University of Warwick

TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Warwick

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General Information Visit our discussion forum. Established: 1965 Location: Coventry, UK Address: University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK Telephone: +44 (0)24 7652 3523 Website: www.warwick.ac.uk SU/Guild website: www.warwicksu.com UCAS Code: W20 Type: Public     Statistics Total students: 22,648 Undergrad: 12,823 Postgrad: 9,825 Part-time: 5,594 International: 26.9% Mature: 15.9% (Undergrad) Male:female 51:49 Staff: 4,912 incl. 980 academics, 687 researchers and 195 teaching only Typical offers: A*A*A-ABB, plus STEP/AEA for maths Applicants per place: 8.48

Warwick University is a "plate glass" campus university established in 1965 on the outskirts of Coventry. Its reputation has rapidly risen to be regarded as one of the top 10 ranking universities in the UK and offers a wide range of traditional university courses. It is a member of the Russell Group of research intensive universities.

Facilities

Library

Warwick has one main library, a 24/7 study library and a dedicated Life Sciences library in the Gibbet Hill Campus. The main library has recently been refurbished, allowing it a modern and aesthetically pleasing presentation on the inside. Whilst it is a reasonable size there have been several complaints concerning it being underfunded and at times it can be difficult to find core texts, especially for some arts/humanities subjects and around deadline times. If you're doing a science, you might rarely go near it!

The library has a range of study environments. The bottom two floors permit group work and talking to others. Food, drink and the use of laptops and mobile phones are also permitted. On these floors there are many computers, soft chairs, photocopiers, interactive whiteboards, and the Short Loan collection where some really in-demand books and past papers are kept to allow students to be able to find at least one copy. Most of the books are kept on the upper three floors, and in the library extension on floors 2 and 3. In these floors, there are desks available for quiet study and only bottled water can be consumed. There are also two silent study areas within the library extension. Throughout the library, you can use your laptop to access the internet wirelessly.

The Learning Grid is open 24hrs, 7 days a week in University House, and is based on a more relaxed learning environment, similar to what you would find on the bottom two floors of the library. You can eat, drink, use your phone and chat. In addition to your tables and chairs, there are quite a few sofas from which you can work. You can book presentation rooms to work in, there are video editing suites, interactive white boards (smart boards and clever boards), plasma screens with DVD and video players, document visualisers, as well as printers, scanners and photocopiers. Copies of the most popular textbooks are kept here for reference only, so there is always a way of getting hold of the books you really need. There is also a wireless network and it's a great place to do group work.

Life Sciences and the Warwick Medical School in the Gibbet Hill campus have their own library containing all the necessary text books, reference books and also copies of all the pHD thesis books from Warwick Students. Second year students and above also have access to current and previous hard copies of all the Biological Journals (including medical journals). There is also a Biomed Grid, like a miniature learning grid which contains interactive white boards, computers, text books and teaching models of organs etc.

Borrowing Books

There are three main types of loan:

• Standard loan: These books can be loaned for 14 days and the loans can be renewed daily via the library or the library website. If all books are unavailable, you can request a hold, meaning than anyone who currently has the book cannot renew their loan for that book. A fine of 10p per day is charged for overdue books.
• Three day loan: These books can be loaned for 3 days. As with the standard loan, if no holds are placed on the book, you can renew the loan daily. A find of 30p per day is charged for overdue books.
• Short loan: These books can only be loaned until 11am on the next weekday (Mon-Fri). It creates a high possibility of getting a glimpse of all of the books you need, however these books carry a hefty fine of £1 per hour or part hour.

IT and Computing

Quite a lot of computers all over campus, and as a student you can access all the IT Services machines plus any your department has. The main computer cluster is under the library and is almost invariably nearly full, but there are several other smaller rooms about the place which are less well-known so you can usually find a free computer somewhere if you know where to look. Most departments also have their own computer rooms which usually have all the facilities of the normal IT Services machines plus some which students in those departments may find useful e.g. Engineering (with CAD programs and other specialist software), Computer Science (running Linux) and Maths (also running Linux).

Sports

Warwick has some of the best university sporting facilities in the country, and is ideal for all kinds of sports no matter what your ability or fitness level.

Around the University there are 60 acres of outdoor playing fields, including 11 soccer pitches, 3 rugby pitches, a lacrosse pitch, 2 cricket squares and a Frisbee pitch. There are 3 floodlit all-weather pitches, one of which is artificial grass, ideal for football, rugby and American football. 3 artificial grass courts and nine macadam courts are available for tennis. There is also a 400 metre all-weather running track, shared with the Godiva Harriers.

Within the sports centre there is a 25m 6 lane swimming pool, a sauna, squash courts, sports halls, a well-equipped and modern fitness suite, a performance weight training area, aerobics studio and the second 4-court sports hall. Unique to Warwick, the newly updated Bear Rock indoor climbing centre includes a specialist bouldering centre, and is often used in national competitions.

There are over 70 sports clubs, so you'll definitely find something to join and probably be spoilt for choice!

Tennis Facilities

Lakeside Tennis Courts

The newly built outdoor tennis courts in Lakeside.

