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Royal Holloway FAQ
Most of this part of TSR is full of people asking what uni is like and such. Having found postings on this forum very helpful for finding out about RHUL last year, I thought I would do the same for this year's prospective students.
Could I ask the moderators to make this thread sticky, at least until September?
In no particular order...
Getting to London: There are four trains an hour to London, two from Reading and two from Weybridge. In practice, however (at least on the current timetable), there are only really two, as one from each starting station stops at Egham within a few minutes of each other. As has been stated in other posts, the journey time to Waterloo is about 40 mins, however this is only if you take the faster train via Richmond. Otherwise, you are looking at more like an hour if you get on the other train which wheezes its way round the Chiswick loop. Change at Feltham if you get on the wrong one is my advice. Richmond is also useful if you're going somewhere in the west of London, as there is an easy interchange straight on to the District Line. Getting back at night can be slightly more problematic, as the last train departs from Waterloo at 11:30. If you fancy doing an all-nighter then the next one is at 05:05... Obviously, timetables change, so I can't guarantee that any of these times listed will remain the same.
Accommodation: You will probably have been showered with information regarding the various halls, but probably know less about what they're actually like. I can only really describe Kingswood, Brunel and Founder's (n.b. there is as yet no common agreement as to where the apostrophe goes) in any detail.
- Kingswood (where I live) is about a mile from campus by road, although due to various footpath shortcuts it's actually only about half that on foot. It is divided into two main sections. Kingswood 1 consists of the old house (looks like some kind of mansion) and some less appealing blocks of flats, which bear a suspicious resemblance to the suburbs of various cities in the former Soviet bloc. The rooms themselves are quite nice, with a washbasin, although toilets, showers and pantries are shared. Kingswood 2 is newer and has slightly more appealing architecture. It's divided into four blocks, which have eight flats of nine rooms each. Rooms have an en-suite, however pantries are still shared one to a flat, and aren't really big enough. There is also only a microwave to cook with. This is probably due to the fact that this is catered accommodation, with a canteen on site. The quality of the cooking can vary greatly in the space of a week. Still, the VAT exemption and the 50% discount for residents seem pretty generous, until you realise that you've pretty much paid for it already in your hall fees. There is also a Spanish-themed Tapas bar, (opening hours irregular) which, if nothing else, offers authentically Spanish timekeeping and service. Food is worth the wait though. One thing I will stress is that wherever you are living, DO NOT leave alcohol, cakes or other desirable foodstuffs in the fridge or pantry unless necessary. Each flat usually has at least one food thief, and we suspect the cleaners often help themselves too. I'm actually pretty glad I live there, though, not least because there is ample parking (permits are free, bring proof of ownership and insurance) and it's in a quiet, leafy part of the countryside.
- Brunel, which is just down the road from Kingswood, is up for sale this year, and assuming RH fend off some greedy property developer, they will buy it and hopefully refurbish the place. My other half (yes, that's what all the soppy smiles on my signature are about) lives there, and to be honest I feel sorry for her. The entire site is rather run-down and I'm amazed there's so little vandalism. Inside, the corridors are somewhat prison-like, although the rooms are reasonably sized. Again, toilets and kitchens (self-catered) are shared. It's all rather depressing really, and has some bad design faults (like the curtains don't fully cover the windows, meaning light wakes you up in the morning. Don't ask how I know this). It's cheaper than most, though.
-Founder's looks fantastic from the outside (tell your friends you live in a château!) but sadly the rooms appear to be rather nineteenth-century as well. Heating is provided by gas fires Shakespeare would have recognised, and there isn't even a washbasin in the room. To cap it all, Founder's also has a very Heath Robinson wireless internet connection, due to the fact that they're not allowed to drill cables through walls in a listed building. A walk along the upper floor corridors will often reveal students with laptops squirming into awkward positions in order to get any signal. False fire alarms in the night are a real nuisance too. Still, you pay what you get for, something which is true for pretty much everything at RHUL. At least scholars are entitled to a free room in Founder's (probably to flog them off as nobody smart would want to live there).
-Gower and Wedderburn, the newest developments (at the moment) are two curvy buildings at the bottom of the campus. I've never been inside, but they appear to be pretty much the same as Kingswood 2, apart from proper kitchens (self-catered). Convenient for Medicine and the union. And apparently has an eco-friendly roof, although obviously you wouldn't see it unless you we on a not very eco-friendly flight out of Heathrow.
