If you're looking for a smaller university who prioritises students, Uni of Glos is perfect. Small class sizes means the lecturers have more time for each student, and on campus you start recognising faces from other people studying there - it's a lovely community feel. Cheltenham may not have the best night life, but if you're someone who is more interested in art galleries, cafe culture, going for walks in the Cotswolds etc., then it is ideal. Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff etc. aren't far if you do miss the city. I've always found student services helpful and easy to contact too.

Even though I started during COVID with online lectures, the uni was keen to get us back on campus as soon as it was allowed. Again, having small class sizes means we weren't breaching room limits so we could get into practical lab sessions as soon as possible. All of my lectures switched to in-person fairly quickly, although most are still recorded/streamed on Teams if you can't make it in. The lecturers have all been factastic, to be honest, and I've had a lot of choice to pick what I want to study/focus on. Obviously, the uni doesn't have quite as many research facilities as bigger unis but I doubt undergrads would use it much even if they did, so I don't feel like I've missed out. Definitely feel like I've been prepared for starting work, with good support securing a year placement too.

Pitville was the best student accommodation I saw out of any when visiting different universities. It's still quite new, so it doesn't feel too dated and they have plenty of options to suit different budgets. It was pretty quiet in my room, but there were plenty of parties going on in other flats which were easily avoided where needed, and the accommodation team were pretty quick to move people around if they weren't getting on with the people they were living with. Always felt very safe, and lovely location next to a park. As an ecology student, I loved the view of Cleeve Hill and the buzzards which I could watch from my window.

Small class size makes talking and asking lecturers very easy

Best: easy to get one on one time