Life of a First Year Warwick Student
Hi, I’m one of the writers here at Millie, Yadavi! You might have read some of my blog pieces on the IB or university spotlights, and today I want to give you my first-hand experience as a first-year student at the University of Warwick.
The Warwick campus has SO much to offer students; you really want to make the most of it in first-year. So hop on this Warwick tour to find out all about this university!
First stop, the Piazza!
“This is the heart of campus”
On any campus tour you take in Warwick, the first place they’ll show you is the Piazza. This is the heart of campus, the central space where people congregate to socialise, study, or watch movies on the big screen. It’s got everything.
Spaces to eat
In case you’ve run out of a few essentials, Rootes Grocery Store is the perfect stop for a last minute shop, selling all kinds of food, stationary, toiletries and a fresh bakery (although beware of the ridiculously high prices).
If you’re looking for a quick snack or coffee, then try out Curiositea, the Bread Oven or Pret (if you’re a big coffee drinker then a Pret drink subscription is a MUST). For sit-down meals, pizza at Benugo’s or a pub meal at The Dirty Duck is the place to go. Or if you just want to hang out with friends, why not head over to the Terrace Bar, which features a lit up terrace that looks out onto the whole piazza!
But we haven’t even come to the best part… Every Wednesday, the Piazza is filled with an array of food trucks selling all cuisines of street food from Sri Lankan noodles, to dumplings, samosas, stone-baked pizzas, burgers and so much more! Your Wednesday lunches are sorted.
“Every Wednesday, the piazza is filled with an array of food trucks selling all cuisines”
Social spots
During Freshers week, you’ll basically be living in the Piazza, as all of the Freshers SU events, society fairs and social events take place there (including the daily club nights at the Copper Rooms, the Warwick nightclub). After Freshers week, the Copper Rooms have a Wednesday weekly event called ‘POP!’, as well as other club nights including Skool Dayz (whip out your school uniforms and get ready for 2000s music), Reflektor and LGBTQ+ nights.
The big screen in the Piazza also regularly shows movies or big events (e.g. Eurovision or sports matches). It makes a great night out with friends midweek!
Second stop, the study spaces!
The Piazza isn’t only about the social spaces. It’s also home to some of the best study spots on campus! It’s got the Rootes Building Learning Grid, a spot perfect for group projects. If you want something a bit more laid back, check out the Green Room above Rootes Grocery store, equipped with a cafe and bohemian style furniture to make it a cosy place to get some essays done. If you need to hit the study grind (or pull an all-nighter) then the 24/7 hours library is the place to go, just five minutes from the Piazza. Here you’ve got five floors with varying levels of quietness to find your ideal study environment.
A new study space on campus is the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB). This artistically decorated building has floors upon floors of seminar rooms that can be booked out as study rooms, perfect for group or individual revision sessions!
Next up, halls of residence
“You really could get allocated to any of your options, so you need to be happy with them all”
After accepting an offer from Warwick, the next step is choosing your accommodation. The whole list can be found here, with prices and details about each one. I had to do a lot of research when applying for this to make sure I would get something I was happy with, so let me share my experience with you.
How it works
For Warwick on-campus accommodation, you have to rank six options of halls that you would like to live in from most to least preferred. Warwick uses a ballot system, meaning there’s no first-come-first-serve on applications. You really could get allocated to any of your options, so you need to be happy with them all. The campus is pretty big, so the halls are located in different sections, some being close to central campus (where most of your lectures will be) and some being further away.
Your accommodation preferences have to follow these rules:
- You must choose six options
- Maximum three can be en-suite
- Minimum three must be shared bathroom halls
- You can only choose one 35 week en-suite hall (i.e. either Arthur Vick OR Jack Martin)
- You can only choose one from Cryfield Townhouses OR Cryfield Apartments OR Bluebell
In your accommodation application form, you are given a short questionnaire to fill out which Warwick uses to match students in flats. They’re usually quite good at this, which makes it so much easier to make friends during Freshers week. Try to fill these out honestly to give yourself the best chance of being grouped with like-minded people in your flat.
Warwick provides a chart comparing all of the accommodations based on various factors e.g. price, location, number of people to a kitchen. But that doesn’t necessarily show the true picture all the time. Here are some accommodation truths from someone who has lived on campus.