-Reid is another self catered hall not far from Gower and Wedderburn. This year was a pretty bad one to be living there, as it's right next to the building site for the new halls and so residents got understandably cross about having builders working all hours of the day. On the plus side, the constant stream of construction vehicles has demolished several speed bumps in the vicinity.
-Tuke, Butler and Williamson are the reason for Reid students' misery, and they'll be opening for the new term. They also appear to be of the Kingswood 2 / Gower model (also self-catered). They've also promised to make the eco-roofs a bit more visible this time.
-Runnymede consists of several two-story blocks at the very bottom of the site. They seem to look pretty much the same style as Reid. Some car parking is available, although we suspect you've have to complete the Twelve Tasks of Hercules and pay through the nose before they let you park there.
Penrose and Highfield Court are only available to third years or postgrads, so don't worry about 'em.
The rather strange names for the halls come from the fact they're named after previous principals, apart from Kingswood which is named after the house it's built round.
Could I ask the moderators to make this thread sticky, at least until September?
In no particular order...
Getting to London: There are four trains an hour to London, two from Reading and two from Weybridge. In practice, however (at least on the current timetable), there are only really two, as one from each starting station stops at Egham within a few minutes of each other. As has been stated in other posts, the journey time to Waterloo is about 40 mins, however this is only if you take the faster train via Richmond. Otherwise, you are looking at more like an hour if you get on the other train which wheezes its way round the Chiswick loop. Change at Feltham if you get on the wrong one is my advice. Richmond is also useful if you're going somewhere in the west of London, as there is an easy interchange straight on to the District Line. Getting back at night can be slightly more problematic, as the last train departs from Waterloo at 11:30. If you fancy doing an all-nighter then the next one is at 05:05... Obviously, timetables change, so I can't guarantee that any of these times listed will remain the same.
Accommodation: You will probably have been showered with information regarding the various halls, but probably know less about what they're actually like. I can only really describe Kingswood, Brunel and Founder's (n.b. there is as yet no common agreement as to where the apostrophe goes) in any detail.
- Kingswood (where I live) is about a mile from campus by road, although due to various footpath shortcuts it's actually only about half that on foot. It is divided into two main sections. Kingswood 1 consists of the old house (looks like some kind of mansion) and some less appealing blocks of flats, which bear a suspicious resemblance to the suburbs of various cities in the former Soviet bloc. The rooms themselves are quite nice, with a washbasin, although toilets, showers and pantries are shared. Kingswood 2 is newer and has slightly more appealing architecture. It's divided into four blocks, which have eight flats of nine rooms each. Rooms have an en-suite, however pantries are still shared one to a flat, and aren't really big enough. There is also only a microwave to cook with. This is probably due to the fact that this is catered accommodation, with a canteen on site. The quality of the cooking can vary greatly in the space of a week. Still, the VAT exemption and the 50% discount for residents seem pretty generous, until you realise that you've pretty much paid for it already in your hall fees. There is also a Spanish-themed Tapas bar, (opening hours irregular) which, if nothing else, offers authentically Spanish timekeeping and service. Food is worth the wait though. One thing I will stress is that wherever you are living, DO NOT leave alcohol, cakes or other desirable foodstuffs in the fridge or pantry unless necessary. Each flat usually has at least one food thief, and we suspect the cleaners often help themselves too. I'm actually pretty glad I live there, though, not least because there is ample parking (permits are free, bring proof of ownership and insurance) and it's in a quiet, leafy part of the countryside.
- Brunel, which is just down the road from Kingswood, is up for sale this year, and assuming RH fend off some greedy property developer, they will buy it and hopefully refurbish the place. My other half (yes, that's what all the soppy smiles on my signature are about) lives there, and to be honest I feel sorry for her. The entire site is rather run-down and I'm amazed there's so little vandalism. Inside, the corridors are somewhat prison-like, although the rooms are reasonably sized. Again, toilets and kitchens (self-catered) are shared. It's all rather depressing really, and has some bad design faults (like the curtains don't fully cover the windows, meaning light wakes you up in the morning. Don't ask how I know this). It's cheaper than most, though.
