I'm a student at Royal Holloway -- Ask Me Anything!

Hey guys!

Since open days and applicant days have been postponed indefinitely, I thought this might be a decent idea. If you have any questions about Royal Holloway -- whether you're year 12 or 13 or just bored -- ask me any questions you have! about RHUL, the local area, the course, what I had for breakfast, whatever. When I was looking around at universities, I really appreciated these threads -- so I think it's only fair to give back at a time like this.

A little about me: I'm 21, and I'm in my third year studying BA English and Creative Writing. I've lived in Wedderburn, off-campus in Englefield Green, and in a shared/twin room in Founders.

Have at it! I'm happy to help as much as I possibly can. <3

what is it like living in wedderburn because ive applied for band A but im not sure what its actually like?

Hey guys!

Since open days and applicant days have been postponed indefinitely, I thought this might be a decent idea. If you have any questions about Royal Holloway -- whether you're year 12 or 13 or just bored -- ask me any questions you have! about RHUL, the local area, the course, what I had for breakfast, whatever. When I was looking around at universities, I really appreciated these threads -- so I think it's only fair to give back at a time like this.

A little about me: I'm 21, and I'm in my third year studying BA English and Creative Writing. I've lived in Wedderburn, off-campus in Englefield Green, and in a shared/twin room in Founders.

Have at it! I'm happy to help as much as I possibly can. <3

I've applied for self catered accommodation, but I get the impression there's not any supermarkets within walking distance of the campus? If that's right do people get groceries delivered instead, or do you have to get public transport out to the closest shop?

My questions:
1. Is the shower in the en-suite a wet room?
2. How is diversity and making friends at the uni?
3. Is the uni updated (like are the devices/rooms newer or are most old?)
4. I also recently saw somewhere that one must pay club/society fees? Is that true?
5. Have you heard/seen anything about how well their placements go? Are they successful (I know it depends on the person and effort put in but do they have good career links, good support system for it? Do people end up getting a placement at any reputable places or maybe get guaranteed a job after graduation?)
6. Realistically, how's the weather there? I know it's rainy in England
7. I saw a thread somewhere else and a person mentioned that there's not much 'togetherness' (?) and the student body had a lot of 'posh' students, is that true?
8. How was your experience with your academic/personal tutor? Also, did people show up to class much?
9. Did you attend any of their workshops/utilize their 1:1 academic support/CeDas (like learning programming/how to use a certain programme)
10. How is the food on campus? (if you've had whether for breakfast or dinner/lunch/snack)

Lastly, if you have any info (more like facts and personal -whether made by friends or not- opinions) on their economics/international relations course please do share.

Sorry for asking so many questions, I've really been scouring the internet for a while now, trying to collect information so that I can prepare for when I have to make a choice on my firm/insurance unis. There's barely (if any) recent, student-made videos on youtube regarding royal holloway.

These are some fantastic questions, absolutely don't apologise!! I'll answer as many as I can!

1. Yep, it's a wet room! It's slightly raised from the rest of the room (at least mine was, there was a slight step). It's shaped a bit like a reverse L -- with mine, the sink and toilet were immediately there on entering, then there was a curtained off area (enough to fit two people if you squish together, so there's a tiny bit of room -- regular small cubicle size) where the shower and drain were. It's not the biggest en suite I've seen at uni, but it absolutely did the job, and the shower was nice pressure-wise too.

2. RHUL is pretty diverse! We have a lot of international students from a lot of different countries, for one, and if you're living in halls you'll probably immediately build a friendship group with people of various nationalities, ethnicities, and interests with the people in your halls. There are also nationality/ethnicity/culture-specific societies that are great ways to meet others from similar cultural backgrounds or share with others, like the ACS (African-Caribbean Society). I honestly wasn't too involved in a lot of different societies and sports clubs (I was pretty much just in Gamesoc, the Games Society, so I could play D&D! I am a loser) so I don't know 1000% about their makeup. I'd say while it isn't as diverse as some unis in big cities (at least in part because we're a smaller uni, with just over 10,000 students) it's absolutely not something you have to worry about.

