An Honest Review - especially for master's study
A lot of people either "big up" a university because they like it, ignoring the bad things, or they focus only on the bad things. This is a genuine balanced review of my experience as a postgraduate student at the University of Liverpool.
Disability / Accessibility
Sad to say, it's terrible, to the extent it can affect your social life. There's a reason that campus tours don't take you in certain buildings. A number, including the Students Union building, are not accessible for people with mobility issues. If you use a wheelchair, it's likely that you'll miss out on several societies because they have booked rooms in the Student's Union building. I'll give two examples of how inaccessible it is:
To get to one of the floors and one of the activity spaces, there is supposedly a lift. However, once the lift actually gets to the floor, there are then steps with no route around them!
The other route, there are only steps, then there are also sudden steps into a room with a lack of proper lighting, so there's a good chance of hurting yourself.
I also didn't get any disability support for months and it affected my ability to study. One of the disability coaches actually made things worse.
On the positive side, whilst the counselling service proved terrible for me, there is a 24-hour helpline that's paid for by the University of Liverpool but not run by them. That proved pretty good.
This is related to teaching and disability but I noticed that a lot of the time, tutors wanted to rush through without a break. Whilst some students may have wanted this too, I realised it could be terrible for some students with disabilities / neurological issues who need a break / expect the class to follow a certain structure.
Campus Life
Because of a lack of information (despite repeatedly asking), I missed out on accommodation - even private - and therefore have been forced to be a commuting student.
The Union is terrible at advertising when and where societies meet - virtually none of the society pages have such details; the Union (which is called The Guild) just has a poster in their building, which is no use if you're not on campus. The poster changes so it's hard to know in advance.
A lot of societies use Instagram for some reason, which has problems with signing up and other issues. I've heard of societies having problems accessing their official pages on the Union website so that's probably why.
However, if you can find out information and can access a society, there's a decent choice, some friendly, some snobby (especially if you're an older student).
If you live in halls (the ones owned by the University of Liverpool), there are regular activities just for students in halls. Despite some guy lying on a campus tour presentation, they are not available to everyone and neither is the ball that's arranged for students in halls; they're only available to students in halls (the Uni of Liverpool ones; I don't know if the three private ones allocated by the University count).
There are frequent events / activities put on by the Union at the start of the academic year but these peter out as the year progresses, with no events and just the odd activity.
There's a sports and fitness centre on campus.
Union
Some issues (e.g. the accessibility mentioned above) and a lack of understanding of neurological conditions, but when it comes to advice, whilst there can be delays at times, they're actually helpful and try to support students.
As mentioned, at the start of the academic year, they put on events and activities (but these mostly stop, other than the odd activity, after that).
There's a microwave and a hot water container (though it wasn't working last time I tried) for students to use. Useful, but it's got nothing on the University of Salford's purpose-built room in their 24-hour library (which has a kitchenette). The University of Liverpool Student's Union has just plonked a microwave and boiling water thing on a table in a corridor. Better than nothing, I guess.
Support
The support on issues (e.g. academic) from the Union is good (though it can be delayed at times, which can be an issue) and there is a money advice service and a disability service and a service for academic things. The opening times are not all the same despite them using the same building, so it can be confusing.
As mentioned, there was a lack of disability support to start with. I suspect there were not enough staff, as I know other disabled students had problems getting appointments and getting support.
There is a counselling service that I tried to use and didn't have a good experience with, but there is also a 24-hour mental health helpline service which was helpful. It's paid for by the University but not run by them so it's great if your experience with the University's counselling service wasn't good.
Teaching
Like most universities, it's pretty lazy. As anyone who has completed first year of an undergraduate course will probably know, lots of students throw together a PowerPoint at the last minute as it's easy to just use Google or Bing to find out some things and paste the information. The teaching consisted, for each module, of a two hour lecture, with the tutor reading from a PowerPoint.
This is related to teaching and disability but I noticed that a lot of the time, tutors wanted to rush through without a break. Whilst some students may have wanted this too, I realised it could be terrible for some students with disabilities / neurological issues who need a break / expect the class to follow a certain structure.
Additionally, the course doesn't offer what was promised (and is still promised) on the website.
Representation
At University level, there's the Union but there was no real representation at course level as the University did a terrible job of encouraging people to become course reps (and a terrible job of supporting existing reps and a terrible job of training and a terrible job of information; I suspect it's intentional to reduce or eliminate representation).
