Warwick - To Firm or not to Firm?

I promised Daniel Lim that I would write a 'post or something' after I've gone to Warwick. Well, here it is.


The Warwick Report...
What do I think of Warwick? Well, first off, I'd like to start with the negatives.

The Negatives.

It's a campus university. Some say it's the most 'Campusy' of all campus universities in the UK. What does it mean? Well, your social life and whatnots will all occur within the campus. To put it in another way, it's a bubble. That's because you'd hardly have a reason to get out of the Uni premises and into Coventry. There's not a lot in Coventry, as far as I'm aware, and you're quite probably going to live in the accomodation within the Campus in the first year, which further isolates you from the rest of the city.

(Oh, you have to move out of the Campus accomodation in year 2 & 3. But they have various services to help you find accomodation in Coventry, Kennilworth, or Leamington Spa. The Campus Tour Guide that I had, a 2nd year student, lives in Leam, and he said it only takes about half an hour by bus to get to the campus.)

However, there are upsides to living in a bubble.

The upsides.

Yes, you are in a bubble. But that can be good, too. There are banks in the uni, there's lots of places to grab a bite (one cafe in every department, if I saw correctly). There's an Arts Centre, which does play host to some great acts from time to time. There's a sports centre for your sporting needs (membership £100-ish a year, apparently). There's a post office, a few barbers, a bookshop, a library with online services accessible from the web, etc. The uni is quite self-sufficient, I think you'd agree.

And yes, it's in Coventry. But if you zoom out in Google maps, you'd find that Birmingham is just a 15-min train ride away, and London isn't too far, either - 1 hour on Virgin Trains. Compare this with Exeter, which is 2 hours + from London.

The accomodation is relatively cheap by UK Uni standards. £70-120/wk for campus accomodation, and when you move out to Leamington Spa, you're not in London, so rent isn't going to be overly expensive either.

Also, it's the Unbiversity of Warwick. It has good reputation within and outside the UK. Which probably helps explain the diverse mix in the Uni.

The good rep also comes with its own perks. Lots of major employers will come down for career fairs. That's really useful in a competitive job market.

Oh, and they have a really awesome-looking pub (The Dirty Duck).


On Academics...
(You can probably research more about this on your own from the Warwick website and the various Good Uni Guides, so I'll just post what I learnt from the Open Day.)

From what I gathered during the Open Day, the University's research have received high ratings. This is important as it means you are learning from the people involved in the cutting-edge of the latest developments in the subject you're studying.


For Accounting & Finance, they bring in people working in the trade from time to time, e.g.: to teach on Taxation. And the degree is well-received by major accounting bodies - ACCA might allow up to 8 exemptions (out of 14 exams), depending on course choices.

For Economics, I've heard (from Shu-Yee :p) that they've been bringing in other Sciences into the subject, rather than just numbers. Think Psychology, Sociology, Biology, and Maths all combined into Economics. That's the 'in' thing at Warwick.

One thing I should point out though, before you get all excited about studying these things - Exams still form a major part of the Uni system here. They have project works, essays, and other assignments, but there's no escaping from exams. But then again, I think most UK Universities are reliant on exams, so if you choose to come here, you're going to face them eventually.

Did I mention the library? They have a digital catalogue of journals which are accessible from your computer (so you should be able to access them during the holidays), and they're starting to bring in eBooks, so it's good to hear that they're still improving.

Closing Statements...

Warwick is not a perfect university. But I can see myself going there. My only dilemma now is whether to make it my Firm or not.

If Yes, then I have to decide if I want to do the stupid thing of making Exeter my Insurance, or do the sensible thing by making Manchester my Insurance.

If not, then Exeter will be my Firm, and Warwick my Insurance.

(Requirements: Exeter: AAA, Warwick: AAB +C/b, Manchester: AAB)

I'll think about it before May comes. But for now, I really think I should go to Warwick.

(P.s.: When picking accomodation, try and avoid Whitefields - it's really near to the Student Union, which can be nice if you're a party animal, but not during exam time. Can get a bit noisy.)