-Founder's looks fantastic from the outside (tell your friends you live in a château!) but sadly the rooms appear to be rather nineteenth-century as well. Heating is provided by gas fires Shakespeare would have recognised, and there isn't even a washbasin in the room. To cap it all, Founder's also has a very Heath Robinson wireless internet connection, due to the fact that they're not allowed to drill cables through walls in a listed building. A walk along the upper floor corridors will often reveal students with laptops squirming into awkward positions in order to get any signal. False fire alarms in the night are a real nuisance too. Still, you pay what you get for, something which is true for pretty much everything at RHUL. At least scholars are entitled to a free room in Founder's (probably to flog them off as nobody smart would want to live there).
-Gower and Wedderburn, the newest developments (at the moment) are two curvy buildings at the bottom of the campus. I've never been inside, but they appear to be pretty much the same as Kingswood 2, apart from proper kitchens (self-catered). Convenient for Medicine and the union. And apparently has an eco-friendly roof, although obviously you wouldn't see it unless you we on a not very eco-friendly flight out of Heathrow.
-Reid is another self catered hall not far from Gower and Wedderburn. This year was a pretty bad one to be living there, as it's right next to the building site for the new halls and so residents got understandably cross about having builders working all hours of the day. On the plus side, the constant stream of construction vehicles has demolished several speed bumps in the vicinity.
-Tuke, Butler and Williamson are the reason for Reid students' misery, and they'll be opening for the new term. They also appear to be of the Kingswood 2 / Gower model (also self-catered). They've also promised to make the eco-roofs a bit more visible this time.
-Runnymede consists of several two-story blocks at the very bottom of the site. They seem to look pretty much the same style as Reid. Some car parking is available, although we suspect you've have to complete the Twelve Tasks of Hercules and pay through the nose before they let you park there.
Penrose and Highfield Court are only available to third years or postgrads, so don't worry about 'em.
The rather strange names for the halls come from the fact they're named after previous principals, apart from Kingswood which is named after the house it's built round.
Scroll to see replies
Part 2
Transport: We've already discussed trains. The 441 bus goes to Staines and Heathrow from outside campus, and the 41/42 goes to Windsor. Campus transport is provided in the shape of a free half-hourly bus (hourly at weekends) from Brunel and Kingswood to campus and back. There is a bus from campus to the station, although of course you have to pay for it. Both of these stop at about 8:00 and in the evenings transport is provided by something called the Non-Res bus. This is an eight-seater Ford minibus which actually operates more like a taxi, and in my opinion combines the worst elements of both. That is, it's not scheduled, but you can't actually get on it anywhere other than Kingswood/Brunel and outside the SU/Medicine. It used to be free until 11, but they decided it wasn't paying for itself (so much for providing a 'service' for students) and so now it's a quid a throw. They also have a silly ID culture, so unless the driver is sensible and relaxed they will want to see your SU card every step of the way. The standard of driving also varies somewhat. Most of the drivers are pretty safe and good, but I was nearly chucked off once simply for telling one to stop using his phone whilst driving, and to use the handbrake rather than clutch to hold the van on a hill. I read with amusement an article in the Orbital (see below) about how rigorous the training was and that if you took the Non-Res, you were 'in safe hands'. I suppose the service exists because of all the scare stories (plenty more available free from Surrey Police) about muggers, highwaymen and terrorists who are supposedly lurking behind every bush ready to pounce on unsuspecting students. Obviously you should try and be careful when walking home at night, but I have walked home alone in the dead of night many times and never seen a soul. I like midnight walks anyway.
Predictably, there is the usual anti-motoring hysteria over students having cars. Apparently RHUL have some conspiracy with Runnymede Borough Council to try and stop us parking 'on residential roads anywhere in the area'. 'Suitable disciplinary action' will apparently be the result. There are also 'regular patrols' to weed out students' cars.
Do not be fooled. Hardly anybody is bothering to check - and besides, wheel clamping on campus is far more profitable. Apart from being unworkably vague (no definition of what constitutes 'the area') it also has no legal standing whatsoever - I suspect this constitutes little more than scaremongering. If you are going to park outside somebody's house:
- Park legally and neatly. You will attract much less attention.
- Keeping your car clean will also make you look a lot less like a student.
- Remove anything from the car that associates you with RHUL, especially parking permits. If you really want to disguise it, put something like a National Trust sticker on the windscreen to make you look like an old fogey.
