King's College London (reviews)

The best things about the university are the locations of the campuses and the international student it draws in. I studied computer science so I spent most of my time at the Strand campus, it’s about a 5 minute walk from Convent Garden, and 10 minutes from Trafalgar Square. The ridiculous amount of $$ international student pay for tuition pays for the real estate of the university and nothing else, at least from my experience studying and working at the university.
Most of my friends were also international students which made it easier making friends, just keep in mind that the British student tend to keep to themselves rather than mingle with the international crowd.
At least in bachelor in Computer Science you don’t actually get a lot of support from the faculty when struggling with the material taught. This program is built for people who have experience in coding so beware. The international professors are extremely nice and helpful but they don’t actually have a lot of time due to the ridiculous amount of students at each course.
Keep in mind that it is an English university and they DO NOT give student personal attention or help them in any way, I’ve never experienced as much bioreactor as I did when attending King’s.
The do not let students transfer do a different program during or after the first year, so be 110% sure you love the program you chose because there is no backing down. A frustrating example is when they wouldn’t let me transfer from Computer Science to Computer Science with Management, where the only factual difference between the programs in one or two management courses a year instead of computer science courses alone.
You can’t build your own schedule or take courses from other programs at the university so keep that in mind, I wasn’t aware of that before attending the univeristy.

King’s is a good university with good professors. The facilities could be improved, especially at the Franklin Wilkins building. Overall, the university experience is expensive wherever you go, so King’s is a good London option

Loads of helpful resources available on KEATS online.
Lectures uploaded on lecture capture if you cannot attend.
Personal tutor assigned before you start so you get settled in.
Three buildings so you can choose where you prefer to study.

Great city, loads of great modules to take. Pretty supportive. Only downside how expensive it is to live in London but sometimes the uni will be able to help you with that. They also have summer abroad options which is great.

All 3 campuses are super central. London bridge, Waterloo and the strand.
The quality of education is top notch.
Im a biomed student and the standard of lectures and lab work is extremely competent and fun.

KCL, being in central London doesn’t have a large campus which makes it quite hard to adjust. However, London is a great city to be in, there’s lots to do and lots of people to network with.
Your accommodation and societies are the main places to meet new people (students). Kings has several campuses and even offers one of the largest libraries which makes learning more accessible. I study economics and I really enjoy my course, the professors are great and I would definitely recommend kcl!

I really recommend kings, I’m doing the PPE programme, and the opportunities within the university have been great. I went to Singapore for a semester abroad which ended up being an incredible experience despite COVID, and I ended up saving money in tuition fees!

Despite ranking as one of England’s oldest institutions, King’s College London is one of the most ethnically diverse. Some may argue that it might not have a “university feel” being located in the heart of London, with its campuses being stretched from Denmark Hill all the way to Strand. Though I personally feel that this makes the social life that much more fun, travelling from campus to campus for social events, meeting students across different courses and feeling content in the knowledge that we’re all part of the same whole. From a young age, I have always looked forward to the prospect of the university but my first year at King’s felt like being bound and thrown into the deep end. A result of Insufficient and inadequate help from lecturers and personal tutors who I initially thought would act like university guides. The bottom line is that there is no ‘how to survive university rulebook” or “how to achieve a first” guideline – you are forced to learn the ropes as you go along and while some may thrive in such a situation, not everyone does. A little help can go a long way. I do believe increased contact time or a better form of student-professor outreach can help solve this. Being a university student, you’re in a bubble. For the most part, students are just trying to pass and complete their degrees, some have concrete postgraduate plans but others don’t. King’s needs to do better at bridging this gap. Mental health is another issue a number of university students face and as a result has impacted their studies significantly. Many may even feel like their university outreach for mental health is poor. Surprisingly, I cannot say I have had a single negative experience with King’s outreach on this and in fact have found their team to be extremely helpful, understanding and lenient in all our interactions. To summarise my experience at King’s and something I’ve learnt along the way, I’d like to quote Dumbledore “Help will always be given at Hogwarts (King’s)…to those who ask for it”.

This university has an amazing social life with a huge range of students. Definitely the most diverse environment you could be in. I love the location of King’s as it has its perks. Not being a campus university is a very small sacrifice when looking at the bigger picture. The heart of London is the best place to be. However, I think King’s takes independence to a whole new level. Personally, I feel students as individuals do not get pushed to grow as much because of the extensive freedom. More guidance would be great, especially in regards to career options and post-uni paths. There is also an urgent need for the university to be more attentive in regards to the mental health and well being of their students as university can be an extremely pressurising time of their lives and I don’t feel like students get enough attention from professional counsellors. Additionally, it is FAR too expensive. I regularly question what we are paying for, and the £9.25k per year alongside maintenance loan impacts those with low-income backgrounds disproportionately, putting students like myself at a huge disadvantage as the student debt is ridiculous. This ultimately widens the gap between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’. I am a Young Carer, so home responsibilities have negatively impacted my education, focus and ability to manoeuvre relative to other students. King’s has paid no attention to this whatsoever and I’ve been completely alone with my problems. Whilst paying so much money – you’d think you’d get some benefits. I’ll end this review with a quote which perfectly summarises life at King’s:

“We are travelling on the same river, with different boats”

I really enjoyed my time at King’s and got a lot out of talking with the staff and other students. It was a good academic community in the faculty of Social Science and Public Policy. Having our master’s year interrupted by Covid19 was such a shame as I was enjoying it so much.