Looking for the ultimate student experience


Which of these Universities do you think offers the most rewarding 'total package'? What I would like to take into accound beside academia is among others campus accomodations, student groups, size of university, size of city, overall quality of life, Internationality ...

Nottingham (LLM Commercial Law)
Exeter (LLM Business Law)
Kent (LLM Commercial Law)
Essex (Business Law)

Also if you have any other university suggestions let me know. Coming from a pure academically oriented University where students don't interact much, I am looking for a well rounded program, preferably at a University that has a campus and a pleasant social life (not necessarily in the UK but I could not find any campus Universities in the rest of Europe yet)

Which of these Universities do you think offers the most rewarding 'total package'? What I would like to take into accound beside academia is among others campus accomodations, student groups, size of university, size of city, overall quality of life, Internationality ...

Nottingham (LLM Commercial Law)
Exeter (LLM Business Law)
Kent (LLM Commercial Law)
Essex (Business Law)

Also if you have any other university suggestions let me know. Coming from a pure academically oriented University where students don't interact much, I am looking for a well rounded program, preferably at a University that has a campus and a pleasant social life (not necessarily in the UK but I could not find any campus Universities in the rest of Europe yet)
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tvh2005

I can't comment on the others, but I can tell you about Essex on this. The campus accommodation is supposedly some of the best in the country based on some survey, but I find it really lacking (though some of it is definitely better than others). But, there is also a small village called Wivenhoe that is an easy walk to campus (an easier bus ride with the buses going about every 20 mins, and more frequently in some hours), which is nice and has some nice accommodations and a lot of students and professors live there.

There are a lot of student groups, but it depends on what you're interested in as to how active they are. They have a really nice recreation / sports centre, particularly for the size of the campus. Even when it's busy, it's not so busy as to be off-putting or to make it difficult to do what you want.

The student population is really friendly and it's very international and there's a lot of interaction, particularly in the student accommodations (tho not just exclusively there; I didn't live on campus and still made several friends randomly at bars / clubs / the library). They have an active student union that puts on international activities, like international night in the student club (there's one club, two bars on campus).

You'll also have a great deal of access to your professors, particularly in business law. The profs are very accessible and they have good class offerings. The law school's administrative staff is amazing - I can't say enough good things about them. I realize that wasn't in your list, but the reality is that it's important and can really help make for a much easier year.

The student numbers are small so there's a lot of one-on-one interaction and they try to ensure the various LL.Ms meet and interact with one another at least some of the time (I did the LL.M. in IHRL at Essex and several of my close friends were from the LL.M. in Int'l Trade). They also have a good number of PhD students who work with and help out the LL.M.s (not in teaching modules, but just sort of around to help out and brainstorm).

The city's not the greatest, but it's close to London and Norwich, both of which are great to visit, and it does have some good shopping. I know several people who went to London at least once a month for shopping, clubbing and to visit friends or see sites. Clubbing isn't the easiest / best in Colchester, but it has decent restaurants (some really nice ones), and if you just want to grab a pint or go out with friends for drinks there's some good places.

The library hours are annoying as it closes at 10 each night, but I guess according to a nat'l survey they're actually quite good for the number of students the campus has. And really, if you're looking for something more than just good academia, having to leave the library at 10pm is probably a good thing.

I hope this helps you get a good idea of what the total package is like at Essex. I'm not trying to sell you on it, just trying to give you a realistic picture of what's good and what's not.

I can't comment on the others, but I can tell you about Essex on this. The campus accommodation is supposedly some of the best in the country based on some survey, but I find it really lacking (though some of it is definitely better than others). But, there is also a small village called Wivenhoe that is an easy walk to campus (an easier bus ride with the buses going about every 20 mins, and more frequently in some hours), which is nice and has some nice accommodations and a lot of students and professors live there.

There are a lot of student groups, but it depends on what you're interested in as to how active they are. They have a really nice recreation / sports centre, particularly for the size of the campus. Even when it's busy, it's not so busy as to be off-putting or to make it difficult to do what you want.

The student population is really friendly and it's very international and there's a lot of interaction, particularly in the student accommodations (tho not just exclusively there; I didn't live on campus and still made several friends randomly at bars / clubs / the library). They have an active student union that puts on international activities, like international night in the student club (there's one club, two bars on campus).

You'll also have a great deal of access to your professors, particularly in business law. The profs are very accessible and they have good class offerings. The law school's administrative staff is amazing - I can't say enough good things about them. I realize that wasn't in your list, but the reality is that it's important and can really help make for a much easier year.

The student numbers are small so there's a lot of one-on-one interaction and they try to ensure the various LL.Ms meet and interact with one another at least some of the time (I did the LL.M. in IHRL at Essex and several of my close friends were from the LL.M. in Int'l Trade). They also have a good number of PhD students who work with and help out the LL.M.s (not in teaching modules, but just sort of around to help out and brainstorm).

The city's not the greatest, but it's close to London and Norwich, both of which are great to visit, and it does have some good shopping. I know several people who went to London at least once a month for shopping, clubbing and to visit friends or see sites. Clubbing isn't the easiest / best in Colchester, but it has decent restaurants (some really nice ones), and if you just want to grab a pint or go out with friends for drinks there's some good places.

The library hours are annoying as it closes at 10 each night, but I guess according to a nat'l survey they're actually quite good for the number of students the campus has. And really, if you're looking for something more than just good academia, having to leave the library at 10pm is probably a good thing.

I hope this helps you get a good idea of what the total package is like at Essex. I'm not trying to sell you on it, just trying to give you a realistic picture of what's good and what's not.
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