What is life like at the university of York?
I've heard that there's good nightlife but I'm honestly not interested in clubbing or drinking at all, so I was wondering if there's a big cafe/study culture there too. I'm interested in a lot of the societies they offer but I'm a bit worried that there'll be an expectation to go on pub crawls with them etc, are the societies good for socialising outside of that? I'm planning to study Biology and be in Vanbrugh college btw!
Original post by radiochurro
I've heard that there's good nightlife but I'm honestly not interested in clubbing or drinking at all, so I was wondering if there's a big cafe/study culture there too. I'm interested in a lot of the societies they offer but I'm a bit worried that there'll be an expectation to go on pub crawls with them etc, are the societies good for socialising outside of that? I'm planning to study Biology and be in Vanbrugh college btw!
Hi there,
It's great to hear that you're considering studying Biology at York! 🎉
As a fairly recent Biology graduate (I graduated in 2022) hopefully I can offer some insight into life at York 😄
Cafe culture
York definitely has a thriving cafe and restaurant culture, and there are loads of cosy cafes in York which are popular study locations with our students. Some of my personal favourites are Cosy time, 200 degrees, and Brew and Brownie.
We also have ~10 cafes on campus, which each specialise in something. So for example, the cafe at Vanbrugh College is famous for its burritos, whereas the Link Cafe in the Church Lane Building is known for its Asian-style cuisine. You definitely won't be short of places to meet with friends for a catch-up, or a study session.
Study spaces
We have lots of study spaces across campus which are open to students from all courses. For example, there's the Library, the Church Lane Building, the Piazza building, and study spaces in colleges too.
In the Biology Building, the Creative Lounge is a study space open just to Biological Sciences students. It was my favourite study space when I was a student as it's really peaceful, has lots of comfy chairs and desks for individual work or group work, and it's surrounded by the offices of lecturers so it was easy to go and ask a question if I was stuck on something.
Societies
We have over 200 societies on offer at York, so there's something for everyone. Social events will vary between societies, some might be more focused around drinking or going on a night out, but that isn't the case for them all. I was part of sewing society and our socials usually involved meeting at a cafe or at someone's house and getting our craft on! We also went to see films as a society, and did go for cocktails once in a while! Even if the society you join does go on nights out for its socials, you would be under no obligation to go, just going to the society meetings and non-drinking socials would be totally acceptable.
College life
Each of our colleges has its own history and character, but ultimately they all offer the same thing: a community within the University to help you get settled in, especially in your first few months of first year. Don't worry if you don't get a room in Vanbrugh, each college will offer a good experience and support as you settle in to your new home.
Vanbrugh College has its own cafe, cafeteria and bar (Vanbrugh Arms). It's also really near to Market Square, which is where the Nisa supermarket is on Campus West, so you can pretty much be self-sufficient from just Vanbrugh College! You can find out more about the facilities at Vanbrugh college on our website. Each college will run events for Freshers' week and run events throughout the year too, such as Vanbrugh's weekly brunch.
I hope this helps shed some light on life at York, if you have any other questions feel free to add them as a reply in this thread! - Hannah 😀
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