From speedos to socials, what's right for you?
Students want to be sure that their university experience is going to be worth all that debt and liver damage.
They want to know which universities perform better within different academic fields. More forward-thinking students are likely to make their choice based on maxxing out their job prospects. After all, that loan's got to be paid back somehow.
Yet, one of the best parts of student life is the social environment. Crazy nights spent on cheap wine, two-pound pints, fancy-dress, random house parties and whatever else goes on under the sheets after the strike of midnight. Just because one finds the best degree course in the land, there might be little point applying if the only night club is a barn and the only friends you’re going to make are Mormons.
Those students that took a gap year – of which there are many nowadays – may like to know how many successful applicants took a year out and whether the institution groups these prospective students together. The student population is made up of many different social, cultural and political moulds. For those students who subscribe to particular religious or political theories, it may be worth knowing whether there are appropriate facilities. Or, whether there's a student mag that isn’t afraid to be politically nonpartisan and allows even the most eccentric communist, capitalist, nationalist or fruitarian to voice their opinion.
After they’ve sussed out their compatriots, students might want to get to grips with the “vibe, dude” around the campus, the city and the green areas. Where are the best boozers? What's the music scene? What do past students think? Where’s hot to shop? And, should they pack their umbrella or their Speedos?
For more active types, a university’s facilities or lack thereof can be a major factor. A university with a free gym, Olympic-size swimming pool and six Astroturf pitches might be more appealing than a university where the indoor courts don’t have a roof, the nearby cattle field doubles as the football and rugby pitch and “hockey” is a foreign word. Students with less athletic enthusiasm might be more interested in knowing what facilities or societies are available within crawling distance of the union building.
A little closer to the pillow, some students may well want to know if they can sit back, beer-in-hand, and surf the internet in the comfort of their hall. Or do they have to scarper down to the library to check their “wall”.
One thing remains to be said: whatever background, ethnicity, gender or planet they descend from, students want to know that where they are going to work and play, for at least the next three years, is the right choice for them.
Last updated on: 19 March 2008