The university has both indoor and outdoor tennis facilities which are newly built. The indoor tennis centre has four courts and was completed in 2008 at a cost of £2.5 million and is situated in the Westwood campus. You will have to pay a fee to use these indoor courts, which for one hour (as of 2011) cost £10.50 peak, £6.50 off peak or £8.50 for students if you walk on (and there happens to be a free court). See here for the full list of prices.

Additionally, there are three outdoor tennis courts situated around Lakeside. The courts, completed in Summer 2011, are free to use for students and are also floodlit (£4.25/hour).

Welfare

Healthcare

There's a health centre on campus which you can register with providing you live on campus (or nearby in Coventry). You can see doctors and nurses at the practice and can usually get an appointment relatively quickly. There's also a chemist on campus if you need prescriptions filled.

Shops

With a small (if a little pricey) Costcutter on campus and a big Tesco about 10 minutes walk from central campus, you needn't worry about getting your groceries! In the same shopping centre as Tesco is a Wilkinson's, Boot's, Iceland and tiny New Look, as well as charity shops, a chinese groceries shop, hairdressers, shoe shop, card shop and beauty salon. There is a post office in the Costcutter and there is a hairdresser, chemist and STA Travel branch around the Student Union building, plus a Music store in the Arts Centre. For high street shops you'll need to venture into Coventry (PRIMARK!!) or Leamington which are both easily accessible by bus. And luckily Birmingham's practically on the doorstep so if you need a big retail fix you can head to the Bull Ring.

Food and Drink on Campus

Looking for something to eat or drink on campus? There are a plethora of outlets dotted all over campus for you to choose from! There are two competing companies on campus: Warwick Retail, run by the university, and Warwick SU, the students' union. Together with the university bar chain Varsity they provide around 20 outlets for you to choose from.

Eating at Warwick

The Eating at Warwick scheme offers you a 10% discount on all food and drink served by all cafes, restaurants and bars on campus, with the exception of the bars within the Copper Rooms and Rouge. You can also use the card to make purchases at the Bookshop, Costcutter and within the Copper Rooms, however no discount is applied.

The scheme works though a card that you must top up in advance. When you make a payment a machine is used to read the card and the appropriate sum (less any discount) is deducted from your remaining balance. You must have enough funds on the card - no negative balances are permitted. You can top up online or via a machine next to Rootes Reception in Rootes Social Building. There is a minimum online top up of £20 (or £10 increments up to £100), however the machine takes minimum top ups of £5 (it takes notes). No administration charges apply, so there no negatives with using the card! When you leave university it is possible to get a refund on any outstanding funds stored on the card, provided at least £5 remains on the card.

To sign up for eating at Warwick, follow this link, however you will need to have enrolled at University first! You will need to submit a photograph and initially top up £20 (all of which will become available for you to spend on the card).

Warwick Retail

University owned Warwick Retail runs the majority of the food and drink venues and are located all over campus. In addition to the various cafes and bars, they also run a Costa Coffee franchise within the Rootes Social Building and two Costcutter outlets: one located on main campus in Union North and a 'mini outlet' in the Westwood campus.

I Love Food

I Love Food is a mailing list run by Warwick Retail. Once a week, they send an email with offers and vouchers that you can use at Warwick Retail outlets. Previous offers last term included '2 for 1 on hot drinks', '2 for 1 on Bar Fusion's menu' and '£1 off the Theatre Bar meal deal'. To sign up, follow the I Love Food link - it costs nothing to sign up so it really only is win-win! Be aware that you need to print off the vouchers they send you - you cannot use a smartphone showing the voucher, as they need to submit the discount.

Cafés and Coffee Bars

• Costa Coffee - offers the traditional coffee, cakes and sandwiches that you would expect at a Costa! You still get the 10% Eating at Warwick discount but you can't earn Costa Loyalty Points.

The following Cafés and Coffee Bars are located in busy areas of campus and all serve hot and cold drinks as well as sandwiches.

• Atrium Coffee Bar (in University House) - new for September 2011, it will offer longer opening hours than the University House Coffee Bar and Restaurant.
• Cafe Bar (in Arts Centre) - also serves hot snacks, alcohol, cakes and toasted sandwiches/paninis. The prices seem a bit more expensive, perhaps because it is in the Arts Centre and serves the general public more often, although you will still get 10% discount with Eating at Warwick. Open late morning until the evening.
• Café Gibbet Hill - also serves alcohol and smoothies and has hot food bar which serves cooked breakfasts and hot lunches, salads, sandwiches and soups. There are also microwaves for heating your own food. Open from mornings to late afternoon during term time.
• Café Library - also has a salad bar and serves hot food. Located on the ground floor beneath the library, it's pretty much like a canteen; it offers cooked breakfasts and very good bacon & sausage baguettes and baps in the mornings, a choice of three cooked meals, jacket potatoes, salads and soups at lunch. During term time it is open for breakfast, lunch and closes in the evening; also open on weekends.
• Café Humanities - also serves cookies, cakes and hot snacks as well as frappes and smoothies in the summer. Open from morning to mid afternoon during term time.
• Café Social Sciences - also serves hot snacks. Open for mornings and lunchtimes during term time.
• Café Westwood - also has a shop area. Open from morning to evening during term time.
• Library Coffee Bar - also serves smoothies and frappes in the summer. Located within the library, it's a great place to take a break from studying at the library (and can't be bothered to go downstairs!). Also open on weekends.
• University House Coffee Bar and Restaurant - also serves cooked breakfasts and lunches. The breakfast is amazing after spending an allnighter in the Learning Grid! Open from morning to early evening during term time.

