31,278 discussions, 145 guides
University of London
31,278 discussions, 145 guides
University of London
University of London
Senate House
Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
Tel: (020) 7862 8358
1836
The University of London Union (ULU) does not have a radio station, but both UCL and Royal Holloway have successful radio stations.
London Student
London Student is Britain's largest circulating student publication, reaching 80,000+ students every month. Designed in a newspaper format, it outlines what is happening at each of the 39 institutions of the University of London.
It also runs campaigns, one the largest in recent years being the anti-fees campaign, and keeps track of what is happening on London's political scene. If you want to go into journalism, this is an excellent and well respected publication to start in.
The thousands of famous people that went to the University of London are listed under the individual college guides. We have, therefore, just included a photograph of Senate House, the main University building.
The University of London Union (ULU) has four bars.
Duck and Dive - This is ULUs main bar, and its popularity means that it is busy during the day and at night. The Duck and Dive also serves excellent food, which is quite cheap. At lunch, however, the queues are incredible so it is not the best place for a quick snack!
Room 101 - This is in the main ULU building on the same floor as the Duck and Dive and has a capacity of around 700. Having recently been refurbished, it has a more modern feel to it, with plenty of chrome and art deco design. It tends to be used for gigs and club nights.
Gallery Bar / Diner - This is popular all day, and is usually the place where you will find students drinking coffee, having a light snack and solving the worlds problems!
Palms - Palms is only opened for large events, but when opened it is sure to be a memorable night or not so, as the case may be!!
Food
Besides, the Duck and Dive, and the Gallery Diner, there is Macmillans at Senate House (the University HQ), and the Lunchbox, in ULU which provides quick snacks for those students in a real rush.
There are at least two club nights per week in Room 101. On Fridays there is Lost in Music, which is a real funky 70s and 80s night. It is always great fun, but make sure you buy the ABBA album from the unofficial-guides.com online store before going it will get you into the groove. You might also want to raid your parents 70s wardrobe before going.
On Saturday nights there is Beano, which is more charty, but still a lot of fun. What is great about these nights are that you can have a lot of fun, while not spending huge amounts of money. Drinks dont cost £5.00 a glass here, unlike some of Londons clubs.
Not only do all the University of London colleges have regular balls (the best being Royal Holloways Summer Ball), but so does ULU. The largest one of the year is the Purples Ball, and it is a must for all those socially aware people in the University!
There is at University of London sports team for virtually all the sports played at the colleges. In addition there are numerous non-sporting socieities, which provide an ideal forum for intercollege social occations with like minded people. Some smaller colleges rely on ULU for the provision of clubs and societies.
The University of London has a very high sporting standard, and to name all their successes would take up too much room. However, they have been particularly successful at rowing, beating Oxford and Cambridge repeatedly over the last 10 years.
The University of London has 8 intercollegiate Halls of Residence. Each college is allocated a certain number of rooms in these halls, depending on the state of their own provisions. They are mostly mixed, but there are two (Canterbury and College) for women only, and one (Connaught) for men only. International Hall tends to be for international students one wouldnt have guessed!
The standard and conditions in each hall vary from place to place, but generally the accommodation is a single room with basic cooking facilities. There are also TV rooms, telephone sockets and launderettes etc. Depending on which hall you are in, you may also enjoy squash courts, music rooms, bike sheds (not for kissing behind although I am sure it happens), and gardens. College Hall even has a hair salon!! (Did I mention it was a female hall?)
Contrary to popular belief, there is quite a lot of choice when it comes to accommodation outside of halls. The accommodation gets cheaper the further away from zone 1 (the city centre), but the travel costs rise. There is very little housing in zone 1, even for the rich, but zone 2 tends to fare quite well. The best areas to look are around Wandsworth, Putney and Fulham, where there are plenty of 1 and 2 bedroom flats for rent. Larger places can often be found in zone 3, (for example Hammersmith and Finsbury Park), but it may take an hour to get into the city, and as for zone 4, well, be prepared to travel!
