I&#x27;m a student at Royal Holloway -- Ask Me Anything!

OP

Original post by karis2942

Another quick question, is there a bank or anything on campus? Or is there one close by? :smile:

There is! There's a Santander branch attached to the library. Down in Egham there are a few banks too -- definitely Nationwide at least. The ones that aren't in Egham are most likely in Staines -- so it's not too far to get to any of them.

Reply 24

karis2942

8

Original post by octo

There is! There's a Santander branch attached to the library. Down in Egham there are a few banks too -- definitely Nationwide at least. The ones that aren't in Egham are most likely in Staines -- so it's not too far to get to any of them.

Perfect thank you :smile:

Reply 25

mxjxo

Hi, I’m looking to apply for 2021 and just have a few questions.1. How long would it take and what transport links are there to Heathrow Airport? When I’ve looked before, although it’s only a 10 min drive away, it looks as if it will take a while to get there on public transport.2. How competitive is it for part time jobs in the area? I’m hoping on working while I’m there but if it’s difficult to get a job then I just may have to re-budget my maintenance loan differently.3. How long is the journey by train from Egham Station to London? Also how much would a ticket roughly cost?4. Out of all the self-catered accommodations that are en suite, which one would you say seems to be the nicest and most modern?Thanks :smile:

Reply 26

OP

Original post by mxjxo

Hi, I’m looking to apply for 2021 and just have a few questions.1. How long would it take and what transport links are there to Heathrow Airport? When I’ve looked before, although it’s only a 10 min drive away, it looks as if it will take a while to get there on public transport.2. How competitive is it for part time jobs in the area? I’m hoping on working while I’m there but if it’s difficult to get a job then I just may have to re-budget my maintenance loan differently.3. How long is the journey by train from Egham Station to London? Also how much would a ticket roughly cost?4. Out of all the self-catered accommodations that are en suite, which one would you say seems to be the nicest and most modern?Thanks :smile:

Hey!

1. There's a bus every half an hour or so from Heathrow T5 to right outside campus -- the Number 8 bus, run by First. It takes about 40 minutes from Heathrow to campus or vice versa by bus -- obviously a little slower than driving, or getting a taxi or Uber, mostly because it has to go through Egham and Staines on the way there -- but not too long.

2. From what I can tell, most people don't struggle too much with finding part time jobs. I'm lucky that I got the first job I applied for (being a Student Ambassador; I applied at the end of my second year and got it after one interview. There are a lot of openings on campus, whether it's from uni-run things like Cafe on the Square, Crosslands, or the postrooms, or Student Union run places like the Packhorse, Medicine, or Tommy's Kitchen. For off-campus jobs, I think once a term(?) they run a Part-Time Jobs Fair, where people from nearby places like Legoland and Thorpe Park come in and you can talk to them face to face about how to apply for a job there. I never went to one, but they sounded really helpful, honestly!

3. The journey is about 40 minutes depending on whether you get the fast or slow train! We're on two different routes (Waterloo to Reading and Waterloo to Weybridge), so that can change the journey time a little, but it's never more than an hour. A ticket without a railcard or a travelcard is about £10, and with a railcard it's about £7.

4. I'd say all of Band A are lovely modern accommodation blocks, and identical on the inside! The only real difference between Band A (Tuke, Butler, Williamson, Gowar, Wedderburn) and Band B (Runnymede) is having a double bed in A versus a single bed in Runnymede. I lived in Wedderburn in my first year and I really loved it -- there are some pictures of my room further up the thread!! George Eliot are the newest halls on campus -- they opened in 2017 -- but they're not quite en suite; you share your bathroom with one other person of the same gender.

Reply 27

asianmonkey

12

Hi just a quick question how’s the nightlife in Royal Holloway?

Reply 28

OP

Original post by asianmonkey

Hi just a quick question how’s the nightlife in Royal Holloway?

