Arriving at Warwick as an international student amid the covid19 pandemic was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. At first, I was intimidated by the institution, moving to a different country, and having to socialise and make new friends from scratch. One year later, while writing this review, I’m looking back to last year I realise how truly easy it has been.

To begin with, Warwick feels a bit like a bubble, as you can literally find everything you need without the need of going anywhere else. I’m talking study spaces, gyms, bars, cafés, supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, bus stations etc. Life on campus is therefore highly rewarding and enjoyable, most people, including myself, misses it a lot after their first year. It is a massive campus, and it combines the green natural countryside with modern facilities and buildings. You can tell the University really has student commodity in mind.

This favours life on campus greatly and makes social life quite effortless. Living surrounded by people who are going through the same as you is reassuring and makes people easily approachable. I found students to be generally very open-minded, friendly, hungry for new experiences, and happy to start a conversation. Also, the student environment is so international that it creates an amazing multicultural vibe. It is literally the ideal place to learn about other places and make friends from all over the world.

During the first weeks, everyone might find themselves nervous about making friends, and the University and societies do a great job by putting together multiple activities for student interaction. Last year, covid forced most in-person freshers’ events to be cancelled, however, the University departments and societies organised a good deal of online events. My advice is to be open-minded and to take off the initial shyness, everyone starts in the same situation!

As for accommodation, I found it very decent. I have been to the majority of accommodations and I have to say there are better and worse, but I really wouldn’t have minded living in any of them. I stayed in Sherbourne my first year, which is one of the farthest from the central campus. Distance in Warwick is relative though, as most accommodations lie within a 5-minute walk from central. Sherbourne is around 12 minutes from central, so it isn’t actually that much.

Rootes, the Cryfield fields, and kitchens of every accommodation are where most of the parties take place. You can find nightlife everywhere and there are options for the liking of all people.

Also, the more than 200 societies really help students find and focus on their interests. I highly encourage anyone to apply to executive positions and to join as many as they can. They don’t only provide great social grounds, but also a space for discussion and development of common interests.

Now, in relation to my course. I have found PPE to be better than I expected. It is very integrated, although you are part of three different departments. By the way, all three ranked 6th in the UK by the Guardian 2021.

The course is three years, with the possibility of doing a year abroad or a work placement, and sums up 390 CATS (basically, a lot of work). I found the structure really well thought and helpful for academic and personal development.

The first year lays out the base for the course; you will have 3 core modules (Intro to Philosophy, Intro to Politics and Economics I) then, 2 optional core (math A or B and stats A or B), and then 30 CATS to choose any other module you want (you can even choose modules from other departments). I chose French as an optional last year for instance.

For the second year, you will choose a pathway that is basically the specification of your preferences. I have chosen BA Philosophy and Economics, which basically means I have philosophy and economics as core modules and then 60 CATS for optional ones. Mine are: Intro to Political Economy, Daoism and Chinese philosophy, and Topics in Philosophy and Literature. Here is where you can really focus on your interest, and the course is incredibly mouldable and easy to adapt to whatever you want to do.

The third year follows this line of specialisation, and has a blended focus on the core modules which is where you can clearly see the integration of the three subjects.

The teaching has a high level, but it’s comprehensive and goes from essentials and general knowledge towards a more academically demanding one. I had not studied any subjects of the course before University and I really got the grip of it quickly.

The professor body is more than competent and very specialised in the areas they teach. Lecturers and Seminar tutors are very interesting people in general. Search them up on google! they have probably done very interesting things.

It was hard at first to get used to Online Lectures, however, I now find them very useful and I think they allow you to absorb all the information taking your own time. This comes in handy for the most complicated course material!

Seminars demand participation in order to be useful, as the discussion is essential and their main focus is really for you to improve your communication and development of ideas.

As for career prospects, they are very good for Warwick students in general, and for PPE in specific, they are fantastic (95% employment rate). I cannot give a personal insight into this, but from what I hear, once graduated you’re very likely to get a job. Try to get internships while you’re at Uni!

