RoHo vs city universities

Recently, a friend of mine who goes to Newcastle uni came to visit RoHo for the night; she had a really good time, and summarized our Student’s Union as “cute” – which, to be fair, is probably a very apt description.

Even our crazy nights like Absolute Filth seem tame (the filthiest thing I saw last term was someone wearing a bin bag as an outfit) and the surrounding picturesque countryside probably makes our campus seem quite idyllic compared with the urban streets of city universities, and I think you’ll find there’s a lot of other differences too…

1. Safety

In a recent phone conversation with a friend who goes to Leeds, I heard of how her current view outside her window was a man attempting to break into a car on the street opposite, and that someone had been murdered at the park near five minutes from her accommodation. At Royal Holloway, I’m pretty sure the fiat 500s and various other cars parked on campus are quite secure – in fact, you’re more likely to get attention from security if your car hasn’t got a permit and you leave it parked on campus for too long.

CALL THE POLICE

2. Cost

In Newcastle, you can get shots for a pound. In Egham, the price is at least double. And don’t even get me started on housing costs…

All that’s left from your student loan

3. Size

My friends who have visited me recently find it really odd how, whenever we left my accommodation, there was always someone who I knew to say hi or chat too. At first I think they thought I was really popular, but, actually, I think it’s the same for all students here; Royal Holloway is a small university, you’re going to bump into people you know a lot. My friend at Manchester, on the other hand, hasn’t even seen the three other people who went to our sixth form since he’s been there.

And it’s picturesque

4. Nightlife

Ok, so I know technically we’re ‘University of London’, but, in reality, we’re in Egham – I don’t look outside my bedroom window to prêt a mangers, busy streets and double-decker buses. London is about half an hour away by train, and as great as the nightlife can be, it’s hardly on our door step. What is local is the Student Union, the Monkey’s Forehead and Windsor (kind of). That’s three places. On the other hand, my friend at Newcastle aimed to go to the best twenty clubs in the area during Freshers week.

a night in Leeds…

Spoilt for choice in Egham!

Saying this, though, I think our little uni has a lot of going for it. Ok, the nightlife is kind of shitty if you compare it to city universities, but it does have its own charm. To be honest, who wants to go into a club where you have to have designated meeting points, because you know you’re going to lose your friends in the crowds of sweaty randomers? And would I really swap my view of the countryside for morning car hijackings? The one and probably only thing I wish that would change about our uni is how expensive it is. (more shots for a pounds please Student Union!)