The Student Room Group

Should I go to University of Reading ?

Hello, I'm an international student and UoR was my insurance choice. Because I knew I didn't do well on the exams I didn't expect to get into my insurance choice and was planning on going to a school in the US (University of California, Santa Cruz). Should I go to Reading instead? The housing situation seems to be better, but passing up a chance to live & work in California seems a bit...
Original post by klmnkon
Hello, I'm an international student and UoR was my insurance choice. Because I knew I didn't do well on the exams I didn't expect to get into my insurance choice and was planning on going to a school in the US (University of California, Santa Cruz). Should I go to Reading instead? The housing situation seems to be better, but passing up a chance to live & work in California seems a bit...

Good evening @Klmnkon,

It sounds like you have a very hard decision to make. Hopefully, I can tell you a little bit about the University of Reading to help you make your decision and see if Reading is the place for you.

I believe it is a good-quality education; the lectures are amazing, and the opportunities they provide students are good. So far, I have had around 10 field trips and 20 or more laboratory experiences, including for examination purposes.

As a Reading student, you can access the Harris Gardens, Whiteknights Lake, Herberium, and Ecovalley. You can read more about these facilities [url= https://www.reading.ac.uk/biological-sciences/facilities.]here.

Similarly, we have access to three museums: the Cole Museum, the EARL, and the Ure Museum of Archaeology. You can find out more about the local museums here.

At Reading, there are two semesters per academic year. Throughout the year, you need to have 120 credits. Each module is worth 20 credits, so you must complete six. Ideally, you will have 3 modules per semester, but the modules don't always work out like this. It depends on when the optional modules are taught.

The transport links into the main town are great, and we have a regular bus service that runs every 20 minutes from the middle of the White Knights campus. There are two different buses. One goes to the local Asda, and the other goes directly into town, where lots of grocery shops, clothing shops, and the train station can be found.

Generally speaking, the town centre has much to do, including sports activities like bowling. There are also great places to eat out and many shops.

Similarly, when you first arrive at the university, there is freshers' week, and this is a great time to become orientated within the university; it gives you time to know where everything is and settle in before lessons start. Similarly, there are society and sports fairs where you can get lots of free things such as sweets and stationery and learn all about the different societies you can join. I highly recommend going to a free society taster session, as it lets you find out if you like any of the societies before starting them.

In terms of sports society, there is a range from netball to scuba diving or archery. If you are looking for something perhaps more outgoing, then maybe the mountaineering society might be good to try, as they have weekly indoor rock climbing and bouldering sessions to attend. More sports societies can be found here.

There is also a sports complex with a gym, gym studios, and sports halls. I recommend the gym classes, like Zumba and Spin, as these are usually less occupied by students. The sports park information can be found here.

For information on the student union, I highly recommend you visit this website here.. The Students' union is the go-to place for student activities at Reading and has the latest information you need to know.

I wish you all the best,
Ella
BSc Ecology

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