Look to the University Accommodation Office for help in finding housing, as well as the Evening Standard and Loot.
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life This, it must be said, is true.
London is the pub, club and social centre of Britain. It would be impossible for unofficial-guides.com to give a comprehensive guide to London, simply because there is not enough room and that it is always changing. What we do advise is that you buy a copy of Time Out and TIme Out, the Students Guide to London. They will give you a better understanding of what London is like...from a non-tourist point of view, and it will keep you at the cutting edge of the London social scene.
The area of Bloomsbury where ULU and the University is, is full of educational establishments, libraries and museums. It is also close to Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, and is in an ideal location for transport connections by tube, rail or bus. The nearest tube stations are either Goodge Street or Euston and buses run from outside UCL on Gower Street.
Students make up a large section of the London population, so the relationship with Londoners is quite good. Occationally there are troubles, but generally London is a safe city. Just watch your wallet.
In central London parking is very limited, and if you are lucky enough to find a place, very expensive. With the good public transport system, it is best not to bring a car.
There is a branch of Barclays Bank in the ULU building. There are also cash machines for all the major banks within walking distance.
Both Senate House and ULU are well equipped for wheelchair access, with lifts and ramps to all floors. Facilities vary from college to college though, and it is best to look at the individual unofficial-guides. As for London, it can be difficult to get around, because it is so busy and the tube system is not well equipped for wheelchair access. However, both the University and London Transport can help you with this.
ULU has the best facilities of any university in country. There is a general shop selling stationery, university clothing, food etc., as well as a well stocked sports shop! There is a large print shop with photocopying facilities in the building, a ticket shop, STA travel agent, an opticians, a branch of Endsleigh Insurance and a sandwich shop!! You need never leave the Union building.
There is a large branch of Waterstones across from ULU. As well as this, there is a second hand bookshop every Friday on the 3rd floor of ULU. This tends to be better stocked with English and History books, rather than Science books.
In the ULU building itself, there is a swimming pool, gym, fitness centre, squash courts, badmington courts etc. etc. The University also owns over 30 acres of playing fields, a floodlit artificial pitch and numerous tennis courts. Although, they have sold one of their sports grounds, Motspur Park, it can still be used by the students. ULU has sailing facilities at the Welsh Harp reservoir and a boat house in Chiswick! If you don't come of of University fit and healthy after that...then you have obviously been sitting in the bar too long!! Many of the colleges also have their own facilities.
There is no university-run transport system, but recently ULU have negotiated a 30% student discount with London Transport.
Despite some complaints, the public transport system in London is fairly good. We have the largest underground system in the world which, on the whole, runs well. However, there are presently huge expansion and modernisation projects underway, and as a result the service sometimes fails. The buses have just introduced a new tariff scheme (£1.00 inside zone 1, 70p outside) which is simple.
Driving is best avoided, as there is only one rush hour in London, but it lasts from 6am until midnight. There are two types of Taxis. The famous 'black cabs' are expensive, but the drivers know ever street in London (they are tested on it regularly), unlike their counterparts in New York. However, there are also non-registered cabs, which are also expensive, and often their cars are 'a bit dodgy'!
London is the main depot for National Express. Cheap tickets can be purchased for travel to virtually every city in the UK. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are fairly easy to get to.
The University of London owns Russell Square, which is nearby. If you like larger spaces then Hyde Park is at the bottom of Tottenham Court Road, and along Oxford Street towards Marble Arch.
The University of London Library is one of the best in the country, with over 2 million books, and 650 work places. All students at the University of London have the right to use the Senate House Library. For more information on the library and its services go to the University of London Library website.
Computing facilities are provided for by induvidual colleges. However, there is limited internet access in the University of London Library at Senate House.
There is a University Health Centre on Gower Street, where students can get counselling, and medical and dental treatment. Generally students use the facilities on offer at their own college.
ULU produce an excellent Welfare Handbook every year.