- Go for a space outside one with a drive. The owners can't then complain that you've taken 'their' only space.
- If your parents own the car and you are simply a named driver, then we reckon you're pretty much untouchable. Even the anti-parking litany admits it may be 'difficult' to enforce where cars are not owned by students.
- Try not to use the same spot too many times.
The best parking spots are the free spaces in Harvest Road (but please give priority to music students, we often have large instruments to carry) and the 30-mins free spots in Egham high street (sometimes hard to find a space).
We've no idea what happens if you get caught, because to our knowledge this has never happened.
Drinking and entertainment: Don't come to RH expecting to go clubbing every night (you're supposed to be studying, remember?) because there aren't any clubs. The nearest ones are in Staines and Oceania in Kingston. The pubs in the area are as follows. On campus, there is a building with Medicine (bar) on the upper floor and the Stumble Inn (pub) on the lower. They're not bad, actually, and medicine is open for lunch and pool as well. On the bottom floor of Founders' is Crosslands bar (which also serves lunches) named for the architect of Founder's. Usually there are some choral scholars in here, although I think it's closed at the weekends. Outside campus, the nearest are the Monkeys Forehead (sic) and the Happy Man. I tend to frequent the Man, as it is the usual haunt of music students (right next to the department) and has a nice old-world proper-pub feel to it. The Monkeys Forehead not only has a grammar error, it has a more clubby feel to it. Further up the road are the Holly Tree (full of curious antiques, all for sale) and the Armstrong Gun (although rumour has it it's frequented by BNP members). On the south side of Englefield Green itself it the Barley Mow, a country pub (with a nice garden and kiddies playground at the back). There is also one called the Beehive, but I've never been there.
The Students' Union tends to have events (abbreviated to 'ents' by the most chronically lazy spellers) most nights, although these often consist of the same format cynically repackaged several times. The Union also suffers from a lack of space - the dance floor of the main hall is little bigger than a tennis court. Next door, Tommy's bar is also rather small. Most people drink at home before they go out, meaning the place is often empty for hours after the doors open, and depriving the Union of potential drinks takings. However, the saving grace is that your UoL card will get you into any other UoL union, meaning you can go and get wasted at (the far superior) King's or SOAS instead.
Clubs and societies: Plenty to choose from, membership is usually £5 a year. You will also need to buy insurance (the same, I think) in case you die during any society activities. (To my knowledge this has never happened). I joined the Debating Society and Christians Together, which were a bit of a waste since debating clashed with something musical I was doing, and I became an atheist not long ago. Never mind, I'm still in all the orchestras - auditions in Fresher's Week open to everyone, not just Music students. String players are likely to get more action than winds, who are rotated in Chamber Orchestra concerts as we only need eight of them for most pieces. Be aware that some societies have been accused of having cliques. Musical Theatre got into a row with the editor of The Founder , who had published a cartoon alleging that they ignored first years and chose the same leads every time. (The Founder is the 'indie' student newspaper, more honest than the Orbital which although it won some national award last year, seems to be comprised of the same politically correct stuff very month). Savoy Opera Society joined then in getting rather cross about the whole affair.
Personal Tutors - You will have an hour a week with these guys, that's if you bother to go. Some will expect you to do a presentation every week and loads of reading. I was fortunate enough to get the composition lecturer (I'm doing Music, in case you hadn't guessed by now) who, as a fellow Grumpy Old Man, mostly sat around and let us raise our gripes about anything and everything. I only did one presentation all year.
Freshers' Week - another mixed bag. Some make it their mission to spend their entire student loan on alcohol in a week, which probably isn't really a smart thing to do. You will be bombarded with representatives from all the various societies all wanting you to join, which you can do in the Students' Union. Make sure, however, you get your College and Union Cards FIRST from the Picture Gallery. And bring plenty of passport photos! Most societies have some kind of welcoming event during the week - an excellent way to get free food if you don't mind that kind of opportunism.