Note that in the above outlets a loyalty scheme is also run - if you buy 9 hot drinks you get the 10th drink free!

In addition, the university has opened a new baguette bar in May 2011:

• Theatre Bar - Located on the first floor of the Arts Centre, the Theatre Bar offers custom made baguettes, similar to Subway and also The Bread Oven, the union's alternative. When there are performances at the Arts Centre, the Theatre Bar also serves alcoholic drinks.

Restaurants and Bars

From September 2011, there will be two active restaurants, both run by Warwick Retail. This as resulted from the closure of Rootes Restaurant at the end of the 2010-11 academic year.

• EAT Restaurant - refurbished for September 2011, the restaurant located in the Arts Centre serves local, organic cuisine.
• Bar Fusion - located in Rootes Social Building, Bar Fusion is right opposite The Bar and serves Asian fusion dishes along with more traditional burgers.

There are also two bars that are run by Warwick Retail:

• Theatre Bar - In addition to the hand filled baguettes served at lunch, alcoholic drinks are served when there is a performance at the Arts Centre.
• The Bar - Located next to Bar Fusion within Rootes Social, The Bar serves drinks (and you can order food from Bar Fusion too). Also has the biggest permanent screen on campus (during major televised events the Students' Union brings out their own projection screen which may or may not be bigger than the one at The Bar), so during big sporting events expect the place to be packed! Also, keep an eye out for the early lunchtime special on the Burgers and other offers - keep yourself updated by joining I Love Food.

These bars are typically beaten on price by the Union alternatives and often the atmosphere at The Bar is seemingly lacking compared to The Dirty Duck and The Terrace Bar across the piazza.

Students' Union

The Students' Union runs five outlets, all of which are located in one of the two union buildings: Union North or Union South (they are right next to each other).

Curiositea

Curiositea

Curiositea is on the ground floor of Union South, facing onto the Piazza

An interesting take on a coffee bar, Curiositea is a tea shop with a twist. With an Alice in Wonderland decor offering wide range of amazing cakes, pastries and hot & cold drinks (and possibly the best hot chocolate on any university campus), Curiositea is a favourite for many students who choose this place over the many university run cafés. In good weather you can sit outdoors, right on the Piazza where you can soak up the summer atmosphere.

The drinks prices are competitive with the other coffee outlets, however I do find it strange that a small Americano costs less than the competition while a large Americano costs more. A separate Curiositea loyalty scheme is run - buy 8 drinks and get the 9th free. This cannot be used interchangeably with the Warwick Retail loyalty scheme. Open 7 days a week during term time, it is located in Union South and can also be accessed from the Piazza.

The Bread Oven

The Bread Oven

The Bread Oven serves hand filled baguettes made right in front of you

The Union's take on lunch, The Bread Oven serves hand-filled, bespoke baguettes and jacket potatoes. The baguette side is similar to Subway - you select what filling you want and any salad to be added. It can even be toasted for you! While you are there you can grab some cold drinks and snacks to go with your baguette. There is also a meal deal loyalty card; every time you buy a meal deal (baguette, snack and drink), get a stamp on your card and get your 9th meal deal free! You can still also get 10% discount with your Eating at Warwick card.

During peak hours, the queues do seem quite long, and although service is very fast, you will ultimately wait longer than at most Warwick Retail outlets. I'd say you try it out though and see if it is worth the wait! The Theatre Bar run by Warwick Retail launched their own baguette offering soon after the union, so perhaps you could also check that out.

The Bread Oven is located in Union South, on the first floor. It is open for lunchtimes during weekdays and closed during weekends.

Xananas

The Dirty Duck

The Dirty Duck

A mock up of The Dirty Duck, the Union's pub that serves a wide variety of drinks and cooked food.

The Terrace Bar

The Terrace Bar

The terrace of The Terrace Bar at night.

Students' Union

• The Dirty Duck - the union's pub, with a good selection of cheap food. Contains an annex, The Mighty Duck, which shows live sport.
• Xanana's - the kind of place you take your parents to or hang out in if you're an arts student; a little pricier than most of the other outlets but does some pretty nice, slightly fancier food.
• The Bread Oven - sandwich shop where you choose what you want and it's made fresh to order.
• Curiositea - a tea shop that does AMAZING cakes!
• The Terrace Bar - a bar with a wide selection of more unusual beverages. Nice, but can get pricey.
• The Copper Rooms - the union's two floor event venue.
• Cryfield Pavilion

Banks

Barclays, NatWest and Santander have branches on campus and pretty much every other big bank will have branches in either Coventry or Leamington which are easy to get to by bus. Cash machines accept link cards and don't charge you for withdrawing money and are spread liberally around the Student Union building. There are also cash machines near Tesco in Cannon Park shopping centre, which is closer to some accommodation blocks.