3. Most of the rooms have either been built or refurbished within the last 10-15 years. The newest halls are George Eliot, which were opened in 2017; before that it's 2012's Tuke, Butler, and Williamson; before that was Gowar and Wedderburn in 2008, if I remember right; these make up I'd say at least half the beds available on campus. Founders is a little dated in comparison, but honestly --- having now lived in Founders for a year --- I didn't struggle at all with what was there. I'd say all the rooms are well-stocked, and all of them have access to the exact same facilities. The uni has computers in the computer labs and in the main library; there are laptops for loan (they're Lenovo Thinkpads, iirc) and hundreds of desktops that I believe all run Windows 10. I'm not sure about anything more specific/specialised, though!

4. We have to pay a yearly membership to the Students Union (£30 for 3 years, I think) to be able to join societies and then a small yearly fee for specific societies on top of that. Most of these are £5-£7. It's not ideal for a student budget, but all the money goes towards the society itself so it can afford to run events and socials -- and tbh most societies will let you come and attend weekly meetings without being a member/paying anyway.

5. I haven't done a placement year myself, but I took part in the microplacements scheme in my second year (small internships of 2-4 weeks sourced by the university) and that went really well, if that's any help!

6. The weather's not too bad! Especially at the beginning of term in September and in the summer term (May-June), you can get some lovely sunny and warm days. In my first year we had a mini heatwave, and I walked to Imagine (bubble tea cafe) in my swimming costume. The SU sells ice lollies and ice cream cones, so you can have a nice warm afternoon! But to be fair, I've lived in England my whole life and I have warped expectations of the weather! It rains quite a bit, but not as much as the stereotype would have you think. It's not rained here in about two weeks, it's been about 13 degrees Celsius, and we've been pottering about in the garden. If you're used to a warmer climate, it might be a bit of a shock -- but campus is beautiful enough that even in the rain it's worth it, tbh.

7. I don't really know how true that is! I'd say if anything we have quite a lot of 'togetherness'; campus is small and quiet, and I can't walk anywhere without seeing at least one person I know and starting a conversation. I'd say that you're going to get out of this stuff what you put in; if you're part of a big and friendly society, like Humans vs Zombies, you're going to meet a lot of people and have a real sense of togetherness! If you're a grumpy recluse like me, you might not meet so many people, but I wouldn't say there are a lot of rude people -- no more than anywhere else, tbh. As for poshness -- me and my friends are all from shoddy schools up and down the country who smashed our A-levels against expectations, but I have met some out-of-touch ponces from private schools. It's not as much of an "insurance for a missed oxbridge offer" uni as somewhere like Durham or St. Andrews have reputations for being, but there are still a couple of them -- mostly students who live somewhere in Surrey or London who commute, or who liked the pretty buildings haha

8. I had a great experience with my personal tutor! I had meetings with her every other week in my first year, and she taught me a lot about referencing, degree-level close analysis, and how to survive at university. She also let me come into her office in a tizzy more than once and gave me a biscuit. Unfortunately she moved jobs at the end of my first year (though I've just looked her up and she's lecturing at Oxford, so good on her!!!), so I was reallocated to another tutor for the rest of my time at RHUL. He ended up being my dissertation supervisor, so I'd say I got pretty lucky there! Most second- and third-years don't have regular meetings with their tutors, but I know it varies between departments and degrees -- and you can always email your tutor and set up a meeting if you want or need one. Most people showed up to seminars regularly -- I was never alone in a class, at least! It's really about what you put in, again -- seminar leaders will see you if you show up every time, and will realise if you're flagging behind by not attending.

9. I didn't use CeDAS, but my roommate this year did! They were looking for help with structuring and formatting an essay; they booked a 1:1 meeting rather than going to the drop-in so the work could be read in advance, and they said it was really helpful. I'm so sorry for not being more help on that one!

