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Bad things about Brunel

I here many bad things about Brunel..

Apparently its VERY racially segregated, I'm not racist in any way but its is a bit dauntng to hear that if your white British, you will be the minority and the the other ethinic groups only tend to hang around with one another.
Also I'm told that most of the students are local to the area and most of them go home at the weekends turning the campus into a ghost town, is this true?

The picture that was painted to me was of a VERY racially segregated university with a dire social life and very un-friendly with most poeple vanishing over the weekend.

I have aplied to Brunel for 06 start and I live in North Nottinghamshire (middle of england) which means I cant exactly nip home a the weekend seen as it would be something like an 8-9 hour round trip, I dont really want to be going home often anyway.

Does anybody know if the rumours are true, is it a social toilet, is it racially segregated? are white british a minoroty, do white British students get stuck in halls with racist and segregated people, is there a huge amount of racial tension..

*applied for computer scince*

Reply 1

lovelee-jublee

12

I agree with the racially segregated bit. I went to have a look round and found it exactly as you described. I'm not racist either but I come from Luton where it is predominantly black and asian and I hate it...not because I'm racist but because they hang around in groups with their hoods up and it's intimidating. I can imagine that's what it would be like at Brunel. I applied and have got an offer but I won't be accepting.

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I've just re-read this post and it sounds really bad...I don;t mean it to sound bad but personally I would prefer to study somewhere else where I feel comfortable.

Reply 2

Treception

OP

lil_lee

I agree with the racially segregated bit. I went to have a look round and found it exactly as you described. I'm not racist either but I come from Luton where it is predominantly black and asian and I hate it...not because I'm racist but because they hang around in groups with their hoods up and it's intimidating. I can imagine that's what it would be like at Brunel. I applied and have got an offer but I won't be accepting.

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I've just re-read this post and it sounds really bad...I don;t mean it to sound bad but personally I would prefer to study somewhere else where I feel comfortable.

I havent had an offer fromt hem yet, I guess its something to do with my appication only being sent on the 18th of DEC,

If Brunel is like that then theres little chance I'll be going, I'm kind of regretting my choices now.

Just flicking through their prospectus it look slike a really good uni, I guess all prospectuses are like that though.

Reply 3

Angelil

19

I think academically it is alright, but boy is it uuuuugly. The architecture is awful.

Reply 4

hanadeka2002

I heard that about the racial segregation too.

Also it's in Uxbridge....kind of random!

I think for a good number of London Unis people go home a lot because there is a large intake from the local area...that is in my experience.

Reply 5

spider from mars

13

We had our year 12 and 13 balls there. I wholeheartedly agree with the "ugly" comment.

Reply 6

Double Trigger

let's face it, you'd be hard pressed to find anything good about it. sorry, mate.

Reply 7

Treception

OP

In every leauge table I see Brunel is always in the top 50, it even scores as high as 28 for some subjects, the independent and the Guardian rate it very highley in terms of employability and its well respected mainly for its enginerring and science courses. Apparently the employability is quite good mainly due to the good sandwhich courses they offfer, and their good links with industry, at least thats what I'm readng in the independent and guardian

Reply 8

sunshine1000

Ok my school is near Brunel and all i can say is - dont go there lol. The building is nasty and the campus is really quite terrible. As for the racially divided, yes it really really is!!! Very asian dominated (which isnt a bad thing but from experience people tend to hang out with similar ethnic groups.) uxbridge isnt toooo bad, a bit chavvy and nightlife is quite ****. A couple of good pubs and the worst club ever ROYALES ergh. But I still manage to have a good time there.

On the plus side, and im really digging deep here. Has just had major extensions and is really really good for sports and definitely better at sciences than the Arts. Quite a bit of student housing. Next door to a hospital....Ermmmm....thats it, if you get an offer, I personally wouldnt accept.

Reply 9

lovelee-jublee

12

The reviews it gets for PE and sport are really good (that is what I want to study) but I hate the campus, as many have said I agree that the buildings are ugly! I also looked at the accomodation and it was tiny! I know halls aren;t exactly big, but this was miniscule!!! It didn't look that clean either, and getting in to it via th eroads was horrendous.