There are 5 cash machines on campus, maintained by one the three banks, and they are all situated in the SU. These machines give free cash withdrawals to all banks, so if your chosen bank doesn't have a branch on campus, withdrawing cash still shouldn't be an issue.

Transport

Easily accessible from Coventry, Leamington and Kenilworth by the number 12 bus run by Travel Coventry, or from Leamington by the U1/U2 run by Stagecoach. You have to have exact change for the number 12 bus (£1.60 one way, £3.20 daysaver for all day travel). You can buy bus passes for the entire year or a term at a time from both companies which are likely to save you quite a bit if you live off campus and don't drive. From Leamington, Travel Coventry is cheaper than Stagecoach but less frequent. Parking is variable - you can usually find a space if you get in early enough but it can be expensive. If you're travelling from further afield, it's generally best to go to Coventry train station and get the bus from the stop just outside. It's only about 20 minutes to the centre of Birmingham by train and both Coventry and Leamington lie on the West Coast mainline and have good links to London by train as well. The majority of students live in Leamington after their first year and travel in by Bus. At peak times this can take upto an hour in each direction, while at less busy times less than half and hour is normal.

Careers service

The careers service is based in University House, in the Learning Grid, and you can go in whenever you want to check out what information they have available, or visit an advisor. Throughout the year, they run a variety of sessions. You can check what's available on-line, or they may be advertised through your course. They aim to help in any situation, and respond quite quickly with useful advice. They also have an online system, for which you can search for internships, graduate jobs, summer jobs, volunteer jobs etc. They also have a designated staff member to help students in different departments.

Part-time jobs

There are jobs available throughout campus, from working in the various shops, restaurants, the library or IT centre. You will find that most of the jobs on campus, except for the specialist ones, are done by students. Check out the student union website to see what they have available, or alternatively sign up to UNITEMPS, a university agency that many of the outlets advertise through, and through which you and pick up temporary jobs. I'd recommend joining them at unitemps.co.uk. As a result of everyone being a student, the pay is quite good - usually ranging from £6-£8 an hour, with a recommendation to work no more than 12hours a week.

Religious facilities

Chaplaincy Website

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Social

Some reviews of nights and venues can be found here.

Bars, Pubs and clubs

On campus...

The Copper Rooms: Brand new SU venue space, with two main rooms with dancefloors and a further connecting room to explore. Dancefloors have different types of music playing too, awesome! Home to all SU events...Top B/Score!/Crash/Electric City/Hustle/Skool Dayz along with guest performers such as The Streets and Tinchy Stryder to come. Check out www.warwicksu.com for latest events.

The Dirty Duck: Brand new pub on campus, also serving carvery and pub menu too. Cheap-ish drinks, international ales, balcony too, and late hours :-) Now there's an extension called The Mighty Duck which has TVs for live sport.

Bar Fusion: On first floor of Rootes Social Building, just a bar really...but good space to meet up and watch the footy!

Varsity: Thursday night = amazing times here. Located near the Security Gatehouse, a nice pub to chill out in during the day, serving cheap good quality food with generous portions (curly fries! Also burgers are amazing!). Come Thursday night, pub transforms into pound party...£2 entry (£1 with a V-card), lots of drinks £1 all night till 1am closing. Purple, Strongbow, VK, shots etc £1! And many more £1.50 :-D A hidden gem of campus...took people who live near SU ages to discover it, unlike us from Heronbank, Lakeside and Westwood.

Off campus...

Bear in mind you need taxi fares (about £22 campus-leam or £8-£10 campus-coventry). The taxis hold five people if you want to split the cost amongst a group. BUT keep an eye out for uni express, as this includes return travel and sometimes queue jump for a bargainous price :-) In addition to the ones I have listed below, there are several hidden pubs/clubs...its all about exploring!

Coventry (15 mins cab) :

Kasbah: Fridays = burgers in the garden :-). Often refered to as Colly. "Colly Monday" is a popular student night. Don't arrive too late to avoid queuing!

Jacks" or "JJ's": Tuesdays = Misbehaviour night.

"Skydome Complex/ Spon Street" : Jacks, The Spon, Mortimers, New Orleans, Crosbies, Iglu, The Shakespeare, 1608, The Windmill, The Tin Angel, plus several more traditional pubs. All are located within sight of each other.

"Scholars" Alternative to Jacks or Colly

Other places: Heat (strip club), Blok, Careys, Rosey Malones, Habibis (awesome shisha place- take your own drink!), Quids Inn, Lots of pubs- if you don't mind walking! Bring your beer jacket!

Leamington (30 mins cab): Evolve: Thursdays!

Smack: Tuesdays/Saturdays! Cool basement, nice place really. Not too expensive either.

