also a wide variety of boutique shops and specialist local retailers who offer a wide variety of goods.

Leicester, Nottingham and Derby are all very short train journeys away and can provide you with a wider variety of shops.

Restaurants

There is a wide variety of cuisine available in Loughborough and the surrounding area, covering many different countries, budgets and tastes.

There are a number of elegant eateries such as Caravelli (Italian) and Browns Lane (English Gastro Pub), as well as more exotic options such as Moomba (Australian), Tarbouch (Middle Eastern) and The Basin (Far Eastern), to name but a few. There is also a good number of independent cafes offering homemade food as well as chain coffee houses such as Costa for eating during the day.

Loughborough also has a wide variety of fast food and take away options, with an abundance of Chinese and Indian restaurants available. There are also a number of locally owned fish and chip shops, McDonalds, Dominoes Pizza, Pizza Hut, Subway and KFC.

Entertainment

The town offers a variety of entertainment including a cinema, theatre, nightclubs, cocktail bars, and pubs.

There is always something going on every night of the week and the wide variety of bars cater to every taste.

Post Offices

There are several post offices located in and around Loughborough, the main one of which is on the High Street.

Banks

Loughborough Students’ Union is currently home to Santander bank, where you can speak to an advisor on campus. There are also a number of free cash machines located around campus. In town, there are several bank branches including: Lloyds TSB, NatWest, HSBC, Santander and Halifax.

Transport

Train The train station offers regular services country wide. There is a regular direct link to London St Pancras International, getting there in under 90 minutes. There are also direct services to Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham and Leicester, where you can easily catch connections to any train station in the UK.

Bus The University campus is served by the ‘Sprint’ bus which runs from the railway station via the town centre, through campus to the Holywell site at the far end of campus.. During term time, buses run every 10 minutes Monday to Friday, but less frequently at the weekend. The bus costs £1.20 to the town centre and £1.50 to the train station.

There is also a direct bus service from campus to London which is run by National Express.

Car Access to campus by car is limited. Students are encouraged not to bring cars to Loughborough.

Cycling The campus offers a bike friendly environment, in which there are 67 cycle storage areas. A large number of students use bikes on a daily basis to get around. There is also a University bike shop on campus where you can buy bikes, accessories or have repairs done.

Walking Walking is the most popular and easiest way to get around. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk between either end of campus and 15 minutes between campus and the town centre.

Careers and Employability Centre

The Careers and Employability Centre have highly trained, professional staff who will help you research and plan your next steps after university. Even in times of economic uncertainty, the University’s reputation and your academic achievements will attract top recruiters. In the Graduate Market (High Flyers Research) for 2010,Loughborough jumped to 13th in the listing of universities targeted by the largest number of top employers.

To help you plan your next steps after university, The Careers and Employability Centre offers a whole host of on campus events, fairs and programs throughout the academic year.

Bars & Pubs

There are four bars on campus open during the day and evenings. The Students’ Union provides nightly entertainment to suit all tastes. The busiest evenings are Wednesday and Fridays where almost 4000 students party till the small hours.

The main club nights in the Union see the entertainment split into different rooms where you can enjoy a variety of different music from RnB and House to Cheese, Pop and Dance.

The Union also features a variety of live acts throughout the year from RnB music to Rock and Indie.

Bars and clubs in town also offer student nights at great prices as well. Top places include Revolutions, Rain, Wild and Echoes. Some of the smaller pubs and bars offer live music and entertainment on weekends.

Accommodation

All University accommodation is based either on or very close to campus. There is also a large proportion of privately owned rental properties in and around Loughborough town, which many students use in their second and subsequent years.

There are a wide variety of halls to suit every taste and budget. Most halls have common rooms/ games rooms and there are laundrettes located nearby. The price of hall accommodation is dependent upon the following:

• how long you want to rent it for – you can include or exclude vacation periods
• what type of facilities you want e.g. do you want a self contained studio apartment, an ensuite room or just a room with a wash hand basin in a shared flat?
• whether or not what you want catered or self catered facilities

The price of halls includes furniture (bed, desk, shelves, chair, wardrobe and curtains) and your bills (except your TV licence). If you choose a self catered hall then a kitchen and eating area are provided. Those in catered halls are also provided with minimal kitchen facilities such as a microwave.

Catered Halls

The University has 7 catered halls which offer rents for a different number of weeks (this depends on whether you want accommodation over the vacations or not). Their prices include a dining package which ensures that you have meals cooked for you in a dining hall attached to your accommodation. Some of these packages provide meals for 5 days of the week and others 7 days. Menus can be viewed online: http://campuslife.lboro.ac.uk/food/catering/menu/

• David Collett: 349 bedrooms
• Cayley: 290 bedrooms
• Faraday: 327 bedrooms
• Elvyn Richards: 406 bedrooms
• Royce: 375 bedrooms
• Rutherford: 304 bedrooms
• Towers: 310 bedrooms

Loughborough has 11 self catered halls. These provide you with the option to cook for yourself in a fully kitted out kitchen (this includes a cooker, cupboards and a fridge/freezer). The prices depend on the facilities that you choose and the number of weeks you want to rent for.

• Butler Court: 354 bedrooms
• Falkner Eggington: 571 bedrooms
• Forest Court (Postgraduate only) – 144 bedrooms
• Harry French – 389 bedrooms
• Hazlerigg-Rutland – 196 bedrooms

• William Morris Somerton (postgraduate only) – 11 bedrooms
• Telford – 175 bedrooms
• The Holt – 261 bedrooms
• John Philips – 298 bedrooms
• William Morris – 466 bedrooms
• Robert Bakewell – 400 bedrooms

There is also a diners+ card which anyone can buy. This means you can buy food in any of the outlets on campus even if you are living in self catered halls and are especially good if you want a break from cooking but need to keep a close eye on your budget.

Applying to Loughborough

Thinking of applying to Loughborough? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here?

Other Loughborough Articles

Why not read these other Loughborough Articles?

Links

• Our Loughborough Discussion Forum
• Loughborough University Homepage
• A-Z of Universities