Quick disclaimer: I am possibly the worst person to be asking this question because I don't drink and I've never been on a night out at RHUL. Having said that:

There are two clubs on campus -- Medicine, down by the Hub, and the Student Union by the International Building -- and a cafe/bar, Crosslands, inside Founders. I can't comment at all on the quality of the nights out, but it seems like people have a pretty solid time at Toast (monday event at Medicine where they sell toast and cheap VKs) and SU nights during the week!! There's also a metric ton of pubs in the local area, including one run by the SU itself, The Packhorse. You can also go to Atik in Windsor, or get the train or a coach further into London. It's not the same kind of nightlife you might be looking at if you went to uni in a city--there's no bar or club crawls you can really do, and no bigger brands like Popworld(??? i pretend i listen to my friends when they tell me about their nights out in Portsmouth)--but that's kind of what you expect being in Egham, I guess!

It feels like people enjoy it, but if you're looking for a nightlife atmosphere as your number one priority, I feel like there are probably better suited places, to be honest. :redface:

Reply 29

caym20

Hi, I was wondering about accommodation- is there a huge difference between catered and self catered halls? I'm not much of a cook.
Also, what would you say is maybe the best residence hall?

Reply 30

OP

Original post by caym20

Hi, I was wondering about accommodation- is there a huge difference between catered and self catered halls? I'm not much of a cook.
Also, what would you say is maybe the best residence hall?

Hey hey!!

When I was a Student Ambassador, I got asked which halls were the best at least five times per open day, and I *still* don't know how to answer. I loved Wedderburn/Band A because it was modern, and I had an en-suite and a double bed, and I was away from home for the first time and trying to learn how to cook. I loved Founders because I loved looking at the building every day and thinking "wow, I live there". I liked getting to try new food (sometimes, I'm still a picky wuss at heart), and I like meeting people in the corridors. And what I've seen of all of the other halls, from Kingswood (which has a lovely mini campus and a gorgeous, generous dining hall and cafe/bar) to George Eliot (which has a lovely huge kitchen with a communal area, which always looked so cozy walking past it on the way to get post) has genuinely been so nice. I really do think it's what you make of it, and any applicant needs to work out what they're prioritising -- price? En suite? Double bed? Catered or self catered? All that stuff will factor into what the "best" halls end up being.

As for catered -- there are three catered halls. Reid is en suite, single bed, and catered; Founders has shared bathrooms, but the dining hall is in the same building as you; and Kingswood has its own dining hall, since it's located off of campus. Reid's rooms are pretty much the same as Runnymede's, so you're looking at an identical experience other than access to a kitchen there.

When I was in Wedderburn in first year (self catered) i had a few flatmates who couldn't cook to save their lives. I rescued many trays of charred turkey dinosaurs and coal lump pizzas from the oven. But honestly -- as long as you can boil a bit of pasta on the stove and set a timer when you chuck things in the oven, you won't have any problems being self catered. Catered is a really fun experience, and it takes a lot of weight off of your shoulders, but there's always the risk that the menu could change, or that there's nothing at all that you like or want to eat on there -- so that's something worth considering for sure!

Reply 31

caym20

Which residence is the closest to transit? I’d like to have as short of a walk as possible to get to the bus or train for Egham and London

Reply 32

OP

Original post by caym20

Which residence is the closest to transit? I’d like to have as short of a walk as possible to get to the bus or train for Egham and London

Founders is the closest to the bus stops at the top of campus that can take you to the station, or the bus to Egham, Staines, Heathrow, or Windsor. I guess walking wise, all of the accommodation at the bottom of campus (Reid, Runnymede, Tuke, Butler, Williamson, Gowar, and Wedderburn) are all equally close to the back gate, where you can walk to Egham Station in about 15 mins or so.

Reply 33

Hi, I was wondering what the LBGT scene is at Royal Holloway. I’m deciding between RHUL and university of Sussex, and this is an important factor for me. Hope you can answer!

Reply 34

Hi, I was wondering what the LGBT scene is at Royal Holloway, I’m confused between RHUL and university of Sussex, and this is an important factor for me. Hope you can answer!

Reply 35

OP

Original post by VansFtw

Hi, I was wondering what the LGBT scene is at Royal Holloway, I’m confused between RHUL and university of Sussex, and this is an important factor for me. Hope you can answer!

Hey! I've been to the LGBTQ society meetups a few times, and the society genuinely seems lovely. They host a fair few events during the day and the night -- including Rainbow Rave, which is one of the biggest nights of the year from what I can see!!! As for general queer vibes on campus, there's a reason why they call the uni Royal Hollogay, let's put it like that. 😎 I'm ace and sapphic, and my partner is nonbinary, and we've never had any problems walking around campus and being open with one another. I've taken a lot of courses on queerness in my department -- Queer Histories in English, and Writing Queerness in Creative Writing -- so there's a faculty level of understanding and acceptance, which is lovely. My trans and nonbinary friends had no problems with name and pronoun changes, except for email changes -- their original student emails weren't changed, but I'm not sure if this was a requested change or not, so I can't say it's definitely a failing on the admin half. We flew the trans flag for Trans Day of Remembrance this year, which was lovely to see.

I can't say much about Sussex, except that I know one of the faculty members there is a well-known TERF. The rest of the staff seem lovely and likely very inclusive, but that's just my initial reaction!! To be honest with you, the vast majority of unis these days are queer inclusive and are safe places to be for the most part --- but RHUL in my experiences is a pretty good place to be here, queer, and full of existential fear. ♥️

Reply 36

Original post by octo

Hey! I've been to the LGBTQ society meetups a few times, and the society genuinely seems lovely. They host a fair few events during the day and the night -- including Rainbow Rave, which is one of the biggest nights of the year from what I can see!!! As for general queer vibes on campus, there's a reason why they call the uni Royal Hollogay, let's put it like that. 😎 I'm ace and sapphic, and my partner is nonbinary, and we've never had any problems walking around campus and being open with one another. I've taken a lot of courses on queerness in my department -- Queer Histories in English, and Writing Queerness in Creative Writing -- so there's a faculty level of understanding and acceptance, which is lovely. My trans and nonbinary friends had no problems with name and pronoun changes, except for email changes -- their original student emails weren't changed, but I'm not sure if this was a requested change or not, so I can't say it's definitely a failing on the admin half. We flew the trans flag for Trans Day of Remembrance this year, which was lovely to see.

I can't say much about Sussex, except that I know one of the faculty members there is a well-known TERF. The rest of the staff seem lovely and likely very inclusive, but that's just my initial reaction!! To be honest with you, the vast majority of unis these days are queer inclusive and are safe places to be for the most part --- but RHUL in my experiences is a pretty good place to be here, queer, and full of existential fear.

Thankyou so much! Coming from a country where the LGBTQ is frowned upon, I haven’t had the opportunity to accept myself completely, but being able to go to a place where this may be possible, is a huge thing that I look forward to. I am leaning towards Royal Holloway, and I’ll take this into consideration. Hopefully I’ll be joining in September, that is, if the covid-19 situation is handled, so thanks a lot :smile:

Reply 37

OP

Original post by VansFtw

Thankyou so much! Coming from a country where the LGBTQ is frowned upon, I haven’t had the opportunity to accept myself completely, but being able to go to a place where this may be possible, is a huge thing that I look forward to. I am leaning towards Royal Holloway, and I’ll take this into consideration. Hopefully I’ll be joining in September, that is, if the covid-19 situation is handled, so thanks a lot :smile:

I'm so so glad! 🥺 If Freshers Week runs in some capacity I recommend following the LGBT+ society on Facebook -- they normally post a pretty busy daily schedule for different events during the week, from coffee meets and picnics to alcoholic events in the evenings. ♥️♥️♥️♥️ I really hope you're able to come in September! Uni for me was a fantastic chance to be out and proud in my relationship and I couldn't have been happier.

Reply 38