Mumbai Bluu: Great atmosphere to this bar, with a dancefloor also. Very expensive though...pre-drinking is good if this is the case. Full of a lot of international students who dont mind expensive drinks! (talking £3.50 for a bottle of smirnoff ice :-S )

Birmingham (via Uni express is the best way)

Gatecrasher

Oceana

Events

Clubs and societies

There are over 200 societies at Warwick, the largest number of any Students' Union in the country!

A complete list can be found here

Accommodation

Check out the The Warwick Accommodation Thread on TSR, containing FAQs about the application process, reviews of halls of residence and a place to ask any questions you may have.

Accommodation policy

First year undergraduates can apply for accommodation from Spring, with the application deadline on the 31st July 2010. If you are on your first year of your first full-time degree course, you are given priority for a room on campus.

Application is done with an online form. For 2011, You must select at least 5 different choices, up to a maximum of 6 and at most one can be a 30-week en-suite. You are then asked some general questions - if you would like to live in a single sex area, if you want to live in a quiet area and if you have any medical conditions or disabilities. You then have a section where you can write a Personal Statement about yourself, describing your interests and personality.

The personal statement does not affect allocation of halls of residence, and is only taken into account when the warden allocates you to your specific room. All applications submitted by 31st July 2010 will be considered equally, so there is no advantage in being the first one to apply.

In subsequent years, there is no accommodation available on campus for undergraduates until their final year, where applications close in later November of the penultimate year. Guaranteed students (Non EU students, Students returning from a year abroad and Students spending the first term of 2010/2011 in Venice) will be given priority. Non-guaranteed students are placed into a ballot and are informed in December if they are successful. If not, they can apply for off-campus accommodation.

If you are not situated on campus, you must live off campus. Accommodation can be arranged privately or through Warwick Accommodation. Popular areas to live in are Cannon Park and Canley (closest to the University), Coventry, Leamington Spa and Kenilworth.

Allocation

Accommodation is then allocated via a random ballot, using the following principles of allocation (more information can be found here):

1. Applicants with medical conditions or disabilities
2. Applicants who firm Warwick, apply for accommodation and receive a course offer before 31st July 2010 as well as meet their offer by 31st August 2010.
3. Applicants who place Warwick as insurance, apply for accommodation and receive a course offer before 31st July 2010 as well as meet their offer by 31st August 2010.
4. Applicants who enter through clearing, do not apply by the 31st July deadline or do not meet their offer by 31st August 2010.

This means if you have a medical condition/disability, you are practically guaranteed your first choice accommodation, and if you come to Warwick as your firm, you are more likely to get first choice/one of your choices rather than someone who places Warwick as their insurance. If you do not apply before the deadline, allocation is done on a first come, first served basis, so the earlier you apply the more likely that you will get a place on campus (rather than living off-campus).

In general, if you end up at Warwick through your insurance then you will be allocated to Westwood at best. In the first few weeks of term you can find yourself sharing with another person (again in Westwood), before people move out to other rooms on campus due to drop outs, or are allocated the places off campus.

If you want an en-suite, you will have to put it as first choice in order of having any chance of getting it. This is because the en-suites are oversubscribed (particularly JM and AV) for first choices. The process can be described as follows:

The several hundred applicants who puts JM as first choice are randomly allocated to the 400 (or so) rooms, and everyone else who didn't get a place now move to their second choice. The same happens in all the other halls - if you put Westwood as first choice you will get it as it is under-subscribed. Anyone who wasn't allocated after round 1 now consider their second option and people are randomly allocated again. After the third round, people who still have 4th, 5th and 6th choices are then given priority over those who only entered 3. Once round 6 has passed, there will be people who were not allocated after their choices (particularly if you only gave 3) and these people are randomly allocated to fill up any empty spaces, meaning you can be placed anywhere. By putting ensuite accommodation in 2nd-6th place, you essentially waste a choice as it will mean that if you don't get your first choice accommodation, you won't get the ensuite one either as it is already full.

Facilities

Halls of Residence	Accommodation Choices
	Undergraduate		Postgraduate
	First Year	Final Year
Arthur Vick
Benefactors
Claycroft
Cryfield
Heronbank
Hurst
Jack Martin
Lakeside
Redfern
Rootes
Tocil
Westwood
Whitefields

Residences

There are many different residences on Campus, housing most first years, and a large number of final year students, as well as a number of post-grads.

Rootes

First year undergrad only.

Rootes is most commonly referred to as the most sociable accommodation on campus. There's always something going on, and most people are very sociable. There are quiet areas, mainly the top floors, where the resident tutors are based, but in general, the place can be pretty noisy at times, and it's very easy to hear the union at night. It's so close to the union, that people can crawl home easily!

There are three parts to Rootes: Old Rootes, New Rootes, and International House.

Rooms are a decent size, with a sink in each. Kitchens are shared by around 16 people, and are quite small, but the adjoining common rooms are large, with 2 fridges and a freezer and about a million cupboards! Each floor and block has showers, baths, and toilets. You rarely ever have to wait for a shower.