10. I was catered this year, so I'm well-acquainted with campus food! Catered food is mostly pretty good, but there are some hit-or-miss days; I've never had a day where I couldn't eat anything, but obviously cooking in big batches for hundreds of people means that portions can sometimes be on the small side/need to be supplemented with other available stuff. For Founders, I recommend the chicken/veggie fajitas, the pork belly in hoisin sauce, and both them and the hub are really good at pizza. As for other food, you can get some delicious burgers and hot dogs from Tommy's Kitchen for about £5 (I absolutely recommend the hot dog with sweet potato fries -- though they do sometimes overcook the sweet potato fries a bit, I like the crunch), and they have a hummus and pita bar there too, that I haven't tried. The Boilerhouse does artisan baguettes and sweet treats, like muffins and brownies -- these are really good, and they do a lot of veggie and vegan stuff. Kimiko is a Japanese-inspired food bar in The Hub, down at the bottom of campus, that does fantastic katsu curry. And on Tuesdays there's streetfood on campus during the day from various international cuisines, which is really nice and always delicious!

I wish I could help you out more with Econ and IR, but I don't know all that much about either of the courses/departments. (I am an English student who can't count lmao). Good luck with looking around and making choices! I know this is daunting, especially with everything else going on. Genuinely, the best stuff I found when I was looking around at RHUL was on here from current students and the few Youtube campus tours there are. <3

Hi, thanks for doing this! I've applied to study one of the creative programs, and have some questions for you if you don't mind:

1. How many hours a week did you spend at lectures/tutorials during your first year?

2. Did you have lectures/tutorials 5 days a week in your first year?

3. What time does the earliest lecture/tutorial start and last one finish?

4. How many subjects did you have during your first semester? 4?

Thanks for all your help!

Hi, I was wondering about the application process for halls. Do you get the opportunity to put the specific halls in order of preference, or do you just have to choose a band and hope you get the one you want? And what would you say is the best hall for self-catered and en-suite?

I think my favourites are Gower and Wedderburn because of their location, but everywhere I look it says that one or other of them is the worst choice you could make. Would you say that Gower and Wedderburn are very different from each other in terms of the upkeep of them and the social side of them?

Hey sorry, another quick question. Did you find living off campus worked out cheaper than living in Wedderburn?

Hey hey! So -- short answer is yes. In my first year, Wedderburn was about £6500 for 38 weeks. My second year house worked out as £5400 for 51 weeks. Living off-campus is pretty much always the cheaper option.

BUT, I actually found myself really missing the campus atmosphere, and I didn't really enjoy living off-campus (not really anything wrong with the house, I just didn't like the people I was living with!) -- so I came back into halls for third year. I was in a shared room in Founders, the cheapest room on-campus other than over in Kingswood, and I would have paid £4800 for 38 weeks if third term had gone ahead (rip). Living off-campus would have probably worked out cheaper in the long run, but I didn't stay in Egham over the summer holidays, so having that room the whole year off-campus was completely useless to me -- I was paying hundreds of pounds of rent for a room I wasn't able to use! <3

I genuinely think that being in halls for your first year is a great option -- you won't have to find housemates, you won't have to struggle with bills for what might be your first time living away from your family, and you know that everyone is in the exact same situation as you. But it's 100% your choice, and you need to go with what feels right for you!

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I definitely would want to live on campus in my first year, was just thinking ahead for after that (I'm a bit of a planner oops). Was your 2nd year accommodation far from the campus?X

Hello thank you for doing this
Do you know much about clearing and how much lower the entry requirements is lowered?
If you know, how low have Criminology and sociology been

Hello!

I haven't been through Clearing myself, so I wouldn't know for sure. I do know someone who got into Criminology and Sociology (not through clearing, just through missing their regular offer but being given their place anyway) with BBB, and another I think with BBC. The boundaries and the contextual offers will change every year, as will what they'll accept through Clearing, but I hope this helps a bit!