University – Page 11 of 14

First Year: the perfect introduction to university, or just a waste of money?

29Sep

By Dominic BarrettNo Comments

Features

First Year: the perfect introduction to university, or just a waste of money?

Many university students, both past and present, will look back on their first year with a combination of nostalgia, amusement, and maybe a few hazy memories of nights out - and the horrific mornings that followed. But it turns out that, at university, you actually have to do some work as well. I know, I was as surprised as you! Have no fear though, first year marks do not count towards your final degree at all. Most courses require only that you get 40% or above throughout the year to progress into second year. This, on one hand, is great news. You can focus on all the fun that uni has to offer, like going out and meeting new people instead of work. However, is this as good as it sounds, or should first year be a little more than just an extended session? Well, to start with, it’s impo...

Making Your Relationship Survive the University Test

21Sep

By Shannon GrayNo Comments

Lifestyle

Making Your Relationship Survive the University Test

I was 17 years old and had just started my final year of sixth form when I began my first real relationship. We were an inseparable, strong and loving couple. Despite our devoted appearance, the one question that seemed to keep cropping up from friends and family was “Do you think you’ll break up when you go to University?”. It felt insulting. Shocking, even. And yet it wasn’t until I arrived at University, miles away from my partner, that I began to understand that it wasn’t actually an insult at all. I began to see relationships triple the length of mine fall to pieces within weeks, and relationships half the length of mine strengthen at full force. This was the milestone that separated the dedicated from the convenient. And one year after successfully passing the University test, I’d...

6Jun

By Louise JonesNo Comments

News

Getting a job after university

Current Deputy Editor Louise Jones reports on why you shouldn’t worry about getting a job after university. It’s that time of year again when finalists finish all their exams and then go into panic mode about their future. However, it has been suggested that waiting until you have graduated before applying for a job will not scupper your chances. The outgoing head of UCAS, Mary Curnock Cook, warned that middle-class parents and universities have become “too fixated” on careers, placing unnecessary pressure on young people to apply for jobs too soon, suggesting that students should not bother looking for a job until they have graduated. Instead, Cook states that many students could benefit from some ‘“down-time” by moving back home after their final exams. Choosing to go to univers...

Everyone’s Favourite Worst Nightmare – Tuition Fees

5Jun

By Dominic BarrettNo Comments

Features

Everyone’s Favourite Worst Nightmare – Tuition Fees

Features Editor, Dominic Barrett, discusses the love-hate relationship with university tuition fees. Ask any current university student if they’re looking forward to the prospect of leaving university with a veritable mountain of debt and you’d probably find out pretty quickly just how much they are not looking forward to facing it. That’s not that surprising, but maybe there is another way to look at university fees that might make you feel a little better about them. If you take a quick look at the Labour Manifesto for 2017, a point that might stick out to you is where it specifies that tuition fees for universities should be abolished. That’s great, and would avoid the scenario of leaving university with a whole load of debt. Obviously, this is good news - no disagreement from thi...

New Science Building: Construction On Campus Begins

6Feb

By No Comments

News

New Science Building: Construction On Campus Begins

Construction work has begun on the new Science Building, with the building site set up and foundation work set to begin at the end of the month. The Science Building, which will occupy the area around the John Bowyer building and replace car park 5, is a move by the university to expand the space and infrastructure available to science students. It was green-lighted in the winter of 2014 through the approval of a sizeable £5 million grant, awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Construction company Osborne have been awarded the contract. Their CEO, Andy Steele: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract. It is a prestigious and challenging project, and collaboration at all stages will be a key factor in successful delivery.” Detailing the benefits o...

4Jan

By No Comments

Lifestyle

Northerner venturing South

I’ve always been slightly paranoid about my origins and I know I'm not the only Northerner who feels this way. I was born in Chesterfield and moved up to Liverpool when I was four. When I decided to move down South for university, or, to be precise, 222.7 miles down South according to Google Maps, it was safe to say that my extremely Northern grandma was more than slightly concerned. My parents encouraged me to go where I wanted, and had no qualms about it. Their only warning was that I would have to get the train home to visit them each time I wanted to. My grandma, on the other hand, asked me several times if I wanted to change my mind about the costs of the train fare, the general cost of life ‘down there’ (she meant London, no matter how many times I told her Royal Holloway was in S...

7Oct

By No Comments

News

Varsity is coming to Royal Holloway!

With the start of the new academic year, exciting news was announced at the SU on Monday 3rd. Over 1000 ‘bears’ attended the SU to hear the announcement from Steph Milne, the Co-President of Sports and Development, that a Varsity between Royal Holloway and the University of Surrey will be occurring on the 29th March 2017. A varsity match is defined as a sporting fixture between two university rivals. The first varsity was between Oxford and Cambridge University in 1827 – Royal Holloway’s inaugural participation means 2017 will be the year students here have the opportunity to join the tradition. After being announced at the SU, the official video was shared on Facebook the following morning – revealing the Varsity Teaser Video. The University of Surrey previously competed against ...

3Aug

By No Comments

News

University grants scrapped.

As of last Monday, students starting university courses in England will no longer be able to receive maintenance grants. The change, announced in 2015 by Chancellor George Osborne, condemns poorer students into a ‘lifetime of debt’, according to the NUS, with the move deemed as ‘disgraceful’. The vice-president of the NUS, Sorana Vieru, says that the move: “punishes poorer students simply for being poor, so they have to take a bigger loan than those students from privileged backgrounds. “It could put off students from underprivileged backgrounds from applying, who might not understand how the loan system works, or are very debt-averse. “We also know that mature students are way more debt-averse than younger students and BME students perceive student debt on a par with commercia...

Life from another perspective: Studying in Seoul

19Apr

By No Comments

Lifestyle

Life from another perspective: Studying in Seoul

When you mention that you’re considering a study abroad during your degree, people usually assume that you will be going somewhere in Europe or, if you are feeling adventurous possibly America. So I guess it comes as a big shock to some when you say that you want to go to Asia. Especially if you have decide to go to South Korea, a place most people only vaguely know due to ‘Gangnam Style’, North Korea, and Olympic Ice Skating. Nevertheless there were a handful of RHUL students that went to countries in Asia this year, one of them being me. Forget study abroad only being for language students; studying abroad is for anyone to go anywhere. My study abroad year is an additional year rather than an internal, so it doesn’t count towards my grades. This has meant I have the freedom to study any ...

University heads’ pay hits average of £272k, whilst student fees reach record highs

2Mar

By No Comments

News

University heads’ pay hits average of £272k, whilst student fees reach record highs

A study by the University and College Union suggested vice-chancellors at UK universities received average salary packages of £272,000 last year, up some £12,000 from 2014. Vice-chancellors' pay has come under scrutiny in recent years, with ministers in 2014 raising concerns about the “substantial upward drift” of salaries. The UCU study based on Freedom of Information requests calculated university bosses received almost seven times more than the average wages of staff, with bosses receiving “inflation-busting” rises. Royal Holloway’s principal Paul Layzell received a 3% (£8k) pay increase in 2014, bringing his total salary up to £265k, according to Royal Holloway’s financial report. The research also suggests universities spent thousands more on hotels, flights and other expe...