Warwick Campus Life
For those of you deciding which university to go to, along with the course, social activities and location, one thing to consider is whether you would prefer a campus or city university.
The beauty of Warwick is that it’s small enough to not feel overwhelming yet isn’t claustrophobic. There are so many facilities meaning you can see a film, do your food shopping, visit an art gallery, attend your lectures and sit in the Piazza all without paying for transport or having to walk very far. It also means that there is a lovely community atmosphere; since there are lots of students living and working in the same area you do tend to bump into friendly faces when walking across campus! That actually is something I really like about studying here; even on a rainy day there will be someone you know from a society or your course to say hello to and have a chat, and that really brightens your day!
There is also very small walking distances between lectures and on campus accommodation. Everything is within a 15 minute walk – except perhaps Gibbet Hill where Biological Sciences is – and so it’s easy to get where you need to be going quickly! Even if you live in Westwood, where people will laugh at you for living “so far away”, from experience it really isn’t that far and you will have the last laugh as you are so close to Tesco (and half price Ben and Jerry’s).
Even though campus is often described as a ‘bubble’, I do think that we have the best of both worlds here. Yes it is small compared to a city, and you can get very wrapped up in Warwick life, but we have such good transport links that you can easily leave if you want to. Leamington is 20 – 40 minutes away by bus, depending on traffic, Coventry is just a bus ride away too. There are train stations at Canley (near to Westwood), Leamington and Coventry, and from there you can get to Birmingham, London and beyond! Not to mention the Megabus and National Express coaches, there is so many ways to get where you need to be.
But why would you ever want to leave?! The feeling of campus solidarity is exemplified in the summer, or just when it isn’t raining, as everyone seems to get out and about enjoying the weather. Having the Big Screen in the Piazza is something else that sets Warwick apart from a city university. Big sporting events, and more importantly the Great British Bakeoff Final, have been broadcast live here, along with club and society trailers and the news headlines. It brings everyone together and really encapsulates the friendly community environment on campus that makes everyone feel a part of the university.
