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The overall ranking is decided by students from this institution rating them in a 2026 Whatuni review. This forms the basis of the Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs for short).
4.04.04.11050 Student reviews
Sort:Latest reviewsBest - Employment options and help is quite clear and useful, especially as I'm in final year. The free laptops we got given were useful, perhaps to free up the computer rooms nonetheless was appreciated Worst - things don’t get fixed quickly enough like toilets and lifts, I understand their redundancy but as there’s one main building can be problematic Car parking is exceptionally problematic, I don’t know how a car park could be created, but it would change the game as £5 for 4 hours is a lot when you try to come to uni 5-6 days a week, the £10 a month travel cost isn’t enough
The student union is exceptionally good because of the Team this year, so many activities, so much fun stuff to do! The MPharm course is good, would appreciate more support and efforts from the Pharmacy staff with study material and exam preparations.
It is in the middle of birmingham city center which makes it very accessible and gives it an urban city campus feel. Area of improvement should be an upgrade in the main building facilities. The building is very old and toilet facilities on higher floors look dangerous to use
Student union can be slightly frustrating but you can see progress being made hard conversation being had. Really brilliant facilities available its just the access and getting the chance to use all the hardware.
What makes it a grace place to study is that the campus is in Birmingham city centre which is easy to travel to. There are also many places in Birmingham city centre to have fun with other students, which makes going to Aston uni a nice place to study. I also like how for optometry we have a separate building and everything is in one place. Most of the lecturers are also really nice and approachable. What could be improved about this uni is we have a lot of group work and don't get to choose what groups we are in which is a shame because they are not as fun as they could be. Also the canteen facilities could be improved as there isn't a lot of variety of food.
My whole university experience was affected by pandemic and teacher’s strikes (current year as well as previous years). Unfortunately, Aston didn't adapt well to the change. During our final year me and my colleagues see the enormous lack of support. It is harder to get good marks, teachers are expecting more form us yet not improving themselves and their ways of teaching/passing information. The feedback on 2000 word essay that we have received recently only had few sentences so it was nowhere near helpful. Due to the strikes, some of my colleagues are not able to get in touch with their dissertation supervisors in a timely manner. I am not saying that every teacher is bad as I had some great lecturers along the way, and you will probably find people who will be willing to help you but unfortunately the bad interactions/experiences will be more likely to happen than the good ones. University facilities and location are great but definitely not worth the money that you need to spend.
Aston University is perfect for students wanting to study on a smaller-scale campus. If you're worried about feeling like part of a crowd at university, then Aston may just be for you. With plenty of support and a low student to staff ratio, Aston is a great place to find success. Some people may find Aston's continued use of mixed learning a disadvantage, as some of your lectures will still be done online. Aston may not be for students wanting to just study on campus.
Campus is very accessible. Got societies that help and make the uni experience more fun. Very supporting staff. Campus isn’t very big so it’s very ideal to get to one building to another
Its student union building is really nice, maybe more prayer rooms in certain buildings.
Personally, I think the university needs renovation (inside the main building), specifically referring to the places for students to interact, probability something similar to the spaces available for students on the ground floor by the E lift. Printers need to be consistently checked and refilled: I used to search for a working printer in the main building (library ones were checked). Even when you personally, point out "low paper" in the printers to the IT team were not quick in making changes. The best experience I always have had is the service/help/guidance provided by The hub. Each time I visited The hub, I was provided with the information I wanted.
Because I live in Oxford it is hard for me to commute!
Good support and facilities. However, looks and feel should be better
Aston University is a great place to study and with on campus shops, sports facilities and living accommodation. I don't live on campus so it is hard to say what it is like to live at Aston but from what I see and my friends tell me they enjoy the living spaces and find it a great place to live! The facilities, labs and classrooms are very accessible and helps with the learning and understanding when in the classroom itself!
The university is a vibrant and extremely diverse campus with people from all over. It's very close to the city centre which is convenient. It has good facilities and are constantly innovating to keep up to date with other universities.
18-24 years
Its facilities are cool and the new ones are great to use for example the student Union building where students can sit and order food and drinks while good music is playing, another example is the study area in the main building it’s very fancy. However the uni in general is kind of ugly. There’s a good mix of people here, lots of people party a lot and there’s lots of people who hate it. Academically the content is hard but most people are not really serious about studying and aren’t that focused so it’s hard to stay passionate and motivated to study. Overall it’s a good uni to go to if you don’t want to experience the competitiveness and academic pressure in Russel Groups.