TV reception is rubbish unless you share a TV in the kitchen, as it's the only place with a plug-in aerial - and you can share the licence cost. For a TV in your room you will need both a TV licence and a free standing aerial, but the reception isn't great.

The cleaner comes each day to empty bins and clean the bathrooms and kitchen. When its your turn to have your room cleaned, they put a sign on your door the day before, so you know to be out!

The laundrette is close enough too :)

Rent is £70 a week, which works out at £700 a term, and £2100 a year. Its a 30 week let only.

People in Rootes are sociable and friendly, and there's always someone drunk and falling asleep on the stairs to laugh at!

Cryfield

PROS

• The rooms and kitchens have been recently redone so everything (carpet, curtains, bathrooms..) is very clean.
• You're a 90second walk to the union / arts centre, 5mins to library.
• Because there's a road to cross between the Cryfield residences and the campus it filters a lot of the noise from the union at night because ppl don't walk past on their way home.
• You're right by the playing fields so you can go for a run there at the weekends (which I quite like doing)
• Lots of European students on 6month Erasmus exchange programs stay there and they're a lot of fun. On the minus side, they leave after 6 months.

CONS

• The rooms are the smallest on campus - you still get a desk, chair, wardrobe, bookshelf, sink and floorspace for one person to sleep on the floor. (I don't find it too much of an issue but if I had a guitar or speakers or any large piece of equipment it would be a problem.)
• The walls are REALLY thin, can hear keys turning in locks, doors closing (not even slamming) If you live on a floor with a kitchen you will hear a lot of noise. I'm really lucky to be on the top floor and the kitchen we use is on the floor below.
• Add an extra 5min to your walk to Tesco compared with other halls.

Whitefields

First year undergraduate - also houses quite a few international exchange students

Whitefields is the closest hall to the SU, it is literally on the back of it. Whitefields are basically little houses with 12 students in or 9 if the house also houses a tutor. With a 39 week let there are quite a few international students as well which gives it a really good mix of students.

Whitefields rooms are on the smaller side compared to most other uni rooms but they are perfectly ample for what you need, they are also lovely unique shapes which is quite cool, better than the bog standard rectangular room.

Communal areas are cleaned once a day in the morning Mon-Fri. The kitchen is on the small side cupboard space as well as fridge and freezer space can be a bit of an issue but nothing major. There are 2 toilets one on each floor and then a shower room downstaris and bath with shower over upstairs.

Whitefields main advantage is that it is in the centre of the campus, its 1 minute to the union, costcutter, many lectures can be made in a few minutes, the sports centre is only a 3 minute walk away as well.

Whitefields also being small houses have a very communal feel it is just like living in a house and so can be a great atmosphere to live in. It is also a pretty sociable area within the house and you tend to socialise with teh other houses especially the ones next to you.

At £66 a week its one of the cheaper halls but the 39 week let does make it more expensive than similar ones such as Rootes and Cryfield.

Westwood

Westwood is the furthest hall from the SU and is considered off the main campus right opposite University House, which is a benefit if you intend to be making use of the Learning Grid. Other advantages of Westwood are the huge rooms, the largest on campus, easily twice the size of those in Rootes. The distance from central campus gives Westwood a more of a community feeling. There is a large meeting hall / common building in the centre with TV, cafe, pool table etc. Westwood is the closest halls to Tesco (5 mins)

Toilets and bathrooms are cleaned daily and kitchens are cleaned every other day. Individual bedrooms are not cleaned throughout the year.

There are a lot of green open spaces around Westwood, its own mini-Costcutter, own postroom, laundry (available in a separate building and in each block). There is a sort of 'arts' building, with a theatre and loads of music practice room. The rooms are also cheap. Rooms are well furnished with lots of room to work and to store books.

A big advantage is that Westwood is close to Varsity, as well as being the closest to the Astroturf and sports centre. It is generally quiet, especially compared to rootes.

There's a bus stop right near the entrance to Westwood, which is good if you're going to Coventry on the evening. If you're going to the train station and carrying heavy bags, you don't have far to walk with them.

However, lots of people share the same kitchen (18 to 26), but it is huge and there is at least one cupboard each, however not having an en-suite room is not much of a problem. Westwood is not recommended to students wishing to study Biological Sciences/Biochemistry/Microbiology/Virology on the Gibbet Hill Campus, unless you intend on bringing a bike. It is a 30 minute walk across campus.

Rent for 2007/2008 is £74/week.

Lakeside

One the best accomodation - in terms of room size. Massive rooms, en suite. very very nice, newly built - like Arthur Vick but even nicer.

PROS:

• Ensuite
• Massive rooms
• Only 8 people to a kitchen
• 39 week lets, so you can leave your things if you go home for holidays
• Nicest environment on campus
• International atmosphere so you meet people from all over the world
• Varsity only 5 mins walk - awesome on a thursday night!
• You can sleep fine at night (unlike Rootes with its fire alarms :-P )

CONS:

• 10-15 mins walk to the SU, but there is a free shuttlebus that runs in the evenings.
• Bit expensive, but worth it in my opinion
• Geese can be noisy sometimes
• Can be eerily quiet on a sunday...but this is likely to everyone working/sleeping...this can be overcome by simply organising things with your flatmates!