Reply 10

gianthead

12

don't trust the guardian's tables, they bear no resemblance to any of the other tables I think whoever makes them up does just that :rolleyes:

ways of telling whether a uni is for you:

:smile:

entry requirements; if they're much lower than what you've got, don't bother (for example, I got BCC so I ruled out anywhere less than CCC)

:smile:

grad employment rate; % grads are still unemployed after 6 months

:smile:

rating for your department out of 24 from independent assessment

:smile:

whether you like the place

Reply 11

Magus

Well I disagree with some of the comments, yes the buildings are pretty ugly but you should be aware that quite some money has been spent transforming areas of the main campus and this is still continuing, new accommodation has and is still being built - the new buildings are not ugly at all. As far as I am aware, existing accommodation is next on the list for a makeover for the next year of students. Looks aren't everything, I nearly went to University of East London just because it looked good, how glad am I that I didn't. :smile:

I find en-suite rooms are actually quite small, I would recommend going for the cheaper accommodation if you like your space. :smile:

I am NOT aware of any racial divide! :rolleyes:

I have friends from all types of ethnic backgrounds and did from day one :rolleyes:

- I have no problems whatsoever... You cannot get much more multicultural than Brunel, I think it has one of the highest number of oversea students but I wouldn't let this put you off. I like the atmosphere of the whole place, everybody is so interesting - it's such an experience and contrast to where I usually resided.

I also believe that when placing students into the accommodation - they do it to suit you so that you aren't going to possibly be excluded! A number of people from my floor come from all over the country - and one lived near to my home town. Compared to some of my friends who are on a floor with Londoners, because they too are.

So yeah, I get no sense of a racial divide - but I suppose you have to experience it first to get the full picture. Quite a few people go home for the weekend that I know - they are from London - 1 out of 9 on my floor does. As I say, I'm pretty sure accommodation is carefully done to the benefit of everyone.

Reply 12

Magus

gianthead

don't trust the guardian's tables, they bear no resemblance to any of the other tables I think whoever makes them up does just that :rolleyes:

ways of telling whether a uni is for you:

:smile:

entry requirements; if they're much lower than what you've got, don't bother (for example, I got BCC so I ruled out anywhere less than CCC)

:smile:

grad employment rate; % grads are still unemployed after 6 months

:smile:

rating for your department out of 24 from independent assessment

:smile:

whether you like the place

Brunel is also 43rd in the Times, which is not that much of a difference in comparison to some of the others. Agree with the rest though. :wink:

Reply 13

Treception

OP

Magus

Brunel is also 43rd in the Times, which is not that much of a difference in comparison to some of the others. Agree with the rest though. :wink:

But the graduate employabilty is really good, employers rank it kind of high in comparision to its league standings, and some of the departments have really high independent scores, the league isnt great because it looks at the uni overall, and since I'm only doing one course I dont hink I should be botherd that certain arty subjects are dragging the overall standard down.. but anway accept or reject, I'll decide later

Reply 14

IceTee

sunshine1000

As for the racially divided, yes it really really is!!!

i think you are exaggerating slightly. Wherever you go, there will always be racial divides. From experience, we know that racial groups often tend to stick with one another. Of course, this doesn't apply to ALL students.
It will only become unbearable when racial hostilities arise, and I have not had any experience of this during my 2 years at Brunel.

As for ugliness, yes it is ugly. But does it really matter? They have spent £millions improving the place, and soon it will look as good as any uni site.

Employability is great, sports facilities are also one of the best in UK, teaching and research are also very good. Central London is nearby, Uxbridge has great places to shop/eat/party etc.

Don't let any talk of racial divide put you off studying here!

Reply 15

Magus

Treception

But the graduate employabilty is really good, employers rank it kind of high in comparision to its league standings, and some of the departments have really high independent scores, the league isnt great because it looks at the uni overall, and since I'm only doing one course I dont hink I should be botherd that certain arty subjects are dragging the overall standard down.. but anway accept or reject, I'll decide later

I know, I was just pointing out that even if the Guardian league table is said to be way off the scale, it is still 43rd at the Times. 28th and 43rd isn't bad at all and it has risen year on year IIRC which isn't bad going at all really. It is a good uni IMO :smile:

Bad things about Brunel

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