University of Winchester (reviews)

During my time at Winchester University, I really appreciated the Universities excellent, easy to access student wellbeing support services. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to engage in paid, extra curricular activities that strengthened my CV such as being a Student ambassador, Non-medical helper and Student Fellow (Part of the universities Student Fellow Scheme); there is a strong culture for giving students the opportunity to venture outside of their academic field of study and into funded opportunities that enable students to strengthen a plethora of transferable skills. As one of the few black students attending the University, I certainly would have liked to see a little more diversity, however, as I was leaving the university I had the opportunity to participate in a campaign to improve ethnic and racial diversity at the university, so I am sure Winchester now has a thriving community of students from various ethnic, cultural and racial backgrounds.

I’ll start by saying that Winchester University is very outdated, the campus has many old buildings and they are very far away from the main campuses.
However the atmosphere is great, and I’ve made friends for life.
The course could do with some improvements as there’s not much choice.

The university itself, is an amazing and diverse environment, ready to help at any point required. The courses offered are top quality and offered at various different levels, so no matter what background you come from, racially, financially or educationally, you are always welcomed at the university of Winchester. Even during COVID-19 they were amazing and helped out each individual student as much as they possibly could.

The Creative Writing programme at Winchester allows for a lot of creativity, and whilst the options for some modules aren’t what I would like to be able to choose from, what you learn, the structure of the modules and the creative pieces you end up developing is brilliant. I also suffer from a heart condition and mental illness and have missed many deadlines and lectures, and my lecturers have made that time back to me by arranging one-to-one online meetings (if I can’t make it to campus), and there are amazing students support services in place which have allowed me to submit assignments later than the original deadline and put a learning support plan in place for me. Meetings with student services, despite the department, can also happen online if you’d prefer, making it a better option if you’re ill, visiting home, have a lot of work to do at home, mentally can’t comprehend moving, are disabled or impaired, or like many uni students… just lazy. Winchester is great a social scene in my opinion, even during lockdown I made brilliant friends just from being in student halls. You obviously have your course mates too, but there are societies that suit everyone’s interest, many student club nights at the student union (as well as quiz nights, kilo sales… you name it), and there are so many bars around Winchester that you make friends in as well. If you’re after a clubbing scene, there aren’t many. Unless you count the SU, the only club is tiny, and to be honest, rubbish. To go clubbing, you’ll probably end up in Southampton, a 20 min train ride away. And if you’re like me and impulsively spend money on a night out leaving you broke, it’s a good thing you have to travel, because that way you have to plan. The three last things you should know about winch…
it is expensive, but you can work around it if you know how.
there are hills EVERYWHERE. like seriously, don’t wear heels.
it is a small place. perfect for me, because its bigger than my town but it still feels friendly (another reason you make so many friends). most people either love it entirely, or love it when they come, but by the time they go to graduate they are ready to move away.