Our collection of real, honest student reviews of unis and courses is the largest in the UK, and help you make well-informed decisions about your future. Student reviews also form the basis of our annual Whatuni Student Choice Awards(WUSCAs), which highlight great work carried out by institutions for their students.
2023 WUSCA winners
Everyone here is really nice, it's a very welcoming environment. The range of sports and activities to take part in is pretty good. I've occasionally had difficulty getting questions answered about work or extenuating circumstances; and the food isn't the best.
I've found the course really interesting so far, and the majority of modules have been useful. There is a lot of extra content given to help us and the lecturers are supportive and mostly happy to explain things in more detail. Although the extra content can be good, there is a lot to get through which I'm not sure I will have time to cover.
My room is spacious and my flatmates are nice. It's easy to report a noise complaint or contact maintenance if necessary. Our accommodation fee includes a budget to spend at the canteen ir other stores around campus, however if we do not spend it all it goes to the university. I would prefer if I was able to put the leftover money towards future accommodation installments.
Really outdated facilities and university overall !! Lack of basic necessity and technology in class and around campus, like sockets for charging your laptop or video recording equipment in the classrooms, WI-FI also non existent and really difficult to connect to your devices. You will never be able to attend lessons from home if you are sick or bed-bound or you live far away and you only need to attend 1 hour lesson. If you want to study anything related to agriculture, better go somewhere else (like Harper Adams university or Norwich university) where they will offer you more advance programs and you will finish your studies with great knowledge and a better accreditation; which will make you more competitive on the job market and in your future career. Unfortunately, Writtle University College is more like a college than a university!! I learned more during my High School diploma in Agriculture (finished 2001) than here at Writtle 22 years after. Also when they will contact you before the beginning of your course, they will lie to you about what you will find at uni (i.e.: vertical farming, hydroponic, sports facilities etc.), just to enrolled you and take £10,000/year from you. My course is Agriculture (Regenerative Systems) and we (I am student rep) are not learning anything about sustainability, climate changes and regenerative systems, which are fundamentals for the future of agriculture and interlinked with climate changes all around the world. There is a farm at Writtle but is not managed properly and they keep changing the Farm Manager, creating discontinuity and lack of progress within the project the we started in open-fields; also, what we study in class we do not transfer to the farm (i.e., ploughing is not good for the soil biome etc., but in the farm they carry on doing it and so on for the rest of the farm practices). On your first year they will ask you to do a sustainability report based on Writtle campus itself, but they do not collect data, consequently they will mark you down or fail the assignment because you will not be able to find data anywhere, which is crazy so they basically set you up for failure before you even start. I attended University of Surrey before moving to Writtle and the difference is like Venus and the Sun. Make sure that you check the university ratings before you enrol anywhere and do extensive research on the programs they offer. My suggestion is to AVOID Writtle University College like the plague, run away from it as fast as you can!!!
Some lecturers are really knowledgeable and some others "cannot teach to save their lives". Tutor non existent and course content not current and comprehensive, consequently really low career prospects. Ancient non sustainable facilities and work placements and internships not really suitable for your degree. Really outdated facilities and university overall !! Lack of basic necessity and technology in class and around campus, like sockets for charging your laptop or video recording equipment in the classrooms, WI-FI also non existent and really difficult to connect to your devices. You will never be able to attend lessons from home if you are sick or bed-bound or you live far away and you only need to attend 1 hour lesson. If you want to study anything related to agriculture, better go somewhere else (like Harper Adams university or Norwich university) where they will offer you more advance programs and you will finish your studies with great knowledge and a better accreditation; which will make you more competitive on the job market and in your future career. Unfortunately, Writtle University College is more like a college than a university!! I learned more during my High School diploma in Agriculture (finished 2001) than here at Writtle 22 years after. Also when they will contact you before the beginning of your course, they will lie to you about what you will find at uni (i.e.: vertical farming, hydroponic, sports facilities etc.), just to enrolled you and take £10,000/year from you. My course is Agriculture (Regenerative Systems) and we (I am student rep) are not learning anything about sustainability, climate changes and regenerative systems, which are fundamentals for the future of agriculture and interlinked with climate changes all around the world. There is a farm at Writtle but is not managed properly and they keep changing the Farm Manager, creating discontinuity and lack of progress within the project the we started in open-fields; also, what we study in class we do not transfer to the farm (i.e., ploughing is not good for the soil biome etc., but in the farm they carry on doing it and so on for the rest of the farm practices). On your first year they will ask you to do a sustainability report based on Writtle campus itself, but they do not collect data, consequently they will mark you down or fail the assignment because you will not be able to find data anywhere, which is crazy so they basically set you up for failure before you even start. I attended University of Surrey before moving to Writtle and the difference is like Venus and the Sun. Make sure that you check the university ratings before you enrol anywhere and do extensive research on the programs they offer. My suggestion is to AVOID Writtle University College like the plague, run away from it as fast as you can!!!
