Although studying is of course an important part of university life, so is enjoying yourself. We look at what universities have the best student life outside of the course.
Everybody wants to leave university proud of what they achieved with the degree. But there’s more to your university experience than that. Yes, it sounds cheesy, but you are there to make friends and memories, and learn something about yourself too!
Going to a university with a great student life will make all the difference to that. You won’t think fondly back to your university days if you were twiddling your thumbs on your evenings and weekends. If this is something that is crucial to your university decision, then these are the universities with the best student life.
Universities With The Best Student Life
To get a real feel of what a university’s student life is like, then there’s no one better to ask than the students! After all, they’ve experienced it!
The Whatuni Student Choice awards are, unsurprisingly, voted for by the students. That means you’re getting an honest answer to all your questions. For 2022, Nottingham Trent University came out on top with the most students saying its social life beat all others.
Other universities that were nominated were:
- Aberystwyth University
- University of Birmingham
- Cardiff University
- Leeds Beckett University
- University of Dundee
- Newcastle University
- Plymouth Marjon University
- University of Leeds
- University of Sheffield
On The Student Room, the universities that are mentioned the most are Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle, which all were nominated above. It definitely seems like there’s something about the North that students are enjoying more.
Furthermore, Leeds and Newcastle top the University Compare rankings, with Sheffield and Nottingham Trent coming in the top 5 as well. All of them scored 4.5 and more out of 5 on their sociability.
So, it seems that students think Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham Trent are the best for student life.
What About The Worst?
If you’re thinking of attending the following, then Unifresher lists these as struggling in the social aspect. That doesn’t by any stretch mean the university itself is bad, it just might not be prioritising student life.
- Durham University
- Warwick University
- Bath University
- Brunel University London
- Oxford University
Somehow, it doesn’t seem surprising that Oxford made this lift, with some thinking that the pressure to excel eliminates elements of fun. Eitherway, we all know that Oxford isn’t a bad university to attend.
What Do We Mean By Student Life?
This is simply how much students are enjoying themself outside their course because of what else the university offers.
It could be anything from extracurricular activities such as sports, student radios or a choir. Often, it isn’t even the university itself and just its proximity to bars, clubs and pubs. Cities like Newcastle and Leeds are known for having good nightlife, so it isn’t surprising that their universities rank well.
Stuff like this might sound like your idea of hell. There’s nothing wrong with me cosy with a cuppa by 7 pm either. What’s important is that you’re enjoying yourself. A positive experience is crucial to keeping your mental health in check and knowing that you got all you could from university — after all, it is costing you enough!