Shopping: I'm sure Tom Holloway and Henry Crossland had very good reasons for building Founder's at the top of Egham Hill, but unfortunately they failed to foresee that the rest of the world would want to build at the bottom of it. Thus we have the common sight of car-less students puffing and panting their way uphill laden with shopping bags. Tescos is situated in the middle of the high street, and goes back to a (pay) car park behind. There is also Budgens. The nearest Primark, I believe, is in Staines. One thing I've noticed is that charity shops go from being strictly for tramps to a student's godsend! The College Shop is a not-for-profit enterprise which provides a very good service despite its small size. Sell-by dates tend to be a little shorter than in the real world, and stock can get a bit low by the end of the day, but it has a good variety of items, including a well-stocked magazine rack. There is a fruit and vegetable sale in the Union every Tuesday.
That's everything I can think of for the time being, but post if you want to know anything else.
Transport: We've already discussed trains. The 441 bus goes to Staines and Heathrow from outside campus, and the 41/42 goes to Windsor. Campus transport is provided in the shape of a free half-hourly bus (hourly at weekends) from Brunel and Kingswood to campus and back. There is a bus from campus to the station, although of course you have to pay for it. Both of these stop at about 8:00 and in the evenings transport is provided by something called the Non-Res bus. This is an eight-seater Ford minibus which actually operates more like a taxi, and in my opinion combines the worst elements of both. That is, it's not scheduled, but you can't actually get on it anywhere other than Kingswood/Brunel and outside the SU/Medicine. It used to be free until 11, but they decided it wasn't paying for itself (so much for providing a 'service' for students) and so now it's a quid a throw. They also have a silly ID culture, so unless the driver is sensible and relaxed they will want to see your SU card every step of the way. The standard of driving also varies somewhat. Most of the drivers are pretty safe and good, but I was nearly chucked off once simply for telling one to stop using his phone whilst driving, and to use the handbrake rather than clutch to hold the van on a hill. I read with amusement an article in the Orbital (see below) about how rigorous the training was and that if you took the Non-Res, you were 'in safe hands'. I suppose the service exists because of all the scare stories (plenty more available free from Surrey Police) about muggers, highwaymen and terrorists who are supposedly lurking behind every bush ready to pounce on unsuspecting students. Obviously you should try and be careful when walking home at night, but I have walked home alone in the dead of night many times and never seen a soul. I like midnight walks anyway.
Predictably, there is the usual anti-motoring hysteria over students having cars. Apparently RHUL have some conspiracy with Runnymede Borough Council to try and stop us parking 'on residential roads anywhere in the area'. 'Suitable disciplinary action' will apparently be the result. There are also 'regular patrols' to weed out students' cars.
Do not be fooled. Hardly anybody is bothering to check - and besides, wheel clamping on campus is far more profitable. Apart from being unworkably vague (no definition of what constitutes 'the area') it also has no legal standing whatsoever - I suspect this constitutes little more than scaremongering. If you are going to park outside somebody's house:
- Park legally and neatly. You will attract much less attention.
- Keeping your car clean will also make you look a lot less like a student.
- Remove anything from the car that associates you with RHUL, especially parking permits. If you really want to disguise it, put something like a National Trust sticker on the windscreen to make you look like an old fogey.
- Go for a space outside one with a drive. The owners can't then complain that you've taken 'their' only space.
- If your parents own the car and you are simply a named driver, then we reckon you're pretty much untouchable. Even the anti-parking litany admits it may be 'difficult' to enforce where cars are not owned by students.
- Try not to use the same spot too many times.
The best parking spots are the free spaces in Harvest Road (but please give priority to music students, we often have large instruments to carry) and the 30-mins free spots in Egham high street (sometimes hard to find a space).
We've no idea what happens if you get caught, because to our knowledge this has never happened.
Drinking and entertainment: Don't come to RH expecting to go clubbing every night (you're supposed to be studying, remember?) because there aren't any clubs. The nearest ones are in Staines and Oceania in Kingston. The pubs in the area are as follows. On campus, there is a building with Medicine (bar) on the upper floor and the Stumble Inn (pub) on the lower. They're not bad, actually, and medicine is open for lunch and pool as well. On the bottom floor of Founders' is Crosslands bar (which also serves lunches) named for the architect of Founder's. Usually there are some choral scholars in here, although I think it's closed at the weekends. Outside campus, the nearest are the Monkeys Forehead (sic) and the Happy Man. I tend to frequent the Man, as it is the usual haunt of music students (right next to the department) and has a nice old-world proper-pub feel to it. The Monkeys Forehead not only has a grammar error, it has a more clubby feel to it. Further up the road are the Holly Tree (full of curious antiques, all for sale) and the Armstrong Gun (although rumour has it it's frequented by BNP members). On the south side of Englefield Green itself it the Barley Mow, a country pub (with a nice garden and kiddies playground at the back). There is also one called the Beehive, but I've never been there.