Campus
There are actually two campuses, but one gets forgotten (this happens at almost every university with a smaller campus), with repairs not done for way too long, lack of Students' Union support / representation on site, and other issues - it's the Leahurst Campus. It's a beautiful campus with free parking but the car park does get full during term time. The free parking is needed really as the are isn't well served by public transport and there's no University of Liverpool accommodation there, so students have to commute from private accommodation.
The main campus, in the city centre of Liverpool, isn't as beautiful but it looks fairly nice. It's mostly concrete but has some trees lining the middle, there's a small sort-of park (Abercrombie Square) on the South Campus, and there are plants dotted around.
The main campus is split into North Campus, Central Campus, and South Campus. There are confusingly several buildings with either the same or similar names so check which part of campus a building is on before going there for lessons.
The main campus is about a 15 minute walk to the city centre and then probably another 5 minutes or so to the docks, where you can get good views. There are sometimes druggies there stinking up the place with cannabis but you can usually go to a part of the dock away from them and they're not always there.
Close by Central Campus, there's Hope Street, which is a nice-looking area with bars, places to eat, a theatre, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which I've visited to watch an orchestra and it was really good.
Accommodation
No idea of the on-campus accommodation as missed the chance to get in any due to the University messing up information and support. However, X1 on David Lewis Street is horribly noisy because of the nightclubs that the council ignores when they break their licence requirements (e.g. by opening later than they should or putting out excessive noise) and Cloud Student Homes on Greek Street is awful for socialising. Neither have their own parking. Albert Court looked good though it seemed mostly LJMU students. Agnes Jones Court is in a quiet area near South Campus but there have been claims it's haunted - of course, that could be utter nonsense or someone pulling pranks. It has a car park at extra cost; no idea how it's allocated.
Careers Support
I wanted to mention this specifically as they run this on the cheap by hiring students instead of properly-qualified and properly-trained careers advisors. To get an idea of how unprofessional they can be, they actually not only have Tik Tok videos, but they post insulting things about particular supposed "types" of students that visit the Careers Studio (no idea why they call it a studio). I was horrified when I found that.
Nightlife
Plenty of it in the city centre. About a 15-minute walk from the campus - unless you just want a bar, as there are closer ones.
Summary
Fairly nice main campus, lack of support from the University but Union support is good when you can get it, no kitchen for students, teaching is poor, lack of disability support / access, 24-hour mental health helpline, plenty of nightlife whether you want a quiet night in a bar or a big night out in a club.
Disability / Accessibility
Sad to say, it's terrible, to the extent it can affect your social life. There's a reason that campus tours don't take you in certain buildings. A number, including the Students Union building, are not accessible for people with mobility issues. If you use a wheelchair, it's likely that you'll miss out on several societies because they have booked rooms in the Student's Union building. I'll give two examples of how inaccessible it is:
To get to one of the floors and one of the activity spaces, there is supposedly a lift. However, once the lift actually gets to the floor, there are then steps with no route around them!
The other route, there are only steps, then there are also sudden steps into a room with a lack of proper lighting, so there's a good chance of hurting yourself.
I also didn't get any disability support for months and it affected my ability to study. One of the disability coaches actually made things worse.
On the positive side, whilst the counselling service proved terrible for me, there is a 24-hour helpline that's paid for by the University of Liverpool but not run by them. That proved pretty good.
This is related to teaching and disability but I noticed that a lot of the time, tutors wanted to rush through without a break. Whilst some students may have wanted this too, I realised it could be terrible for some students with disabilities / neurological issues who need a break / expect the class to follow a certain structure.
Campus Life
Because of a lack of information (despite repeatedly asking), I missed out on accommodation - even private - and therefore have been forced to be a commuting student.
The Union is terrible at advertising when and where societies meet - virtually none of the society pages have such details; the Union (which is called The Guild) just has a poster in their building, which is no use if you're not on campus. The poster changes so it's hard to know in advance.
A lot of societies use Instagram for some reason, which has problems with signing up and other issues. I've heard of societies having problems accessing their official pages on the Union website so that's probably why.
However, if you can find out information and can access a society, there's a decent choice, some friendly, some snobby (especially if you're an older student).
If you live in halls (the ones owned by the University of Liverpool), there are regular activities just for students in halls. Despite some guy lying on a campus tour presentation, they are not available to everyone and neither is the ball that's arranged for students in halls; they're only available to students in halls (the Uni of Liverpool ones; I don't know if the three private ones allocated by the University count).
There are frequent events / activities put on by the Union at the start of the academic year but these peter out as the year progresses, with no events and just the odd activity.
There's a sports and fitness centre on campus.