Redfern

Hurst

Arthur Vick

The best accom in my opinion, 80% of my corridor were very sociable and all other corridors were as well. cleaner was really nice as well. Fairly quiet place to live- which is nice. Usually people hang out in their kitchens so you can't hear anything from your bedroom. But you sometimes get people playing football along the corridors! Close to main campus although not so close that you can hear all the union noise etc.

Pros

• Large rooms
• En-suite
• Fairly quiet during the nights
• Cleaned
• A common room beside every kitchen
• Own Laundry

Cons

• Strict wardens

Jack Martin

Pros

• Ensuite. Although all the people in non en suite halls are finding it fine, it is very nice having your own bathroom! (with bath as well as shower over). Also good if you've had a bit too much to drink
• Rooms have a nice feel to them - light yellow walls with light brown furniture (large desk!). Not as big as rooms in Westwood but definitely big enough.
• Lots of storage space
• In general it's considered as being more sociable than Arthur Vick (although I'm sure lots of AV people would disagree! :P)
• Great location - close to the union, but not noisy
• Generally a bit quieter than Rootes... no 2am fire alarms so far! That's not to say that JM isn't sociable.. it all depends what you put about yourself on the accommodation form. I'm in a quiet corridor, but the downstairs kitchens are just as wild as in Rootes!
• The kitchens are a good size
• There are 12 people in each corridor. This makes sharing a kitchen easier than in other halls (Westwood, and in some cases Rootes and Cryfield) where they have more people sharing
• It looks nice :P
• JM4 has ducks outside! I have a view of the river from my room

Cons

• Expensive. I think it's going up to £104 per week this year(07/08). All halls are going up in cost though. Also seeing as it's a 30 week let, it is a pain moving everything out at Christmas and Easter.
• No common room. Arthur Vick, Cryfield (maybe others?) have common rooms with comfy chairs whereas we have to hang out in the kitchen. It's not exactly a big problem though :P
• No laundry. AV has its own laundry (but I don't think there are many washing machines in it sometimes you have to wait) The main campus laundry is only a couple of minutes walk away though
• Sometimes people assume that because you're in ensuite accommodation you're really stuck up (which is definitely not the case!) Once at the beginning of term when we were in the union some people asked us where we were living, and when we said JM they kinda made a face and walked off!

Jack Martin 1 had its kitchens refurbished over the 2009 summer break:

Claycroft

Good accommodation; room size isn't noticeably small. Very similar to Arthur Vick but a bit smaller and no en suite. Think it is quite expensive though. Very close to Tesco.

Tocil

• 6 or 12 people sharing one flat
• one bathroom (with toilet + shower), and another with toilet + bath tub
• In each room there is : one long table with drawers, movable bedside table, three shelves, wardrobe, mirror, bed. But no sink.

Pros

• Right next door to the Sports centre, good for gym and sport enthusiasts
• Approx. 3* minute walk to the union (although not sure about next year, when the union will be housed in a temporary tent), Costcutters, banks and other shops on central campus - as well as the Arts Centre
• Approx 7-10* minute walk to Tesco.
• Approx. 3-5* minutes walk to the Library, Humanities building, and other buildings on Library Road.
• Decent noise levels, noise from the union doesn't normally travel as far as Tocil. Also relatively quiet compared to Rootes.
• 'Community' feel (especially if you get a 6 person flat); less people per corridor
• On central campus, so close to other accommodations.
• Tocil fields, available for kicking a ball around
• Very decent sized kitchen, enough shelving space and fridge/freezer space for everyone
• Laundry for Tocil residents only. Generally enough washing machines, but tend to get busy during peak hours.
• Don't have to move out during holidays; saves a lot of hassle. Relatively cheap too.
• Within a block, each flat has a locked door before you can enter, so it's safe.

Cons

• Relatively thin walls. Sometimes possible to hear muffled noises from flatmates.
• Room doesn't get cleaned, but then again, you don't have to worry about cleaners moving your things around.

Benefactors

First Years Only: A very small residence, with many shared rooms for two people.

CONS:

• Rent is high
• Rent is only for 30 weeks
• Cleaners can be extremely noisy
• Common room can be hard to maintain in a tidy manner
• Cleaners can also be extremely fussy if common room isn't in a specific manner
• Sometimes can hear fire alarms/people vacating Rootes
• Is above Offices, which seems weird, but is absolutely fine as long as you don't mind stairs
• If you don't get on with your room mate in the double rooms, it can be problematic
• Common room is also fishbowl like, which can be a bit odd to get used to
• Close knit community, if you don't like being one of only 70, don't apply

Heronbank

First year undergraduates.

Heronbank is a fairly new accommodation located in the Lakeside student village. The rooms are quite good and if you are lucky you may end up in a sociable flat. This residence is generally favoured by international students due to the 39 week letting which may be daunting at first if you are a home student and they are talking amongst themselves (international students tend to be more reserved about communications with other people in their flat often because of the language barrier), but usually you can find a social flat nearby.