The Students' Union tends to have events (abbreviated to 'ents' by the most chronically lazy spellers) most nights, although these often consist of the same format cynically repackaged several times. The Union also suffers from a lack of space - the dance floor of the main hall is little bigger than a tennis court. Next door, Tommy's bar is also rather small. Most people drink at home before they go out, meaning the place is often empty for hours after the doors open, and depriving the Union of potential drinks takings. However, the saving grace is that your UoL card will get you into any other UoL union, meaning you can go and get wasted at (the far superior) King's or SOAS instead.
Clubs and societies: Plenty to choose from, membership is usually £5 a year. You will also need to buy insurance (the same, I think) in case you die during any society activities. (To my knowledge this has never happened). I joined the Debating Society and Christians Together, which were a bit of a waste since debating clashed with something musical I was doing, and I became an atheist not long ago. Never mind, I'm still in all the orchestras - auditions in Fresher's Week open to everyone, not just Music students. String players are likely to get more action than winds, who are rotated in Chamber Orchestra concerts as we only need eight of them for most pieces. Be aware that some societies have been accused of having cliques. Musical Theatre got into a row with the editor of The Founder , who had published a cartoon alleging that they ignored first years and chose the same leads every time. (The Founder is the 'indie' student newspaper, more honest than the Orbital which although it won some national award last year, seems to be comprised of the same politically correct stuff very month). Savoy Opera Society joined then in getting rather cross about the whole affair.
Personal Tutors - You will have an hour a week with these guys, that's if you bother to go. Some will expect you to do a presentation every week and loads of reading. I was fortunate enough to get the composition lecturer (I'm doing Music, in case you hadn't guessed by now) who, as a fellow Grumpy Old Man, mostly sat around and let us raise our gripes about anything and everything. I only did one presentation all year.
Freshers' Week - another mixed bag. Some make it their mission to spend their entire student loan on alcohol in a week, which probably isn't really a smart thing to do. You will be bombarded with representatives from all the various societies all wanting you to join, which you can do in the Students' Union. Make sure, however, you get your College and Union Cards FIRST from the Picture Gallery. And bring plenty of passport photos! Most societies have some kind of welcoming event during the week - an excellent way to get free food if you don't mind that kind of opportunism.
Shopping: I'm sure Tom Holloway and Henry Crossland had very good reasons for building Founder's at the top of Egham Hill, but unfortunately they failed to foresee that the rest of the world would want to build at the bottom of it. Thus we have the common sight of car-less students puffing and panting their way uphill laden with shopping bags. Tescos is situated in the middle of the high street, and goes back to a (pay) car park behind. There is also Budgens. The nearest Primark, I believe, is in Staines. One thing I've noticed is that charity shops go from being strictly for tramps to a student's godsend! The College Shop is a not-for-profit enterprise which provides a very good service despite its small size. Sell-by dates tend to be a little shorter than in the real world, and stock can get a bit low by the end of the day, but it has a good variety of items, including a well-stocked magazine rack. There is a fruit and vegetable sale in the Union every Tuesday.
That's everything I can think of for the time being, but post if you want to know anything else.
Yeah i conccur, thanks a lot for taking the time to post this. It'd be really helpfull if we could get anymore info on the social scene. I mean
A) From what it looks like trips to central London seem quite inconvenient and tedious, are frequent trips to London during the week in order? (specially since ill have a friend at LSE and another at Queen Mary) Do people go party in Central London often?
B) So by the sounds of it the social scene round RHUL sounds pretty dull?
C) At the end of the day, hows ur time at RHUL been?
A) From what it looks like trips to central London seem quite inconvenient and tedious, are frequent trips to London during the week in order? (specially since ill have a friend at LSE and another at Queen Mary) Do people go party in Central London often?
B) So by the sounds of it the social scene round RHUL sounds pretty dull?
C) At the end of the day, hows ur time at RHUL been?