Union
Some issues (e.g. the accessibility mentioned above) and a lack of understanding of neurological conditions, but when it comes to advice, whilst there can be delays at times, they're actually helpful and try to support students.
As mentioned, at the start of the academic year, they put on events and activities (but these mostly stop, other than the odd activity, after that).
There's a microwave and a hot water container (though it wasn't working last time I tried) for students to use. Useful, but it's got nothing on the University of Salford's purpose-built room in their 24-hour library (which has a kitchenette). The University of Liverpool Student's Union has just plonked a microwave and boiling water thing on a table in a corridor. Better than nothing, I guess.
Support
The support on issues (e.g. academic) from the Union is good (though it can be delayed at times, which can be an issue) and there is a money advice service and a disability service and a service for academic things. The opening times are not all the same despite them using the same building, so it can be confusing.
As mentioned, there was a lack of disability support to start with. I suspect there were not enough staff, as I know other disabled students had problems getting appointments and getting support.
There is a counselling service that I tried to use and didn't have a good experience with, but there is also a 24-hour mental health helpline service which was helpful. It's paid for by the University but not run by them so it's great if your experience with the University's counselling service wasn't good.
Teaching
Like most universities, it's pretty lazy. As anyone who has completed first year of an undergraduate course will probably know, lots of students throw together a PowerPoint at the last minute as it's easy to just use Google or Bing to find out some things and paste the information. The teaching consisted, for each module, of a two hour lecture, with the tutor reading from a PowerPoint.
This is related to teaching and disability but I noticed that a lot of the time, tutors wanted to rush through without a break. Whilst some students may have wanted this too, I realised it could be terrible for some students with disabilities / neurological issues who need a break / expect the class to follow a certain structure.
Additionally, the course doesn't offer what was promised (and is still promised) on the website.
Representation
At University level, there's the Union but there was no real representation at course level as the University did a terrible job of encouraging people to become course reps (and a terrible job of supporting existing reps and a terrible job of training and a terrible job of information; I suspect it's intentional to reduce or eliminate representation).
Campus
There are actually two campuses, but one gets forgotten (this happens at almost every university with a smaller campus), with repairs not done for way too long, lack of Students' Union support / representation on site, and other issues - it's the Leahurst Campus. It's a beautiful campus with free parking but the car park does get full during term time. The free parking is needed really as the are isn't well served by public transport and there's no University of Liverpool accommodation there, so students have to commute from private accommodation.
The main campus, in the city centre of Liverpool, isn't as beautiful but it looks fairly nice. It's mostly concrete but has some trees lining the middle, there's a small sort-of park (Abercrombie Square) on the South Campus, and there are plants dotted around.
The main campus is split into North Campus, Central Campus, and South Campus. There are confusingly several buildings with either the same or similar names so check which part of campus a building is on before going there for lessons.
The main campus is about a 15 minute walk to the city centre and then probably another 5 minutes or so to the docks, where you can get good views. There are sometimes druggies there stinking up the place with cannabis but you can usually go to a part of the dock away from them and they're not always there.
Close by Central Campus, there's Hope Street, which is a nice-looking area with bars, places to eat, a theatre, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which I've visited to watch an orchestra and it was really good.
Accommodation
No idea of the on-campus accommodation as missed the chance to get in any due to the University messing up information and support. However, X1 on David Lewis Street is horribly noisy because of the nightclubs that the council ignores when they break their licence requirements (e.g. by opening later than they should or putting out excessive noise) and Cloud Student Homes on Greek Street is awful for socialising. Neither have their own parking. Albert Court looked good though it seemed mostly LJMU students. Agnes Jones Court is in a quiet area near South Campus but there have been claims it's haunted - of course, that could be utter nonsense or someone pulling pranks. It has a car park at extra cost; no idea how it's allocated.
Careers Support
I wanted to mention this specifically as they run this on the cheap by hiring students instead of properly-qualified and properly-trained careers advisors. To get an idea of how unprofessional they can be, they actually not only have Tik Tok videos, but they post insulting things about particular supposed "types" of students that visit the Careers Studio (no idea why they call it a studio). I was horrified when I found that.
Nightlife
Plenty of it in the city centre. About a 15-minute walk from the campus - unless you just want a bar, as there are closer ones.
Summary
Fairly nice main campus, lack of support from the University but Union support is good when you can get it, no kitchen for students, teaching is poor, lack of disability support / access, 24-hour mental health helpline, plenty of nightlife whether you want a quiet night in a bar or a big night out in a club.
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