For me, personally, the experience was great! Coming from a different country, I never felt out of place here with so much diversity and so many events. And the Library! Ahhh the Library has been my home for the most of my time here and it is the most relaxing indoor space one could ask for. Best part! Snacks are allowed! I need to munch on something while I study so this was kind of the best thing. Another outdoor spot that I love is Frobel lake (although I wish there were some more benches there). I have made so many memories on campus and made such good friends. It’s amazing. I’m an introvert and for me to feel so good about meeting people is a big thing, but Roehampton made it easy for me. The gym is another facility that I have used a lot and it’s been such a game changer for me. The only thing I think that could be though about is a swimming pool. I feel that is the only thing the Uni lacks, but overall its been such an amazing experience here and now that I’m leaving, it’s very emotional. I have lived on campus for half of my time here and I just want to say that on campus life is the best life! You get to make so many friends, attend so many events and Whitelands is such a beautiful place to live. It’s become my home and its sad to be leaving it. The beds are really good! The room in general is really good and love the ensuite room because the bathroom is so spacious unlike other flats we get in London where theres hardly any space to even stand! Its an amazing place. The kitchen we had was a HUGE open plan one and we have made so many memories of cooking and listening to music and dancing with the flatmates and just enjoying the time living here and helping each other with studies if they couldn’t understand something. It’s been amazing. The health and wellbeing team has my heart because they have been in touch with me from the day I contacted them. I have had constant support by Jo Eskdale and others in the health and wellbeing team and I feel like its such an important thing to know that someone is there looking out for you when you start feeling overwhelmed by everything thats happening around you. A country change, away from friends and family, and the burden of study, a job, a new place to live can all get pretty overwhelming, but for me, these times became my best times because I knew all I had to do was drop an email to Jo that I’m feeling overwhelmed and theres always someone you can talk to in complete confidentiality. Roehampton has changed my life! And I will forever love and cherish the memories that I have made here. I will remain indebted to its beauty and everything it has given me! Long Live Roehampton!!

My course was really good! Everything was pretty organised and well put out. It has been an honour because all the instructors were really good and really helpful. Although I do wish they had broken ip the dissertaion into 3 parts as in writing the first two chapters in the first semester, the next two in the next semester and the last two in the last semester and then the references etc and indexes in the remaining time we had left. It got pretty overwhelming by the end of the last term as the whole dissertation had to be written in three months, alingside other modules which got really really messy. Another thing that could be done is to do all other modules in the first two terms and leave the last term solely for the dissertation so there are around 4-5 months to concentrate on it without anything else to focus on. Other than that, it did work out in the end, but it was quite tough, so, maybe that could be taken into consideration

As I mentioned before the uni halls are amazing. We made lots of memories in the kitchen, dancing and singing and cooking and studying. The rooms are great! The bathrooms are spacious and really good. There is a lot, and I mean A LOT of storage space so there is no problem of storing things. There are a lot of kitchen cupboards and there are quite big and a lot can be stored in them. There are 4 big fridge/freezers and they are enough for everyone to use. I have never had any problems whatsoever with anything and it’s been an amazing time!!

The campus is a great community with great facilities and nature. The student support services are extensive and there is always someone to talk to. This year the new team for coordinating this services was launched: the Nest. This service answers all queries and signposts relevant teams/offices. The university has a strong focus on sustainability and volunteering. For example, there are recycling bins everywhere, a wormery for food waste from the catering team, and a vegetarian cafe. The Growhampton initiative allows students to volunteer with the community allotments, look after the chickens and go on enriching trips to growing initiatives around London. The security here is 24/7 365 days of the year and can support in emergencies or non-emergencies. This makes it a very safe place to study and live. The societies and sports list is extensive with opportunities for everyone to get involved. I go to about 8 societies each week. Lastly, the library is phenomenal. The building is modern, with great facilities and resources: journals, subject magazines, computers, moving shelves, laptop loans, cafe, study rooms, and the Academic Achievement Team.

The course is extensive in terms of the areas of learning. You can specialise in any subject of the national curriculum in your second and third years, which is quite rare. The course is taught in person only (unless train strikes) through seminars and lectures. You can also attend tutorials with a lecturer if you would like, through booking it. The tutors are amazing. Many of them have published books or been part of groups designing the curriculum for their subject. They have so many different experiences and backgrounds and are happy to share stories and will often give their own anecdotes or strategies from their time in the classroom. The course is taught two days a week, typically with 2 modules each half term. One day will be 4 seminars (groups of around 20) and the other day will be lectures (everyone in the year). Each module contains a group of subjects or professional learning. For example, this year Core Curriculum 1 contains maths, English and science, and Wider Curriculum 1 contains RE, computing, DT and music. There is a high level of professionalism expected. This includes 100% attendance at all lectures and seminars unless there are mitigating circumstances. We are expected to explore each subject beyond our required readings and engage with the professional community through reading clubs, CPD training, Twitter etc.

Elm Grove is centrally located in the university, on main campus near the entrance and library. It is one of the newest buildings on campus. The rooms are all ensuite with small double beds. Typically you live in a flat of seven rooms along a corridor with a shared kitchen. The kitchens typically have two hob/cookers, 2-3 fridges and freezers, lockable cupboards, a microwave, kettle, toaster, hoover, mop and bucket, and ironing board. There are many accessible or ground floor rooms to request if needed. There are lifts in every block as there are five floors. It is very safe, with CCTV cameras at all entrances and outside, and security is 24/7 and available through using your own phone to call, the flat's phone, or going to the security lodge nearby. The university is an open campus during the day (anyone can come on site) but the gates to campus get shut at night and are opened by your key card, which makes it feel even safer. There are many options for laundry, such as outside machine services and washrooms. The cleaning service cleans the kitchen and hallway once a week and they change the kitchen bins (recycling and general) every week day. Maintenance is very good and complaints are addressed quickly. The one downside is the fire alarms. People typically set them off in the middle of the night by accident. The alarms are extremely loud in each room, corridor and staircase. When they go off everyone (about 350 people) have to go and stand on the lawn by the library for about 20 minutes until the fire brigade come and declare it safe. This is an inconvenience across all the university halls. We have had no actual fires this year so far. If you need it there are disabled access points with speakers and emergency buttons on each floor if you do need them to help you evacuate. I find it great living on campus for the sense of community and quick/easy access to facilities and societies. There are several options for living situations, locations and price ranges on campus. I find living in Elm Grove great value for money.