RoHo vs city universities

We might feel like we’re missing out sometimes, but here’s why we’ve got it pretty good at Royal Holloway


Although city universities undoubtedly have their high points, ROHO’s quaint campus layout is definitely difficult to contend with and as ROHO students we take full advantage.

We might complain sometimes, but we all love RoHo really. Here’s why.

1) Founders

If you’re a student here you can’t miss it! A pretty big selling point to the uni would be the huge building students pass each and every day (and quite a few live in!) Why settle for an unattractive grey slab building in the middle of a busy city centre to have a lecture in when you have Founders as an option? Come on, even looking at it makes you want to pick up a book and study! It also of course makes a very exciting and posh backdrop for photos, even if you’re not striking the best pose!

2) Everything is literally on your doorstep.

No exaggeration, after a heavy night out the night before it is perfectly acceptable to set your alarm 20 minutes before your lecture and still make it easily. No buses, no trains, no long walks, just a skip, jump and a hop away. Also the SU and bars on campus are so close that you can practically see them from most accommodation!

3) We’re almost London but not London.

You don’t get this country feel in London! ROHO is a uni that is close enough to London to be able to make daily visits if you wanted to but also far away enough to not have to deal with the constant stream of people and instead have the relaxing surroundings of Egham (even if at times the lack of people does start to get a little strange..)

4) The recent appearances ROHO has made

So recently ROHO has been making appearances; starting with Founders being shown on the Christmas special of Downton Abbey, then Founders quad being used for BBC’s Stargazing Live and now even the Queen has popped in for a nice little visit! Also people who aren’t familiar with Royal Holloway tend to not have a clue where it is or if it even exists, which is also kind of cool.

 5) Family feel

We’re like a family here at ROHO simply because you’ll find yourself seeing the same people day in day out, it’s actually quite hard to avoid especially if you want to steer clear of that certain person from a certain drunken night.. You don’t feel like you’re alone here, a walk to the shop is always going to take longer from the conversations you’ll most likely have on your way!