Applying to Uni for 2024? Find your Uni here and chat with others! >>

Kingston University

Kingston upon Thames

This thread is closed

Kingston Upon Thames University

richard2006

...........

(edited 10 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Kittennffc

Why wouldn't it let you post in the university forum? Tell a mod, as I doubt you'll get many responses in here :smile:

Kingston University

Kingston upon Thames

Reply 2

Ezekiel

Its crap, its one of those uni's loads of people go that can't get in other better unis. If you like it go there but if at the end of the day you try and get a job with a degree from there and you get lauged at its a place to avoid possibly.

Reply 3

Kittennffc

Out of interest, what university do you go to Ezekial?

Reply 4

dogtanian

My cousin went, and my sister's going in 2007.

But that's all I can tell you. Oh, and the town's quite nice.

Reply 5

jointhedots

I can't tell you about the university but I can tell you about Kingston itself...It's pretty good for shopping and it's quite a nice little town centre. The nightlife...Well I went to college near there four years ago and it wasn't great then but it might've changed, I'm not sure about how many student nights there are...

It's a fairly long way from central London and doesn't have great transport links. The trains are stopping ones and therefore quite slow, the normal buses aren't worth bothering with and the nightbuses take a LONG time to get there, and your nearest tube is probably Wimbledon which isn't that useful in itself.

Your accomodation may work out rather expensive as well, it's not a particularly cheap area...

Reply 6

SuperhansFavouriteAlsatian

misslibby

Well I went to college near there four years ago and it wasn't great then but it might've changed, I'm not sure about how many student nights there are...

I think it must have changed a lot, it's freakin' awesome now.

Reply 7

Elementalism

DanGrover

I think it must have changed a lot, it's freakin' awesome now.

My friend is there at the moment and he hates it.

A lot of people from London go there, and just disappear back home at the weekend, so there's not much to do. I've been up a few times, and it's dismal. Yes, it's in London but you'd never have thought it. I really wouldn't recommend it, it doesn't feel much like a University at all, and it's not particularly good academically either.

Reply 8

SuperhansFavouriteAlsatian

Elementalism

I dunno about any of that, I don't go there - I just live nearby and go out to Kingston sometimes. Pretty much everyone I know agrees it offers the best nights out.

Reply 9

SuperhansFavouriteAlsatian

This is just what I've heard, so I don't know, but I think it lacks somewhat of a central campus. I think it's spread out quite a bit. Similarly, if a lot of people do go home at weekends it means it'll be pretty dead.

Reply 10

Paeony

I don't go to Kingston but I live very near the Seething Wells halls and have friends at Kingston, and the problem with it is that it hasn't really got a centre - the campus is spread out across Kingston town, Kingston hill and Roehampton Vale. Having said that, it is one of the better 'new' universities, and it does actually have a pretty good reputation for certain subjects, and is well known and respected in the local area. I've been told that the music and music technology departments, for example, are used by the BBC for recruitment. Comparing it with other local universities, it does have pretty good facilities, but like anywhere, it has things it specialises in and things it doesn't.

I think is is one of those unis that suffers a bit because it has a lot of 'local' students - Kingston and Roehampton are pretty similar in that the campuses are dead at weekends. The local area isn't bad though, although off campus housing can be dire and expensive, and some of the local agencies specialise in ripping students off (I speak from bitter recent experience lol).

And finally lol ... if you want a fast train into London take a bus to Surbiton station (it's literally about four or five minutes from central Kingston) and get the train from there. It's the main line into London, it only really stops at Clapham Junction and you can be in Waterloo in about twenty minutes - it's great :smile:

Reply 11

akmd

Hi Richard. I'm a student at Kingston doing graphic design. What do you want to study? If you want to do Business, Law, Art & Design, Music or Engineering, then go as these are subjects Kingston is best known for. It would be easier to help you if you tell us what you wish to study there.

Reply 12

HannahZ

The courses are variable. Some are very good, some good, some OK and some just downright poor, so it makes a lot of difference depending on which subject you are thinking of applying for. You need to research how it rates for your particular subject.

The atmosphere is very different depending on the subject and the campus so you may get some conflicting comments.

The reason that it doesn't have a great university atmosphere is because a lot of students are Londoners and live at home and commute to uni and a lot of them have part time jobs at weekends. This means that there is not so much going on at weekends. Another downside, from my observations, is that it tends to be quite socially split - in that that there are quite a lot of mature students and the different ethnic groups don't seem to mix that much.
Having said that people find their own friends and can have a great time.

The main drawback of the town is that rents are expensive. London and the South East is an expensive area. It's not as bad as London but a lot more expensive than Birminham or the North of England. The town has a great shopping centre and good nightlife for a medium sized university town. Nights out in London are perfectly possible if you don't mind getting back in the early hours. London is half an hour on the train but the night buses aren't very frequent and slow getting back.

Ethnically Kingston uni is very diverse but again the social and ethnic mix is very different from one subject to another and from one campus to another. A lot of Asian students from West London like to come go Kingston because they can easily live at home and commute.

The atmosphere on a design course at Knights Park is totally different from that of an IT course at Penrhyn Road. So there aren't any simple answers.
-

Reply 13

tinkerbella_1988

akmd

Hi i'm due to start at kingston this year, studying architecture. Does kingston have a good reputation for architecture? I'm starting to wonder if i made the right choice!!

Reply 14

akmd

I believe it does. The Knights Park site is a nice place to study. Much more peaceful than Penhryn Road. Kingston Hill is even better.

Reply 15

HannahZ

IMO Architecture at Kingston is has always had a good reputation and Knights Park is a good place to be. Go and visit the department and get a feel for the place. Some of the negative comments people have made about Kingston uni don't apply to architecture or Knights Park.

Reply 16

XK-louX

hey, well i dont kno much about the uni...sorry!
...but i thought id tell u that i live close 2 the area and its such a great place! the public transport is really good and reliable...there are good clubs...oceana being one! and its a big shopping place! i do all my shopping there...they also hav 'the big apple' which is a really good social place with bowling n cinema n things like that!...its mainly student dominated...i love it!...so basically if u want a good place 2 live..pick kingston!
but then again i don't know about the uni!

Reply 17

PaulaTwouble

I don't know what Kingston's like for History or Creative Writing but I'm still applying there. It's my first choice university, I love the area and it's a nice distance from London, my friend and I went down there for an open day in June and it took us about 25 minutes to get to Kingston from central London.
Obviously I don't know a great amount about it but just in reference to comments that it's for people who aren't intelligent enough to go to other unis, I'm not a genius but I'm not stupid either and Kingston's points that they're asking for are a little above average, or so my careers advisor told me.

Reply 18

Sunnydazzleeyes

i want to do biomed at kingston
does neone no if it has a good rep for it?? and if teaching good quality?? and course?? and career wise??
wb xxxxx

Reply 19

Pendulum

xxsummer2006xx

i want to do biomed at kingston
does neone no if it has a good rep for it?? and if teaching good quality?? and course?? and career wise??
wb xxxxx

Kingston doesn't really have much of a reputation for Biosciences, and therefore the career prospects may not be as good as if you went to a more prestigious university for the subject.

Of course, you shouldn't base your decision of which uni to go to purely on career prospects, as whether you will enjoy the area and your time spent at the uni is a huge factor. Being unhappy at uni is the worst thing you can get.

What kind of grades are you predicted? And in which subjects? And are you looking to stay in/near London or are you not too fussed?

Places like Surrey and Reading have a better reputation for Biosciences and their entry requirements are not too high. Obviously depending on your grades limits where you can/can't apply to.

Kingston Upon Thames University

Related discussions

Trending

Latest

Latest