My full review of NCH from a first year perspective.

I decided to study at NCH because of the London location. I want to go into politics and thought it's best to study in the capital where you can get involved right at the heart of British Politics.

I first became aware of NCH from the essay competition when I was in year 12. I decided to research the uni, and initially, I liked what I saw. A small university which allowed for smaller class sizes and more one to one tutorials which for me is very beneficial in teaching, espeically at university. I saw that there was a new campus at Devon House, it seemed modern, larger than the old campus, and a lovely location on the river bank. They also seemed to offer a few weeks abroad in Boston at North Eastern University and North Eastern bought out the university. From what I read in articles, it seemed like a new modern Oxbridge in London, created by A.C. Grayling and Richard Dawkins. NCH also offered a PPE degree, which is what I wanted to study, without the need for a maths A-Level, which I did not take. Other London universities such as LSE, UCL and Kings all required maths A-Level. Therefore I finally decided on NCH.

I was also impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness they provided during the application process. The support team is great and the marketing was excellent.

So when I arrived for Freshers I found out the many truths. Firstly the new building was tiny inside. It consisted of one and a half floors within Devon House. Although the design was modern, it did not have a university feel and it seemed the building lacked any typical university features, such as large lecture halls. The initial fresher's party was amazing. Speeches from the founders, everyone dressed up nicely, tons of people, free champagne and so forth. However, the rest of the fresher week became progressively worst. The reason for this was the uni actually lacked the funds to create large and attractive fresher events unlike the other larger uni's. This is because most of the money is being funneled into marketing to get people to actually go to the university. Don't get me wrong, I loved freshers, but the only good nights were the first opening party, bar night, and boat party. The boat itself was tiny, felt like it was going to sink, and just a bit meh. But because of the social aspect, it was good in the end.

I then began to find out more problems with the university. The small size does become more of a problem. The societies at the uni are a joke, no one turns up, and no one cares about them. I and my friend took leadership of the debate society. We made it the most popular society there because of free prosecco and snacks and entertaining controversial debates. However, this also highlights another problem.

At this university, there's a strong leftist cancel culture. This is common because it's university. But in this university, you feel like you are treated unfairly. For example, the debate society was nearly cancelled for having a debate on a sensitive topic because some of the people could not deal with the fact it's just a debate focusing on your skills, not the actual topic. The Student Union is also dominated by certain individuals that endorse behaviors where they treat those that are conservative or rich or that went to private school unfairly. They almost frown upon them. I myself came from a state school, who happens to be a moderate conservative, you know the left of the Tory party etc and who is not rich! And yet I and many others have been subject to unfair treatment and snarky comments. (And I'm not the type of person who judges someone on their polticial beliefs either, I'm pretty chill)

NCH also breeds *****yness. It's quite pathetic really, it feels like you're back in middle school. People are very immature, they talk behind your back and if they hold SU positions they will take advantage of that. The rest of us kind of sit there and pity them to be quite honest.

So in conclusion, is this university good, and should you apply? Well, I'll be brutally honest and try not to be too biased. The teaching is pretty darn good. You will likely get a good grade with a good degree. They have the Launch program which is incredibly helpful for employability, especially when they get in public speakers such as Simon for public speaking, he was amazing. The lectures are mostly great however the rest of the staff support is a bit meh. Be prepared for immature people who judge you on your background and belief (you won't notice it at first). If you are planning to be ambitious and let's say want to go into finance or law and you need a degree from a good university, don't come to NCH, go to UCL, Kings LSE if you can; because the uni you went to can matter and you need a good well-known uni, NCH is not this. If you want a typical big university experience, don't come to NCH because you will not get it, you wanna come here if you want smaller classes and better teaching. Societies are inactive and led by people who don't care about them. However, the reason I am still here is that I love my course because the education is great here. I love the teaching and I have met some amazing people and love living in London. And we're slowly but surely trying to make the uni better for the future offer holders. Also when we ran the debate society, everyone loved that. Even the ones who screamed and shouted in the debate like little children always come back because they secretly love it.

In addition, the university is very small! Please do keep this noted, there isn't a sense of a big university community at all! I would also like to add that I have been here during a time when this uni is just starting to take off. In 2 or 3 years, it can be an amazing well-known university because honestly, this place has potential, it could be great. Just not right now.

You also get a lot of American students as this university is owned by North Eastern University, who sometimes decide to splash their cash and we ended up having a big dinner event at the National Gallery which was pretty amazing.

If you're looking at post-graduate courses here, don't bother.

Just be careful what you want, and remember their marketing is very good!