Well I wouldnt say that the uni itself is rough, but the area ( perry Barr) can be to those who dont know the area but surely there are rough areas all over the country, any way with any luck I will be going to westbourne campus. :smile:

Reply 10

sugarplumb

yes its rough1 in my half hour walk from halls to uni i get shouted at at least 8 times from men in cars. (disgusting things they shout) every day i hear about a crime in the area be it murder rape shooting. I wouldnt recomend goin unless you really have to its awful

Reply 11

crazy_gal

sugarplumb

Oh for goodness sake it aint that bad!! im in my 4th year at UCE and ive never had any problems. Yeah there was a murder in one of the buildings but that wasnt a random attack, it was the boyfriend who murdered his girlfriend before attempting suicide. himself. All the problems are gang related, there are no more "random attacks" here then anywhere else in the country.
As for men shouting from cars, that happens everywhere! I get it in perry barr, in erdington where my mate lives and even in solihull! Take it as a compliment! Thats no reflection of the area!
I know how people must worry about things like this but trust me it aint that bad! Perry barr itself isnt a bad area, it just happens to be sandwiched between aston and handsworth and theyre rough areas. Perry barr just seems to be neutral ground where trouble sometimes happens. But its a great uni and as long as ur careful then you'll be fine!

Reply 12

tweety pie

thats where im so confused! there are a lot of ppl sayin that perry barr is a rough area n recommend not living there, but at the same time there are also a lot of ppl sayin that the area is not as rough as ppl say it is! and that there are not random attacks, muggings etc happening every week!

Reply 13

mtbab

lol at the end of the day, Perry is in the middle of Inner-City Birmingham, i've lived in in this area all my life from Hockley,Handsworth,Handsworth Wood, and now Perry Barr/Great Barr, yeh there's incidents ike any inner city, the stuff that happens is 99% of the time gang related seriously unless u come here and join the johnsons or the burgers then you will be fine. Perry Barr is currently in the middle of a regeneration project for the area as well, there are rough spots like any place but it is safe, you never hear of any students gettin attacked or anything.

Reply 14

sugarplumb

Crazy Gal it is that bad Im not lying!!! Maybe you are used to living in areas like those in Birmingham but you can in no way say it isnt as bad as me or anyone else is saying. I lived there for a year, I saw what it was like and I have lived in loadsa different cities so can compare my time in Perry barr to my time in other cities. Birmingham is by far the worst city ive been to in the UK and alot of people agree with me. UCE is also a pants uni so if you have other options choose them. Unfortunately I have no choice but to go back to UCE in September as I have applied to transfer to other unis and cant get in...

Reply 15

wednesburywench

It isnt birmingham it is perry bar/handsworth etc...birmingham is safe, those suberbs arn't. Stay away if I was you. It is bad...having lived nearby all my life.

Reply 16

kwannie

perry barr is safe if you dont walk around alone at night! im in oscott gardens at the moment, and everyone is really nice. i even walked to the library at 7am in the morning last week to do a last minute piece of coursework >.<...and walking back on my own at 9pm...its not that dangerous.

Reply 17

crazy_gal

Sugarplumb, im not denying it is a rough area cos it aint the best! But its not as bad as people make out! There are far worse places to live in birmingham! Yeah maybe you've had a few bad experiences but the majority of people will never have any problems! Ive lived here for nearly 4 years and ive never had any trouble! Its not like u walk down the street and theres gangs shooting people and mugging people right in front of u 24/7! It hardly ever happens! UCE is a good uni for certain facultys, ie, the education faculty is in the 10 for teacher training in the country so u cant say its a crap uni! Some courses maybe crap, others are best in the country!
People shouldnt be put off coming here! It has a bad rep and thats all it is, a reputation! Uni life is what u make of it! If, like me, u wanna live away from home, get ur degree and have the best few years of ur life, then dont let a bad reputation stop u! If ur constanty looking for trouble and getting insulted by blokes pipping horns at u then its gonna bother u! Just ignore and enjoy yourself!

Reply 18

crazy_gal

And also, i dunno what news u listen to but i certainly dont hear about murders and shootings every day! Slight exaggeration im thinking!

Reply 19

arrgh

im in agreement with crazy gal. Im sorry but it really isnt that bad, people exaggerate sooo much!! yes, there are problems - but there are at every uni!!! It jst seems that uce has got a v bad rep for it which it doesnt deserve. I live in a house in handsworth and its fine! I've never had any kind of trouble at all. Its fine in the day, just make sure u dont walk alone too late at night - as u would in any other city!!
Also it really annoys me that people slate the uni all the time!! Its a converted polytechnic for christs sake, of course its not the best place to go for an english degree!!! But if its vocational stuff ur lookin for, its great - i do primary teacher training and i love it, and get so much support from the staff. at least pay it a visit and look around before u start slagging it off.