PROS:

• En-suite bathroom with bath and shower means there are no queues and you can relax for as long as you want
• Lots of storage space
• The rooms are large and the desks are quite big so there is plenty of room to do work in and you can have guests to stay
• Kitchen is cleaned daily Monday to Friday and your room is cleaned once every week. Befriend your cleaner, they are the ones who check for and are responsible for reporting forbidden items such as personal fridges
• There is a good view of the lake and surrounding fields and you can get away from the busy camps if you like
• The entire residence is considered a quiet area
• Sharing a kitchen with 8 mean less disputes and more closely knit friendship groups
• A new social building is being built which will be available for parties and vending machines for bread and milk
• Regular ice cream truck visits
• Scenic areas to walk if you are in to that
• Not too much noise at night unless there are drunk people outside
• Two dedicated laundry rooms for Heronbank students. They get busy on Weekends and Wednesday afternoons but you should be fine any other time
• Not too far from Costcutters and Library Road. It also shouldn't take too long to get to University House (where the Learning Grid is)

CONS:

• Quite far away from most campus activities (10-15 min walk to student union, 20 min walk to some of the more distant departmental buildings)
• Some strict wardens (they will fine you for everything)
• Frequent evacuations (At least every week someone burns their food and the whole complex is evacuated for an hour)
• Expensive letting (£107/w over 39 weeks, about £4200 for the year)
• Walls are quite thin: you can often hear what's going on upstairs or even what your flat mates are doing
• The ducks can and will use all the paths as toilets, it can be quite messy. They will also wake you up if you are trying to lay in
• The furthest you can get from Tesco. It takes at least 30 mins to get to Tesco if you know the way. Try not to carry too many Liquids and get a bike!
• Less than one fridge space per person, these conflicts are usually resolved fairly quickly

Private sector

Student union

The University of Warwick Students’ Union is one of the largest Student Unions in Europe. The Students' Union not only has an excellent 7 nights a week entertainments programme but also offers the largest selection of societies and sports clubs in the country, so there really is something for everyone. They have an expert Advice and Welfare Services that can help you with anything, along with 8 bars and 6 food outlets.

A few facts & figures (from the website... http://www.warwicksu.com)

• We sell over 2000 pints and 1000 baguettes a day!
• We have 200 Societies and over 75 Sports Clubs
• Recent Headliners include: Feeder, Pendulum, The Automatic, Sugababes, Boy Kill Boy, Idlewild, Scissor Sisters, The Zutons and Ash
• The Union has an annual turnover of £5.8 million
• Our Advice and Welfare Services deal with over 7000 enquiries a year
• The Union employs over 100 full-time staff and over 250 student staff
• The Union runs the largest student Arts Festival, largest student Environment Week and largest students Economics Summit in the UK. We also run the world's largest International Student Festival; One World Week.

The planned Piazza cafe, part of the current Union Rebuild.

The Union recently secured £11 million funding from the University to improve and transform Union South. The result will be a state of the art 2000 capacity club, allowing the Union to host the biggest bands as well as huge club nights. In addition to this all the food outlets will be fully revamped, including a glass-fronted cafe looking onto the piazza. See the following link for more info on the rebuild - http://www.warwicksu.com/unionsouthrebuild/

The Union is not for profit. It's mission statement is - "This Union is directed by its members and aims to enhance the experience of students whilst at the University of Warwick." All the money that is earned through its commercial activities is put straight back into making improvements for students.

Environment

Architecture

The University was constructed in the 1960s, so many of the buildings are just concrete blocks - the chemistry and physics building, humanities, and library being main examples of this, although they have been renovated to appear more modern in places. It is said that the success of the university can be seen in the constant construction work that has occurred in recent years, with construction projects occurring practically non-stop over the past few years. The more modern buildings are much more up to date and aesthetically pleasing. The Maths and Statistics buildings being the main examples of this, as well as the continually expanding adjacent science and business parks. The Arts Centre is also of fairly modern design too. University house is another of the more modern buildings, resembling an American mall on the inside, though with offices at the sides rather than shops. The Student Union is also a concrete block, though at least it has had some styling, but lacks a stylish entrance, with a concrete ramp leading up to a pair of automatic doors being what there currently is. It is divided into Union South, which is the main entertainment complex containing the bars, restaurants, shops and stage primarily focused on the first two floors, but with the graduate bar, graduate club and pool room located on the higher two floors and
Union North, which is more devoted to offices and administration as well as Xananas restaurant. However, the plaza just outside the Union is very nicely styled and is a popular gathering place all year round. The Student Union is nearing completion of a redevelopment which will update the 30 year old facilities to increase their capacity and incorporate a proper main entrance onto the plaza.

Local area

Teaching quality

Applying to University of Warwick

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

Other University of Warwick Articles

Why not read these other University of Warwick Articles?

• Warwick Personal Statements
• Entertainment Guide for the University of Warwick

Links

• Our University of Warwick Discussion Forum
• University of Warwick Homepage
• A week in the life of a Warwick student
• A-Z of Universities