Lancaster Uni is the place to be (University of Lancaster in general)

Member Name: lemontiger

Product:	University of Lancaster in general
Date:	04/03/09 (263 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything on one site, great atmosphere and everyone accepted

Disadvantages: Looks a bit 60s in places

Lancaster University is in the north-west of England in the north of Lancashire. It was started in 1964 and situated all on one campus three miles south of Lancaster city centre but just minutes from junction 33 of the M6. The university is split into 8 undergraduate and 1 postgraduate college on campus. All staff and students are placed in the colleges (you are given the choice) so rather than starting with 3,000-4,000 other first years, you start with say 400 other new students in your college so it is easier to meet people and make friends.

***Academically***
Lancaster is increasingly good academically in all the University rankings. There are many 5 and 6 star rated departments and the Management School is one of the best in the country. In The Times Good University Guide 2009, the university appears at number 19. This is the highest in the north-west above Manchester and Liverpool which is a relatively recent shift. There is some opinion that high quality research is the reason for this rather than high quality teaching and that the university is less interested in this. The university tend to offer traditional subjects, although some noteable departments have been lost in the last 10 years including Chemistry and undergraduate Women's Studies. Recently the School of Health and Medicine has opened which is a new direction for the university and great for diversifying its offerings.

***Accommodation***
It's worth considering which accommodation you want and let that influence your choice of college. For example, virtually all of Bowland College is older and cheaper while all of Lonsdale and Cartmel colleges are new and expensive. Most other colleges are a mix. At the moment there is a wide range of accommodation ranging from roughly £60-100 per week for a room in shared corridors. Some of the accommodation is quite old, although these rooms tend to be larger, not ensuite and cheaper. The newest accommodation is all en-suite but costly and the rooms tend to be small. Corridors vary from 26 sharing communal kitchens to 4 people. First years who accept a place (i.e. not insurance choice or through clearing) are guaranteed accommodation on campus. However, many second and third years are also living on campus now so some first years who do come through later on don't get a place on the campus. There are also some family townhouses on campus which are very popular.

There is an accommodation office for finding safe places to live off campus in shared houses but there are also lots of flats in town built specifically for students. After all with the main site of University of Cumbria also in Lancaster, there are hundreds and hundreds of opportunities for student accommodation for groups or singles and the university does own a few buildings in town on the canal called Chancellor's Wharf which only Lancaster University students are housed in. Town tends to be very friendly towards students, as Lancaster is quite a student town.

***Food & drink***
There are lots of eateries on campus including Indian and Chinese restaurants, a pizzeria and latenight burger bar, a homemade burger bar, a chip shop, Greggs bakery and Diggles with its lovely sausage sarnies. There are posh cafes that students tend to avoid and staff tend to love but in equal numbers, cheap student cafes typically called cafe bars. You can buy virtually any type of food on campus and much is good quality and of reasonable price such as the two homemade vegetarian soups from Souped Up sold in the LUSU shop every week day.

There is no central union bar, but rather every college has its own bar although most are now owned and operated by the university which has upped the costs. However, most of the bars are quite nice and kept well- although others would disagree. Many are also staffed mainly by students- the way it should be.

***Amenities***
There is an on-campus post office, bookshop, library, sports centre (due to be rebuilt very soon), lots of launderettes, travel shop, Barclays and Natwest, a newsagent, SPAR shop and other smaller shops, a charity shop, a computer shop, flower shop, hairdresser- all on the central Alex Square or nearby. The university also has an NHS doctors surgery, pre-school centre, pharmacy and private dentist on-site. The university owns its own nightclub- the Sugarhouse in town.

***Travel***
Travel to and from the university is very easy, during weekdays and saturdays during term-time buses run every couple of minutes into town via various routes. Sundays are less frequent. Out of term time lots of buses still run during weekdays for staff, but many less at the weekend. There is a specific bus which runs from Lancaster railway station called the X1 and this varies from every 15-30 minutes depending on day and time. Students and staff can buy a heavily discounted travelcard termly or for the year. The National Express to London also passes through campus!

***Alumni***
Andy Serkis- think Gollum and the evil Frenchman in Little Dorrit
Jason Queally- Olympic gold medal winning cyclist
James May - Top Gear
There are others, but they aren't as good!

***General last bits***
Lancaster Uni is generally regarded as a very good university, very friendly and tolerant. From experience it is a very positive place to study and work. Some might feel it's a bit quiet but there is a lot to do in terms of clubs and societies, getting involved in student politics, volunteering etc. One point to note is that (mainly) due to the Management School being world class and the good research record, there are students studying at the university from over 100 countries and it is particularly popular with Chinese and Greek students, so highly multicultural which helps make a place where everyone is accepted.

Summary: Be there or be square! Well...maybe not.