Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Applying for Comp Sci...

Hello there folks, I'm applying for G400 Computer Science at the following unis:

KCL
Lancaster
Kent
Bristol

Would love to hear from anybody applying to the same unis for CS or better people that are actually already there studying CS so I can fire away with some questions.

Thanks for your time.

Reply 1

who_me

kaiten

I'm currently at Kent doing Comp Sci...fire away....

Reply 2

KingsComp

Hi,

Im currently in my 3rd year studying Computer Science with Management at Kings and still lovin it!!!

I dont want to be biased so ill try and give you the good "and" bad points:

good points

The atmosphere here is great and the people are really friendly, and career prospects are great!!! Many computer science graduates from Kings go into top city jobs, including investment banks as well as financial sectors such as accountancy.

bad points

Im not being racist or anything, but many of the lecturers are foreign and most dont speak very fluent english, therefore it is sometimes hard to understand what they are saying - but after three years you get used to it . However they are all very clever in their fields and quite a few have written their own books, and I suppose you will find a high number of foreign lecturers in most London universities anyways.

Another bad point is that the university itself is quite disorganised, all the recent mergers etc have made quite a mess of things, however since ur doing straight computer science it shouldnt effect you that much

I hope this has been helpful, Ill be happy to answer any specific questions that you may have.

RAZ

Reply 3

kaiten

who_me

I'm currently at Kent doing Comp Sci...fire away....

Hiya who_me, razzakakbar... I'll just ask you both the same questions since I'm just trying to find out bits and bobs at this point. so:

How is the uni in terms of nightlife?
How organised are the CS department and how do you find the course generally?
What would you say the work load is like?
How much free time do you see yourself having?
What are the living costs like?
What sort of industry links is there and does the uni help you find placements and such?
What subjects did you take at A-level?

That's about all I can think of now so I'll fire anymore I have at you both when I think of more.

Thanks a bunch for your time!

Reply 4

who_me

How is the uni in terms of nightlife?

There are 5 bars on campus - Origins, Woody's, Mungo's, The K Bar and Rutherford. There is also a nightclub on campus called The Venue which comprises two other bars - The Lighthouse and The Balcony. The nightlife on campus is ok, there are things like karaoke and school disco going on during the week, also a comedy night and a quiz night. Anything arranged by the SU is usually overpriced and crap though...such as the freshers ball and the recent xmas ball. In town (Canterbury) there are a few Wetherspoons and about 360 other pubs...most of them full of old men though - there are a few nice ones near the high street such as The Cherry Tree and The Hobgoblin. There are two clubs in town - Chicago's and The Works. Chicago's is really expensive but there is live music there a couple of times a week. The Works has student nights on Monday and Wednesdays but I wouldn't say it's a particularly good club. All in all, the nightlife is what you make it...if you meet a nice group of people then you make your own fun anyway!

How organised are the CS department and how do you find the course generally?

I'd say the department is pretty organised, they keep you up to date with your marks, assessments and attendance via the UKC student portal, which is updated pretty regularly. I don't particularly like the first year of the course really, some of the modules are really boring - such as Information Systems and Foundations of Computing...but I guess that's just 'cause I don't really like maths, and I've done most of the stuff in Information Systems before. We are also doing a business unit till xmas called Managers and Organisations which is reasonably interesting but not really related to the course, which is a bit strange.

What would you say the work load is like?

Lectures and seminars are 12 hours per week in the first term, apparently it goes up to something stupid like 22 hours in the second term...that might be just a rumour though. The workload is fine really, although for some reason we won't have any work for a while and then we'll get a load all at once which is irritating. Most of the work is submitted online but essays have to handed in to reception.

How much free time do you see yourself having?

I have 1 day off per week pretty much, most evenings I spend working but can usually go out at least 3 nights a week - including weekends.

What are the living costs like?

My accommodation costs £65 a week, self-catered. On top of that you have to pay something like £100 a year for a network connection in your bedroom. I spend about £15 a week on food...and if I go out a couple of nights a week I spend £30-£40...but I don't really drink that much so others might spend a lot more.

What sort of industry links is there and does the uni help you find placements and such?

I'd say this is probably the best thing about the computing department at kent...in your 3rd year you can choose to go on a work placement. Kent has good links with Sun Microsystems in California - I think about 25 students from Kent go and work there every year. The careers department is always sending emails about summer vacation work placements as well, and I've heard that if you want careers advice then they're pretty good at that too.
A lot of people on their placement years get very good jobs in well known companies like Microsoft and Intel.

What subjects did you take at A-level?

I did a BTEC ND in Computing, plus Music Technology and English A-levels.

Reply 5

KingsComp

How is the uni in terms of nightlife?

Nightlife is GREAT because your in LONDON!!!, And the Strand campus is just a few minutes walk from Leicester Square and is right in the middle of LONDON. You get the pleasant views of the houses of parliament, the London eye and the River Thames, and the bars and clubs are excellent (although can be pretty expensive :frown:

).

How organised are the CS department and how do you find the course generally?

As I said in my previous post Kings is NOT exactly the most organised university, however its probably as good as your gonna get in a London uni!!! In terms of the course I personally find it pretty good, I thought at first that I would find it hard as I didn’t do A-Level Maths, but once you start reading the notes and the recommended books u really start to get a hang of the subjects.

What would you say the work load is like? How much free time do you see yourself having?

Well I think this depends from person to person u have a few ppl who don’t come lectures or tutorials and still end up with As!!!! (I hate those ppl!!!! :mad:

) and then you have ppl like me who have to go to all the lectures and do all the tutorial exercises to get the As). But the timetable is pretty good, I have always had at least one day off from uni and Wed are always half days :biggrin:

. Also Kings has a policy that no lectures can start earlier than 10!! also it depends on which year your in, first and second years are pretty easy and only when u get to the third year do things start to get REALLY hard, I hardly did any work in my first year and didnt have to work that hard in my second year either and still ended up with a 1st in both years :rolleyes:

!!!!

What are the living costs like?

London is Expensive!!!!!!!
But the events that are organised by the university are pretty cheap. Make sure u get all ur student discount cards and NUS cards the first day u arrive at uni!!! Im one of those ppl who throws out all his discount cards wherever I go, what can I say, im cheap !!! :tongue:

What sort of industry links is there and does the uni help you find placements and such?

Well in the end u will have to do the work urself, there is no easy way into any job!! However the Kings careers service is good, they give mock interviews and assessment centres and they also have regular career fairs. Kings graduates are HIGHLY sought after from investment banks and top IT consultancies like Accenture!! Also we have links with the University of London careers events and there are tonnes of events that they set up with all the top companies.

What subjects did you take at A-level?

I didn’t do the A-Level maths :frown:

, but I did physics which helped quite a lot!!

A-Level ICT – Grade A
A-Level Business Studies – Grade A
A-Level Chemistry – Grade B
A-Level Physics – Grade B

Reply 6

kaiten

Thanks you pair, you've proved very helpful. I was wondering if you also wouldn't mind having a quick chat with me on MSN if you have accounts? Since I'm a bit disenchanted about the whole admission process. If you don't want to that's fine, I'll understand. :smile: