OVERALL UNIVERSITY RATING
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
University of Kent is a great university to be at, in general I would say that I am very pleased and happy to have chosen this as...
University rating
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
University of Kent is a great university to be at, in general I would say that I am very pleased and happy to have chosen this as my first choice university. Here at Kent, there isn’t much going on in the sense that there aren’t that many clubs or events you could go too and during the day it is rather very quiet which can be very advantageous in the sense that, you get to stay focused and not distracted by the surroundings. But at the same time, you would there to be at least a few more events and clubs as it is a student town afterall – Canterbury has quite a few universities unlike perhaps other towns yet the students are constantly feeling very dull and bored. My advice, choose a university that has an even balance between fun times and times when you would have to stay focused and do your work.
Facilities
How good are your university's facilities?
I love how you have 24/7 access to most computers and Uni facilities so in case you do not have a laptop or your laptop is out for repairs you could use their uni facilities. However, what is really annoying at times is the printing system - you would have to top it up with printing credit and if you do not have any you can't print off whatever it is that you need. I guess its another way for the university to earn money but what they are forgetting is that we are only students and really don't need our expenses to go up - before we know and have paid for all the necessary material/equipment our student Finance is finished.
Student support
How good is the support offered by the uni? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
Student support is great from getting financial support from the university down to support in terms of the lectures, course and everything else from the university. Despite the fact that I applied for Student Finance very early, it didn't stop them from acting unprofessional and not letting me know on time that there was a problem with my application not forgetting the fact that I have been trying to contact them several times and also had the assurance that my application is absolutely fine. Anyway, I went to the Finance and Income office, explained my situation and also provided the various documents to back up my point and now they gave me an emergency loan of £240 where I had the option to either receive it in cash, by cheque or both - Great University and superb support. :)
Students' union
What do you think of your Students' Union in terms of student representation and facilities?
I guess the student union is alright, not very much involved with the Student Union and I don't hear much from them so I can't comment much. The only time I hear from them is when they are asking us to vote other students for various positions within the societies or course reps or reps for the various accommodation areas in Kent like, Parkwood, Keynes, Eliot, Rutherford, Tylor and Darwin
Local life
Is your university in a good location in terms of distance to accommodation and local amenities?
The town is really nice and coming to think about it, it is quite big as it has a lot of stores in town and a lot of tourist attractions - the Canterbury Cathedral for one. Then there is the Marlowe Theatre and many more, so if you are a type of person that is into theatre or learning a bit more about the ancient history then Canterbury is the place for you.
Societies and Sports
How would you rate the variety of societies/sports?
Clubs and societies here at Kent are not bad - a lot of them offer free taster sessions which gives you the opportunity to see what the societies and clubs are like by taking part then seeing for yourself if this is really the type of society you want to commit yourself too before actually signing up for them and they take one off payment that will cover you for the rest of the year. Depending on the societies, the clubs sometimes offer their members a variety of activities outside the clubs as this is for members to get to know each other a little better.
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
At first, the excitement of knowing that at the end of the course you would be getting a degree in the course you have studied that you can use for future jobs is very great but as time goes on, even the most exciting job turns to become very dull and you aren't that excited about the course anymore because it is more theoretical than practical and then you are left with self-motivation to keep yourself going.
Career prospects
How does your uni make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
For "Job prospects" I have decided to give it a very low rating, don't get me wrong in terms of keeping students up to date with the latest Employability and Careers events the Kent Union is doing great - but after attending all those career events you feel the same way as you felt before going in. It would be nice if you could get the assurance that of definitely getting a job after attending numerous events and doing all the things required.
University halls
What do you think about the safety, condition, location and cost of your accommodation?
I lived in the Parkwood flats which had an en-suite and my house mates were great. At first I wasn't sure what to expect because of a number of reasons, I didn't know what their personalities would be like and whether or not we would clash or get along but it turned out alright. We ate dinner together, chose in turns who would be in charge of the cooking so it was really nice.