Just so you know, Founders rooms do get washbasins, they're going to do something about the net problems soon i think, and it's not that much of a hassle to be honest!! I'm sitting in the founders common room as I'm typing this, sitting on a sofa, so it's not all bad. If anything, it's probably made me do more work than if i had the net in my room. Not everyone I know has a computer or laptop so they make do by going to the computer centre. The heating is a bit temperamental-a friend and i in term 1 asked them to turn it on cos it wasn't working and my room was always from that moment on like a sauna..i could never win lol. But it's ok now. I've got used to the fire alarms really. We haven't had many apart from one where some eejit put toilet paper in a toaster, causing us to stand outside for about 2 hours and 5 fire trucks showed up and if the person is caught, he faces jail for arson and attempted murder I've heard..or something like that!
ive only ever met my personal tutor once, to collect my end of 1st year report. it lasted a sum of 2 minutes-him giving it to me!
ive only ever met my personal tutor once, to collect my end of 1st year report. it lasted a sum of 2 minutes-him giving it to me!
kumayl2001
Yeah i conccur, thanks a lot for taking the time to post this. It'd be really helpfull if we could get anymore info on the social scene. I mean
A) From what it looks like trips to central London seem quite inconvenient and tedious, are frequent trips to London during the week in order? (specially since ill have a friend at LSE and another at Queen Mary) Do people go party in Central London often?
B) So by the sounds of it the social scene round RHUL sounds pretty dull?
C) At the end of the day, hows ur time at RHUL been?
A) From what it looks like trips to central London seem quite inconvenient and tedious, are frequent trips to London during the week in order? (specially since ill have a friend at LSE and another at Queen Mary) Do people go party in Central London often?
B) So by the sounds of it the social scene round RHUL sounds pretty dull?
C) At the end of the day, hows ur time at RHUL been?
A) I wouldn't say that trips to London are inconvenient, just to allow 1 hour each way to get there and back. The trains are semi-fast most of the time, so it's not as if you'll be crawling along the whole time. It's only if you want to stay out late that the problem arises. Make sure to buy a Travelcard AFTER 10 am (not after 9.30 as I foolishly used to!) in order to get off-peak fares - it's about £8 with a YP railcard. Conveniently there is currently a 10:06 train. Oddly, I have sometimes paid as low as £6.85! This is for all zones (the only off-peak combination) so it's pretty good value considering you can use it on all suburban trains, tube, buses, trams and DLR.
B) The social scene is fine if you like pub crawls, house parties, cheesy union nights and society socials, but for clubbing and other more hedonistic pursuits you'll have to look further afield.
C) Oh, not bad at all - although I must say sixth form was ever so slightly better. It's certainly not a dump, and has some very good lecturers and courses. The only slight annoyance - common to all universities, I suspect - is the 'business attitude' that pervades everything. That is, the place is run like a business, so you are referred to as a 'customer' more than a 'valued student'. Finding a house for the second year has also been difficult - we're not the only ones still looking.
Hana_1987
Just so you know, Founders rooms do get washbasins, they're going to do something about the net problems soon i think, and it's not that much of a hassle to be honest!! I'm sitting in the founders common room as I'm typing this, sitting on a sofa, so it's not all bad. If anything, it's probably made me do more work than if i had the net in my room. Not everyone I know has a computer or laptop so they make do by going to the computer centre. The heating is a bit temperamental-a friend and i in term 1 asked them to turn it on cos it wasn't working and my room was always from that moment on like a sauna..i could never win lol. But it's ok now. I've got used to the fire alarms really. We haven't had many apart from one where some eejit put toilet paper in a toaster, causing us to stand outside for about 2 hours and 5 fire trucks showed up and if the person is caught, he faces jail for arson and attempted murder I've heard..or something like that!
ive only ever met my personal tutor once, to collect my end of 1st year report. it lasted a sum of 2 minutes-him giving it to me!
ive only ever met my personal tutor once, to collect my end of 1st year report. it lasted a sum of 2 minutes-him giving it to me!
Don't mean to scare anybody, but Founder's has a teeny tiny hidden danger. Those enterprising Victorians decided a good way to stop rats would be to line the walls...with kerosine. That's the same stuff they're putting in Boeings down the road. The current rumour is that it's the most flammable building in the country, and if it and Windsor Castle caught fire the fire brigade would have to come to Founders first. Maybe that's why the alarms are so sensitive...and the terrible Health and Safety culture...
