London is a terrible place to be a student really.
MN is a funny place. Bristol/Oxbridge good, London bad.
I don't think anyone would dispute that there is some first class, world respected, teaching going on, and that career prospects for graduates of London's top Universities are on par with Oxbridge.
I think that Garden Halls have recently been rebuilt. Prior to that they were deliciously grotty but brilliantly located. A friend of DS was there in the last year of the old building and built a great set of friends. Indeed someone I know, there a very long time ago, made friends for life.
DS had a similar problem to OP in the nearby International Hall. It was a huge 60s building with about 800 rooms. Not easy to meet anyone, though judging from posters all over the place, the senior residents were trying. For him it did not matter. He was close to campus and joined three or four societies and a casual football team. In his first term he also made the trek over to Imperial where one of his friends was studying and joined one of their societies.
Ironically one of the friends he made through his course about five weeks in, had spent three weeks in International Hall but had then decided to commute. If they had met earlier their hall experience would have been different.
It depends. Often this brilliant first year hall experience proves to be a myth. It may be true for some, but not all. I know I met plenty of people in hall in my first year, but they were then largely replaced in my second year by friends from my course or from societies. These were in the days of the innocent hall disco.
London University is international. But as in the current Oxford thread about kids from posh schools, some international students mix, others don't. Indeed some posts I have read on here, in the past, have bordered on the racist.
International students are not necessarily rich. South East Asian parents (an area I know well) absolutely prioritise education. And their children often prioritise proximity to University when it comes to selecting Halls, making the savings through not spending on fares, and getting back for meals. DS went on to share a ex-council flat more-or-less overseas students (I think one was first generation British, and another had been to a British boarding school) close to Garden Halls. Slightly cramped and no living room, but again their intertwined social and academic lives were campus based.
In truth DS' experience was far more positive than DDs at Bristol, where you run the risk of being thrown into a flat with 11 randoms, where the one positive is a chance to witness the development of ket-bladder. (A Bristol area of national expertise.) As a Londoner, the whiteness of Bristol, and the lack of diversity, amazed and disappointed her. There are plenty of affluent students. DS and his friends brought in packed lunches which they ate together. Eating out was the cheapest Chinese restaurant in Soho. (I took him out once and he suggested a fairly ordinary Wardour Street restaurant, but upmarket to them and where they went for special events.)
China Town in term time is buzzing. You dont need to know much about BDS to know that Asia, in many ways, is the new cool. And Asians are far from heterogeneous, coming instead from a wide diaspora often with international educations. And as well as Asians, DS was friendly with Europeans, especially Germans and Austrians and a Lithuanian, Nigerians, Latin Americans, Americans, kids brought up in the gulf, and so on. Indeed he found his way into a football team of Malays. His UG course social life was mainly organised by a couple of girls from Hong Kong and an Australian. At masters level he was the only Brit out of 39, and they bonded really well.
A truly modern international and top class education, which opened the doors he wanted opened.
London is not easy. If you want dreaming spires, a party atmosphere, or more nurturing, go elsewhere. If you thrive, you will be very employable, and wherever you go in the world you will have an instant network of fellow grads. It is even tougher for international students. I understand that Singapore now give special training to Government scholars in cooking, cleaning and bedmaking to help them adapt to London life. Interestingly, once acclimatised to London, very few of DS' peers wanted to return home. London is what it is. A brilliant buzzy world capital - but tough...and expensive.
I hope that OPs daughter goes onto to enjoy her second and third years more. In truth I think it is not uncommon to not enjoy your first year. There is a lot of adaptation and a lot of hype. When he and his school friends met at the first Christmas DS noted that up to half were not happy. There was no particular pattern, whether Oxbridge, London or elsewhere. A couple went on to move, one from Oxford. Others settled down, though one at least (Durham) continued to slightly regret their choices. We know a student who chose to move from Bristol to UCL and our neighbours son wished he had gone to UCL rather than Oxford. Horses for courses.
Like OPs DD, my non-London DD should have moved Hall earlier. And who knows, instead of the unfriendly boy, there could have been someone lovely in the next room.
I would also caution against writing overseas students off. They are a diverse group, and are facing much greater adaptation. The climate for one. The language. Some will be insular, but not most. When I was at LSE the first ever group of Chinese students allowed to study overseas moved into our halls. We watched with fascination as they cooked up amazing meals on a single hob, but never really spoke to them. Years later when working in New York I met one of them. They would have been more than happy to share their food with us. Equally they were confused by majority decisions to watch football rather than the news on the common room TV. Did we not understand how privileged we were to live somewhere where Government policy could be discussed. What a pity no one was brave enough to reach out and get to know the other group.