PPE at Warwick is highly integrated, versatile, and, at least in my case, has made me develop multiple skills, both academic and personal. To be honest, the growth you achieve through the whole Warwick experience is much more valuable to me than the academic part. Self-esteem, independence, discovering what you are really interested in, and truly achieving are priceless and thanks to Warwick I have gained in all of them and other many personal aspects too.

Warwick is a lovely place to be and my favourite part about it is the campus! I have fallen in love with the campus and love how spaced out and green it is, the campus is so lively that one can never feel sad or lonely there. Whenever I felt low, I would always go sit at the piazza which would always make me feel better. Being a foodie, I adore Warwick not only because of the large number of eateries but also because of the regular food markets that are put up at the piazza, this shows that the university actually takes an initiative to keep its students satisfied. I lived in Arthur Vick which is an en suite accommodation in central campus, I quite liked it because it gave me my own privacy whilst being at the hub of campus, the only shortcoming was the shorter let period which meant that I had to move my belongings elsewhere during the Easter holidays.
All in all, I have felt that being at Warwick has not only enhanced my mental capabilities with the great academic skills it has provided me with but the experience of being there has also provided me with overall emotional growth and helped me gain exposure to different cultures and the taught me the value of being independent.

I enjoyed the diversity of experiences and opinions on campus, the many societies on offer and the affordability of student life. Having the Warwick Arts Centre on campus was a cultural treat. It’s also a great name to go to employers with.

Having arrived fresh at Warwick, I was struck in awe by their facilities and their expansive (800 acre) campus. One of my favourite places to study here (aside from the library) is what they call the Oculus, which is a building made specifically for teaching but has the best open spaces for studying in and a cafe too. Aside from this, we have access to gym and sports facilities (both indoors and outdoors) for leisure time (the gym has an all new Nero which is super cool).
As for professors, some of them make lectures really interesting and are extremely approachable, and the same goes for seminar tutors as well. Personally, I thought learning in this manner (with seminars and lectures) would be quite a task to adjust too after high school but the transition was seamless and the professors made both very engaging. Although, some professors tend to be rather dull, they do tend to get their points across without much trouble so that’s alright. In addition, I think the best thing regarding lectures would be Lecture Capture which is a collection of the videotaped lectures that’s a true lifesaver (although one of my modules doesn’t have this sadly).
The course itself is more integrated than I thought it would be which is a huge plus considering I’m studying PPE and I believe Warwick really does live up to its reputation in this regard. I would definitely recommend this to any friend looking to study PPE or a similar course such as PPL (Law) or EPAIS (Econ, Pol and International Studies).
Coming to location, Warwick’s not in a major city/student city so there isn’t too much of a busy environment outside it, but we do have easy access by bus or train to Birmingham, Coventry and Royal Leamington Spa. However, staying on campus does make it feel like you’re living in what bears resemblance to a bubble. Luckily, we do have some nice places like the new Pret at the piazza. For essentials, we have grocery stores (like at Rootes) and both a Barclays and Santanders on campus plus a Tesco and Wilko’s near by.
Student life and the student body at Warwick is really really diverse, with people coming in from as far as China. We have over 200+ societies that can keep you busy (and entertained) throughout term and the communities are really warm and welcoming. My personal favourites are the Warwick India Forum and Warwick Student Cinema.
As for accommodation, I feel quite satisfied with my hall as it’s on Central campus (close to the main buildings and the piazza) however I am slightly jealous of those further off because the rooms on the west-end are larger and tend to enjoy more pleasant silence. Sherboune halls (7-9) are the party blocks which makes the walk (almost hike) worth it on some nights too.
Although I haven’t landed a job yet, I do believe the career prospects are really high from tales of alumni and the fact that large firms come to campus quite often. In addition, the employment rate for someone from my course is 95% so that really does help.