It is what it is
Absolutely love going into lectures on campus and being able to have genuine conversations with the lecturers
Aston make it very accessible to get extra help and support if needed through WASS appointments and meetings. It is encouraged constantly to ask for help if you are unsure about anything which is great. It would be better if seminars and workshops were recorded as sometimes you have to miss the in person sessions for other commitments e.g work experience placements. Although you are encouraged to have a meeting with a teacher when these are missed, it would be a lot easier to be able to watch the sessions at your own convenience
the university campus is pretty especially being right in the centre of a city however the university building lecture hall chairs are uncomfortable to sit in
4.2
Ironically it was during a student progress meeting I was having my module teacher. I had missed weeks of uni and she had reached out to check on me and first I had felt intruded but also felt that it was a privilege as many of my friends at uni don’t have curious and helpful staff. I attended this meeting and addressed why I was missing uni and it was due to money and psychological problems. I expected to receive typical advice and a boost of temporary motivation but it was the complete. She told me the harsh truth, reality and potential outcome if I don’t “get my house in order” and from then on I’ve been so different. The most life changing conversation I’ve had with someone who was not family or my friend and I’ll never forget how life changing the conversation was as it proved to me that there are some staff that do love their jobs and actively try help and advise rather than finish their forced 9 to 5 job and go home unhappy. She helped me and I’ll forever be grateful. My worst experience was waiting for almost 2 hours for a meeting with the financial advisors about my money problems and student finance. Everyone hates queues but at Aston, it’s a constant line of pressed and angry people because they refuse to come up with ways to change the circumstances and adapt so that people are served quickly and better. And when you are served, you’re always redirected to a phone call or told to come back later and honestly the hun is the most disorganised and draining place to be and ironically, it’s where people go and expect to be helped. Overall, Aston is weak in adaptation; through student service in the hub and onto the decor and feel of the atmosphere and appearance.
Attending lectures is fun as I feel I’m engaging in something important however it’s the logistics that decrease the hype. People talk constantly, teacher looks like they’re being forced to present and points don’t get across very easily. Some teachers I have are foreign so accents are hard to understand however people try exploit them which is hard to watch but the lecturer does not help themself by not addressing it. They just steam through the session whilst students violate and us serious students find it harder to understand. All in all, since coming to Aston I have enjoyed myself and been through a lot but I feel that the whole idea of university should be flexible and students should name teachers by their name rather than ‘sir’ or ‘miss’ and viewing them as a provider than a professional, totally diminishes the respect they receive and in turn; jeopardises the lesson. Primary and secondary schools thrive because respect is always shown and you must or you’ll be sanctioned whereas at university, students enjoy lectures but in their own way and the lecturer always struggles to keep the classroom in order. My best aspect of the course is that I can talk to my lecturers openly. I had come back after weeks of missing lectures and I spoke to my module leader who didn’t waver but rather explained what I missed, what I need to catch up on and how I can achieve and this was perfectly articulated. I walked out of that meeting motivated and ready which is the best feeling to have during academic struggle.
I like that uni halls can enable you to make friends easier as you walk past various people constantly everyday and you start to build an honest and happy relationship gradually. Facilities are excellent and you get what you pay for which I’m honestly fine with. What I like least is that there are days where gates and certain doors are open and this can strike uneasiness in me as Birmingham is not a safe place and things have happened such as people walking around with actual guns and knives so I feel the accommodation must be consistent with keep gates locked and doors locked unless you have the accommodation pass to open them. It’s an issue I very much hate and I had faced someone who tried burglarising me of my jacket that I was actually putting on and would not let me enter my accommodation without letting them have it. I thought quick on my feet when that happened and told me I’d let them try it on I just needed to call my mum and tell her I was alright first. Instead I called my mate to open his accommodation door which was a 10 minute walk and I ran as fast as I could and managed to survive. That is one of two incidents I’ve had because the gate has been open and I just managed to escape and with that comes feelings of PTSD when you walk down the same route and fear, anxiety and pure anger at management for not keeping on top of things.