- Arthur Vick is better than Jack Martin - It does have higher prices but it has much larger (and nicer) rooms and kitchens (i.e. more cupboard and fridge/freezer shelves per person)
- Bluebell is slightly overrated - Despite the very big rooms and fancy lights outside the building, Bluebell has quite small kitchens and is not always the most social hall (makes it slightly harder to make friends within your flat)
- Rootes is the partying hall, but it’s not terrible to live in - If you love to party and socialise, you’ll have a great time, but be prepared for the messiest (and noisiest) kitchens you’ve ever seen
- Westwood is a far away land - Seriously, it takes 30 mins to get onto central campus (so keep this in mind for those early morning lectures)
- Claycroft is great for Tesco runs (being just 5 mins from Tesco)
- Cryfield Townhouses is the best accommodation on campus - Given the large en-suite rooms, plush sofas and even TVs in the kitchen (as well as a music room and cinema per block), yep, this should be at the top of your list
- Lakeside is owned by the campus geese (they will be either be your bodyguards or your biggest fear)
- Like any university, Warwick halls are no exception to 3am fire alarms (with Rootes having a particular affinity towards them), so keep a dressing gown handy!
Compared to a lot of other universities, I’ve found Warwick accommodation to be among the best, especially given the range to choose from. So do some research beforehand to find what suits you best, and fingers crossed that you get your first choice!
“I’ve found Warwick accommodation to be among the best”
Now onto the Sports Hub!
Recently renovated, Warwick is home to one of the best sports facilities you will find in any university. The Sports Hub is located towards the edge of campus (very close to Sherbourne and Lakeside) and has state-of-the-art facilities for almost any sport you could think of. It’s got a rock climbing wall, dance studios, combat rooms, a swimming pool with movable floor depths, multiple sports courts, and of course, the gym. Really, there’s no excuse not to exercise at Warwick! They’ve got all the facilities you could want. And if you’re living a bit further away from it in Westwood or Claycroft, they’ve even got rentable e-scooters and bikes available all over campus for students to get around faster!
Next stop, the nature spaces
Aside from its academic facilities, social spaces and sports hub, Warwick also has amazing places of natural beauty on campus. Here are some of my favourites:
- Claycroft Field - Situated right behind the Claycroft halls of residence, this large green space with an outdoor gym is perfect for those hot days when you just want to get out into the sun (or watch the Quidditch society practice)
- Cryfield Hill - The hill behind the Cryfield Village looks onto the Sports Hub and the halls of residence nearby, with spectacular sunset views over campus (definitely worth taking a picnic up here with friends)
- Tocil Wood Nature Reserve - One of my personal favourites, the Tocil Wood spans right from the Tocil halls of residence to the Gibbet Hill science campus. It’s mainly famous for its gorgeous Bluebell fields (which, being located right behind the Bluebell halls, gives the accommodation its name). Don’t forget to check this out in May for a lovely Spring walk!
And if you want to travel a bit out of campus…
“The main ones are Coventry and Leamington Spa, as well as Birmingham”
While campus is great, of course sometimes you’ll want to travel out into the towns close by (especially since you’ll be living in one of them for second and third year). The main ones are Coventry and Leamington Spa, as well as Birmingham (a bit further out).
Coventry
Despite the name, Warwick University is actually in Coventry! This makes the Coventry town centre only a 10 minutes bus ride from the Junction bus stop on Central Campus. Coventry has great commuting links into London or up into Birmingham and further North, with plenty of shops and eating options (as well as The Wave, a water park in Coventry home to the UK’s biggest wave pool and waterslides)! Only thing to note if you’re going to the nightclubs here is that some parts of Coventry can get a bit dodgy late at night, so it’s always best to go in a big group.
Leamington Spa
While Leam is slightly further from campus (about a 30 mins bus ride) it is a Warwick favourite and is where most students end up living after first year. It has a gorgeous parade of shops and restaurants right through the town centre, as well as the lovely Jephson Gardens towards the end of the parade. It also has many nightclubs frequented by Warwick students, and is generally considered a lot safer than Coventry.
Birmingham
If you’re looking for a proper big city, the closest is probably Birmingham, less than an hour away by bus and train. It’s got everything, and is great for a city day out (being much closer than London).
And that’s a wrap!
That brings our whirlwind Warwick tour to a close! Putting Warwick down as my first choice was one of best decisions I’ve ever made, as the campus and teaching facilities have so much to offer. It really shows you what campus life is all about, as well as being near to the bigger cities. The interactive campus map is a great way to see where all the places I’ve talked about are on campus, and I’d definitely recommend booking a campus tour to see everything in person. For more university spotlights check out our website, and sign up for a free consultation to plan your next steps and university!