Why a Campus University? – From an International Student’s perspective

There is no exaggerating that enrolling and commencing your university journey is one of the most nerve-wracking and stressful processes you will experience amidst your educating years; indeed, these levels of worrying and anxiety are amplified and multiplied endlessly when you are an international student like me. While there is no way to completely eliminate these high levels of stress, I can ensure you that very soon you will find yourself with what many international students refer to as a ‘second home’ here at the University of Warwick and the main reason for that is because of the great sense of community that has been established as a result of the campus-based nature of our university. 

Inevitably, in order to confirm your final decisions of selecting which university you would like to be enrolled in, you must first address the question: Campus or City university life? – thus, in this blog, I will be outlining why I believe that a Campus university is better suited to me as an international student. When Warwick University delegates visited my school in Thailand, one of the most frequently occurring words they would use to describe the university was that regarding safety – immediately that attracted my parents’ approval but it was not until I settled into university life when I found out that these feelings of safety and security encircling the university campus are ones that cannot be met elsewhere. The nature of a campus university ensures that the majority of those present at university facilities are those embraced in academia; this means that if you are needed at a late-night society meeting or are simply out with friends, there is no need to worry as the university premise will remain continually monitored by campus security. In addition to this, the student accommodations all have staff present in case students seek help while remaining securely locked as expected. Thus, if you and your family are concerned about issues regarding safety then there is no denying that the nature and structure of Warwick University may greatly alleviate these concerns. 

Another concern that many of you may seek relief of is that concerning fear of isolation and loneliness, as international students we often find ourselves being one of a countable group of people from our domestic region attending university abroad – thus, when first visiting university it is only natural that we don’t know many people. This is where the quality of campus life is highly beneficial: most first-year students live on campus and as a result, will be permitted to generate a great sense of community and inclusivity – after all, the furthest accommodation away is only a 20 minutes walk and this pleasure of having everyone so close at all times will greatly decrease your worries of loneliness. This sense of community is further developed by the countless societies present amongst university life – as an international student I found attending my country’s society really helpful as its community felt like a home away from home, as well as this, through participating in societies which I have a great passion for like drum and Unicef society, I was able to meet a great range of people and the campus characteristic of this university made it easy to keep in touch with these people as we could often meet on campus and remained close to each other. 

In conclusion, I would just like to highlight that the benefits of campus life – particularly those at the University of Warwick – remain infinite and thus, if you are currently worried about what experiences university may bring, I hope this blog has made you aware of the many great experiences that the University of Warwick has in store for you. As always, if you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to reach out to me and I will try my best to help you! I know it may seem really daunting right now as an international student but I promise you that after my first year at the university, I couldn’t possibly be happier.