Tell me about Warwick

[Warwickk]

I got some really helpful responses the other day when I asked about Durham - now it's Warwick's turn.

I have at least been to Warwick, and although DD hasn't yet, she's going to the open day next month.

I'm curious about second and third year accommodation. I think some live in Coventry and some in Leamington Spa, and my question is - why do people live in Leamington? Coventry looks much closer and must surely have more amenities / nightlife etc.

Please explain, and tell me what else is good and bad about Warwick!

I agree. They just know when they visit a place. We decided last minute to go to the Warwick Open Day and dd just loved it and it became her "Dream School" as they say in the US.

I went to Warwick in the 90s and LOVED it. Interestingly it was a choice between Durham and Warwick for me too but Durham wasn’t for me. With Durham I think you either love the beautiful college ‘formals and gowns’ vibe or you don’t tbh.

There’s no right or wrong, to be fair - as others have said, Warwick is a campus uni and can feel a little isolated and that’s not for everyone. (In the same way that a city or collegiate uni is not for everyone). When I was there about 80% of students went to Leamington for second and third year and travel to and from campus was never an issue but I appreciate the uni has expanded a lot since then.

Good luck for the open day OP and I hope your DD is able to make a choice she feels happy with. FWIW, I saw Warwick for the first time in the pouring rain and it felt like home immediately so I wouldn’t necessarily worry about a sunny open day!

Warwick has enough halls accommodation for all first years and many third year students too. Second and third year students have the choice of Coventry or Leamington. Leamington is nicer and easier to get to Birmingham for the night life. The Arts Centre on campus is really good. My Mum was impressed that the graduation photos look so lovely as Warwick has landscaped gardens.

DS is just starting his second year (2nd October teaching starts !!) . My impressions are its very much one for the quieter kids. Its super strong on Maths and it shows. My shy DS had rubbish halls which was disappointing as everyone says they match students to halls well. He didn't really make friends with his flat mates as there was zero communal space aside from one kitchen that could only fit 6 in at a time (12 to a flat). So he didn't bother.
The Warwick Christmas tree was embarrassing. Tiny tree with ugly big white balls on. felt sad for DS as he likes an old fashioned Christmas. he was adamant he was going stay though because his course was so highly ranked as is the Uni.
Hes living in Canley with one other and he's happy that's its just a walk away really. There seemed to be plenty of half decent accommodation.
Its not a cool uni but hopefully he'll come out with a good quality degree for the money. He can party later when he's made his millions!

I dunno. DD is a party animal and has met plenty of the same there already. Has been out clubbing and getting to bed at 5am since she arrived. We live in London but she seems happy enough with what is on offer at Warwick.

I went to a London Uni and felt I missed out on the more intimate experiences and lifelong friendships my friends had in their smaller town universities.

It might depend what circles you move in. Warwick, Birmingham, Southampton, Manchester and the London Unis are regular top choices at my dcs' state school.
Other unis would probably feature more for private schools. Oxbridge for both sectors.

Thanks for starting this thread OP; it’s been an interesting read. DD and I are also going to the Warwick open day next weekend. At the moment DD is thinking that it will be a toss up between Warwick and York for her last option out of the 5.

I'm not surprised to hear people have differing social experiences - Warwick tends to try and match students up in halls as lightisnotwhite says but they do this with varying degrees of success, which is perhaps inevitable when it's an Accommodation office paper exercise. I had a pretty disastrous freshers/first year in halls but had a much better time for the rest of my UG and even chose to stay on to do an MA. Other halls were much more social than mine and most people I met later had a much better experience. I made a mistake in a) choosing a quiet area on the form (I didn't realise how quiet a quiet area would be!) and b) not asking to change halls after a dire freshers week.

Coventry and Leamington provide a really different student experience and as people have said, Leamington tends to serve as an extension of campus - I lived in Leamington after my first year and loved it. Everything you need is close to hand and you can easily walk back after a night out in one of the clubs/pubs/parties in someone else's house. Coventry is much bigger and the student accommodation is more dispersed (Canley/Earlsdon aren't really near each other and Canley isn't near the city centre) and I felt that you would be more dependent on housemates for a social life.

Happy to answer questions if helpful, although I graduated from Warwick 10 years ago, so my knowledge may well be a bit out of date!

@Warwickk , what did your DD decide after visiting Warwick? My DS is torn between Warwick and Exeter and really undecided as coursewise and for graduate opportunities for his subject Warwick is the better choice, however he prefers Exeter as a city. I don’t really know what to advise him. It’s up to him, obviously, but it is a matter of heart vs head and he is stumped atm.

She loved it at the open day, really liked the campus, and the course talk was very inspiring. We didn't look at Leamington or Earlsdon / Canley.

So she applied and now just waiting on a decision from them. If she gets an offer, she will be choosing firm and insurance from UCL, Birmingham and Warwick. (Hopefully after a Warwick offer holder day, as revisiting UCL and Birmingham was really useful and we could check out the local area a bit more.)

So far she loves the course at UCL but finds London a bit much. Loves the campus and likes the course at Birmingham but thinks it might be less prestigious than UCL, a 'safe' option that she might regret. Hopefully an offer from Warwick will come and make the decision easier, not harder. 😂

@Warwickk , thank you very much for the reply. Good luck to your DD with the offers and making the best choice to suit her. It is not easy when there are such great options to choose from.