This is a great idea and well done on you Siwi for writing it all out, One thing I will mention - Reid is actually catered, not self catered, residents get a 50% discount on food from the dining hall. This is kind of annoying, especially if it's raining, cos you have to trek up to founders sunday-friday, although on saturdays, when founders is shut, you do get to use your discount at the hub which is nicer food than founders, but might be a bit expensive to eat there everyday without the discount.
And that's my 2 cents.
And that's my 2 cents.
Rozaroo
This is a great idea and well done on you Siwi for writing it all out, One thing I will mention - Reid is actually catered, not self catered, residents get a 50% discount on food from the dining hall. This is kind of annoying, especially if it's raining, cos you have to trek up to founders sunday-friday, although on saturdays, when founders is shut, you do get to use your discount at the hub which is nicer food than founders, but might be a bit expensive to eat there everyday without the discount.
And that's my 2 cents.
And that's my 2 cents.
Yes, sorry, I should have known this as I was intending to live there this year...
Hi! This is an uncertain prospectus student at RHUL from Spain. I'd like to ask you about accomodation. In case I'm accepted in RHUL I'll need somewhere to live in. That's not big problem -apparently- but actually I'm lost regarding what it's really like. I mean, would you recommend me to seek for a shared house/flat? or would it be better campus accomodation for an Erasmus student? I'd like to get some visits from home when I'm there and if I'm in a hall or something it won't be possible to put them up in the hall with me, I suppose.. no? Please, what would you do if you where in my shoes?
Thanx!
Thanx!
Hi, I'm from Spain too (Barcelona). I have the same thing, relatives will want to visit me and stuff but I recommend you get a campus accommodation otherwise you gonna miss all the university atmosphere!
Si quieres hablar del tema en español mejor, mandame un mensaje!
Si quieres hablar del tema en español mejor, mandame un mensaje!
So is the bit about scholars being entitled to a free room in Founder's true? I could not find any information about it on their website. I mean I applied for the scholarship but havent received an answer yet. Therefore I didnt mention it on my accommodation form but Im absolutely dying to live there (yes I am quite fond of the Shakespearian heating systems!!). Well... in my defence the question was 'are you receiving a scholarship?' which as you can see at the moment im not. They should really be more specific with their question. But thats irrelevant. So basically, just out of curiosity... Really?
Choral Scholars get given free rooms in founders towers apparently - not that I know any choral scholars to ask them, but I heard it from a music student, so presumably she does. I don't think being a choral scholar is quite the same as any other scholarship though, so they might be the only ones.
haha
most people rich or poor will be living off student loans/grants. You will have the few rich kids, but most people will be in the same position. Basically in poverty.. but we all find a way of getting drunk
most people rich or poor will be living off student loans/grants. You will have the few rich kids, but most people will be in the same position. Basically in poverty.. but we all find a way of getting drunk
boo
I have heard that the student body is generally quite wealthy and that "poor" students might be left behind. Is there much truth in this? Do social events center around spending money?
Nah. Most are normal students, all using the loan to fund their alocholism. There are the odd rich kids (especially the international students) but generally everyone's in the same boat; living off the loan.
prospectusdudosa
Hi! This is an uncertain prospectus student at RHUL from Spain. I'd like to ask you about accomodation. In case I'm accepted in RHUL I'll need somewhere to live in. That's not big problem -apparently- but actually I'm lost regarding what it's really like. I mean, would you recommend me to seek for a shared house/flat? or would it be better campus accomodation for an Erasmus student? I'd like to get some visits from home when I'm there and if I'm in a hall or something it won't be possible to put them up in the hall with me, I suppose.. no? Please, what would you do if you where in my shoes?
Thanx!
Thanx!
I believe that all international students are offered a place in halls. If I were you I'd take one, as it's difficult enough finding a house even when you live here. You will have to find some people to share with, too. Based on our experience I think you will need to have a friend or relative living in the UK to act as a guaranteur for any property (not halls) you rent, or else you will have to pay six month's rent in advance (which will be quite a lot). As of having people to stay - people do have visitors staying (against rules!) in their rooms for a night or two, but they'll have to bring something to sleep on, and there's no room for more than one extra person. If you intend having several visitors there are some reasonably priced hotels near Heathrow.
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