Being in the middle of Essex countryside is relatively safe but the campus does not close at night, so outsiders can access at any time. Outdated accommodations and not worth the weekly price and if you think to rent apartment in Chelmsford (nearest town) think twice, because the public transport toad from the campus is very limited. The village (Writtle) only have two pubs and nothing else. The two canteens serving awful food, unhealthy and of poor quality (I am a development chef myself and I offer my services for FREE to improve the menu making it more sustainable, healthy and still keeping the costs low, but they refuse saying that they improved from the previous year). Make sure to do some shopping on your own if you want to keep your health in check and AVOID the canteens, for your own sake.
The courses are well run and make you day one competent
Hours and course delivery is fab
The university is a bit of a shell of its glory days. The campus is falling apart and not well kept, the bathrooms, classrooms and amount of potholes around campus is disgusting. Plenty of the best staff have been laid off over the past few years, leaving fractured courses being. Would I have recommended this uni 4 years ago? Definitely! Would I recommend this uni now? Not a chance in hell It's just sad to live and experience the campus, for so much land and so much potential it's absolutely falling apart. All repairs are 'bodge jobs' if repaired at all, so everything just looks appalling The staff clearly reminisce on the university's former glory and also seem to be aware of how badly it is falling apart. Little care seems to be put towards student life on campus or even pride in the uni itself
The lecturers are knowledgeable and well responsive. Occasionally there is mess ups in regards to old courses not having been updated to the current year or updated in general Where lecturers have been made redundant it has left other lecturers to have to pick up other courses they previously did not teach. It's sad to see the course shrunk so much
Course is ran great. Student life is poor
Course ran really well
Noisy and too expensive for what it is.
Great specialist institution offering programs not many do, also central location. Student life is not much and you can easily feel on your own or little involved with your peers
Lecturers for the most part are great. Could be more focus on how to advance career and find it.
Close to London makes it worth it overall central.
It's central on campus and decent space. Poorly maintained and not much is done when there are issues. Meal plan that follows is alright, good isn't great.
Lots of nature. Could improve the facilities we have and the quality of help we are offered, attitude of staff towards towards us, gym facilities.
It is taught in person for the most part, but sometimes lecturers are not able to cover everything we need, more time could be allocated for actual lecture time, more student support
Some of the facilities we have are out dated and could use an oven as well, easier to make oven meals as cafeteria food is not great. Management takes a while to respond to complaints. Not always hot water etc.
Best aspect is the courses as they are enjoyable and have good facilities to learn. Catering facilities could be improved along with student life.
The course is 3 days a week with a mixture of practicals and lectures in person with a weekly tutorial session
This is a nice university if you prefer a quieter life, and it can feel really homely. Everyone knows everyone, as it really is a small university. The wellbeing and student union staff are really supportive . The course is good if you know what you want to do and prepare for the science side! It can feel overwhelming at first, but it is definitely a good course. The facilities are okay. Many of the buildings are quite old and have some issues, but maintenance are always prompt at dealing with this. A lot of the classrooms/lecture theatres aren't quite up to university use, with lots of them not having enough outlets for chargers etc. The location and campus are beautiful, Writtle is a lovely little village and Chelmsford isn't too far away. It is true that we are a close-knit community here, and you get to know your classmates more than you might in a big university. However, it seems to be a common opinion that it feels like we are quite distanced from the 'higher ups' and it can be hard to feel heard in that respect. On a ground level though, the staff and students get along well and the staff work hard to get our issues heard. The pet behaviour clinic is really nice and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.
Most of our lectures are in classrooms with smaller classes which makes it easier to get the most from your lecturer. There is a high expectation for attendance to lectures. Classrooms and teaching spaces are easy to find and you don't have to worry about getting lost on campus (it's tiny!). In first year, you spend more time in the lecture theatre with a couple different courses in one. By second year, you're typically in smaller classrooms. The science can be really overwhelming at first, but you can always contact lecturers/wellbeing/student success for support. It is really easy to book in for a meeting with lecturers, tutors etc. and they are helpful. I think it is probably easier to contact lecturers here than at a bigger university. Prepare for the science , but don't be disheartened if you are overwhelmed at first!
Halls are within a 5 minute walk of lecture theatres/classrooms. The halls feel homely. The buildings are old and have various issues due to this, but maintenance are always on hand to help and they are making improvements. Room allocation is good, and usually if you have any issues they respond very quickly. The wifi can be very patchy. The general opinion is that value for money isn't great. It is frustrating to constantly have to call out maintenance for issues with heating, water and wifi. The halls are nice and you feel at home, but with the buildings being so old it isn't always the best. Learn to use convection microwave and induction hobs, there are no ovens here. You can choose to eat on campus as many of us do, but the food isn't always the best and portion sizes can be questionable.
The accommodation isn't the best and it feels overpriced for what you get The onsite catering has improved this year and is very accessible but still not the best The student support is amazing and will help you no matter how small
You get to do a lot of practical work and all content is relevant and informative Some of the lecturers do just read a presentation and give no other information on top of it
It is in the middle of nowhere so traveling to the nearest city is costly especially for nights out Although there is a shuttle bus they finish early and have odd hours Chelmsford is ok shopping and food wise but night out is limited Nearest shop is a co op which is expensive Honestly you need to drive to go to this uni
The view is really pretty and the cleaners do an amazing job Rooms are overpriced for what you're getting The toilet breaks once a month Not enough storage space