Royal Holloway - what's it like being in Egham?

[londonmummy1966]

DD is thinking about applying for history. She likes the look of the course and the buildings etc look pretty. However she is used to being able to breeze in and out of anywhere in Central London and I worry that Egham might be a bit of a backwater for her. Has anyone got DC at RH and what do they make of the location?

I am a Londoner and went to a London Uni (albeit several decades ago) then went on to RH as a post-grad. IMO she will be bored and end up travelling back in to London for nightlife which would make it difficult and possibly unsafe to get back after a night out. The student union, pubs etc don't really offer much compared to being in London.

OP, I would also like to know this. People always come on here to say half the RH students go home at the weekend. And then yet more people come on to say that is not the experience of their DC at all.

I went to RH for a year to do a masters. The founders building is very nice from the outside, but you don’t ever really go in there, and it doesn’t look anything like the rest of the campus. Its not like a Cambridge college where the whole place is like the bit at the front.

It’s a good campus - leafy, lots of space, my accommodation was good. But it’s very out in the sticks compared to being in actual London. Like being in a Surrey village rather than London. Good pubs around, and I think you can get takeaway delivery from Egham but it’s a 15-20 min walk down to the train station and then you’re on a slow train into London. I think it’s about 40 mins to get in, and the last train back from town is 20 past midnight. And it’s a looong way to get home any other way - forget it.

There were always a good few international students who were all confused that this didn’t look like actual London…

TBH I was happy to be there for one year - nice place to focus and get the job done. But I wouldn’t have wanted to be there for 3 years. It’s v personal though - undergrads seemed to be having a good time. V focussed around student union etc. Not at all “London” though. You’d be better in eg Guildford. At least it’s a proper town!

Thank you exactly my concerns - I think she needs somewhere livelier

It is quiet but not far from Staines, Windsor, London etc for nights out. There is a recently opened cinema on Egham and investment in student accommodation in the area. Nice walks into Windsor Great Park and down to Runnymede. However its location near Heathrow and London does attract overseas students and those from SE who may go home at weekends.

My friends went there. They spent a lot of time getting wasted in their rooms for lack of anything better to do.

My ds is currently there. He is enjoying it,ade friends, been out to the cinema, but he is not a clubber, so has not been bothered by the lack of. He is able to get the train to his gf or to come home quite easily.

If she wants somewhere more lively has she had a look at Newcastle?

DD considered going here, but changed her mind when she asked one of the students what the nightlife was like and they said you either need to go into Windsor for clubbing or central London.

My DC is there, 3rd year. They love it, have a PT job in Staines.Go to London some weekends, otherwise numerous house parties, SU or local Pub, The Packhorse is run by SU. Thought they would be bored, but has buzzing social life.

It’s going to depend what you actually want for your social life! Students union or the delights of London! There’s a huge difference. London students wanting a bit of life (away from London) go to Newcastle, Sheffield, or any northern city! Egham is suburbia. It’s rather nice.

“House parties” mean boozing with mates. Cheaper than going to a club but clubbing is dying due to finance issues and COVID. So I think having a bigger variety of entertainment is actually healthier.

Hello TigerorFizz! We seem to be following each other about. Ds looking at Royal Holloway for a choice for politics but not thinking will need to be an option. I have also suggested looking at Southampton. Both campus but both very different.
He is not a clubber and also, at present, very anti drinking for himself (not judgemental on others which is just as well as I like a glass of wine!).

Not visited Royal Holloway but as ds loved Surrey University so much he thought might like Egham. He likes a pretty campus but realises course of central importance!
Royal Holloway has London maintenance grant whereas Surrey doesn't, which is interesting.

My dd would disagree with you about clubbing dying, as it is very much alive and kicking in the northern city that she lives in and is a big part of her social life. I agree that it depends on what you want as a student. Clubbing isn’t for everyone but, for her and her friends, it is hence the reason she chose a northern city over RH for example.

My ds never been clubbing.
I can't see that changing but who knows!

Surely most 17 year olds haven't been clubbing? Do you have to be 18?
(Apologies, I am a dinosaur)

DD doesn't like clubbing, but one of the reasons she statyed in her uni city (Newcastle) is that there are so many other options for going out. The public transport is excellent, and getting to the coast is easy.

Thanks for the comments - all very helpful. I don't think clubbing is the be all and end all for DD but I am a bit worried that Egham would seem like a bit of a dead end as we are fairly central in London.

Sadly a lot of the unis in big cities like Newcastle don't offer the course she wants so she is a bit limited in her choices.

I went to RH . But commuted everyday from central london and back mainly due to that . I also studied history it was definitely worth it. But it was boring and many of the students that lived there commuted to london for night outs etc

My DD found it too quiet and a bit of a dead end tbh, it lacks food choices if your dd likes her take out options.

It’s well known that the northern cities have a different social life from many southern ones. However hundreds of clubs have closed. That’s a fact. Newcastle has been party central for quite a while now with a few others on its heels. Of course cities offer more than Egham. I would also suggest DS opens up course search. Better to be flexible than end up somewhere that doesn’t suit in terms of living there. Brighton is the livliest in the south.

I think Bristol is up there for clubs and social things. DD never seems to be in 😂

I went decades ago and dropped out after 6 weeks because it was so dull.

@mumsneedwine
Not quite up there with Newcastle though!

Not sure how you compare ! DD goes to many clubs, some made up of many floors every week. Seems to be an endless supply of them. And she doesn't wear a coat, so v similar 😂.
Sure most bigger towns and cities have a great clubbing life. Notts has several that do Uni nights, and Rock City.
Egham is a bit quiet and even clubs in Windsor and Camberley are not city sized. But it's a friendly place, lots of student pubs and easy train ride to London. But not for someone who likes a lot to do in their doorstep.