Royal Holloway - RHUL (reviews)

I had the most incredible experience while studying BSc Psychology at RHUL. My course was interesting and engaging, and the Psychology department were very supportive throughout my time there. The campus is beautiful and very safe. I would definitely recommend RHUL as a place to study and live.

There are abundant resources and access to different theatre art forms. I felt empowered after being trained at the Drama Department. During my time there, I was introduced to the traditional Japanese Noh theatre and have been a dedicated practitioner since.

7/10 would recommend.
Royal Holloway is a welcoming, helpful and tight-knit campus uni. What it lacks in nightlife and city life within its surrounding areas of Egham, it makes up for in its ever-active campus lifestyle. The Students’ Union is one of the most active and attentive i’ve ever encountered. There are always events to attend – many of them free or low-cost. Sadly, there is only one club – that is the SU club, however this proves itself useful at times as everyone is in one place and you are bound to stumble into people you know and have a good chat.

I’ve never witnessed a campus with so many societies, ever – and they are all pretty active. Varsity is fun, also. There are coffee shops, pubs and a student shop (although the prices are extortionate). When it’s spring/summer and everyone’s on the founder’s quad, it feels like an american college.

A downside to Egham is its price, luckily you get a London loan but you also have to pay London prices without being remotely close to central London.

All-in-all, you are guaranteed to have a true uni-experience at Royal Holloway if you get stuck in and make the most of it. Plus, don’t forget to take lots of photos of Founders.

From a distance, Royal Holloway looks like Hogwarts’ effortlessly glamorous cousin. The Founders Building is all red brick, turrets, and drama, the kind of architecture that convinces you you’re about to have a life changing academic experience before you’ve even stepped inside. Then you do step inside.

The magic fades quickly in the seminar rooms and lecture halls, where harsh white lighting and narrow corridors reign supreme. There is something uniquely humbling about power walking to a lecture while carrying a bag heavy enough to alter your posture, squeezed through corridors that feel actively hostile to students with books.

Still, the campus has its charms. The cats are undeniably adorable, lounging in libraries, sunbathing like they pay rent, at least until you witness one mid hunt at night, at which point the whimsy is replaced by a strong urge to never emotionally recover.

What Royal Holloway gets right, though, is its people. There’s a genuine sense of community here: familiar faces on the way to lectures, quick chats in the library, shared eye contact during the daily mission to find a free seat. It’s comforting in a quiet, understated way.

Royal Holloway might not sustain its Hogwarts illusion indoors, but between the beauty, the chaos, and the community, it gives you something arguably better: a place that feels lived in, slightly absurd, and oddly grounding.