Has Warwick got no nightlife?
So it’s results time yet again and congratulations to those who’ve made it in to Warwick this academic year!
In the time you’ve spent endlessly googling and applying to a multitude of universities, you’ve probably picked up a few urban legends and stereotypes regarding many things about Warwick. In particular in my case, it was about the atmosphere and nightlife here, with some of what I found out terrifying me. As it turns out, most of what I found out were myths (thankfully…), which I would have felt more reassured knowing the truth about. So here’s a compiled, comprehensive list of the likely rumours you’ll have already heard, and just how true they are in actuality:
Warwick has no nightlife
Myth
For me, this was the big one: I wanted my time at Warwick to be a true ‘university’ experience, complete with the nights out I was used to having in a big city back home. I therefore was slightly panicked when I saw on The Student Room that people said Warwick had little in the way of nightlife. However, I was pleasantly shocked when I arrived.
Yes, we may not have the variety that a city provides, but clubs on campus, in Coventry and Leamington and even parties in halls kitchens are on offer. Warwick is a far cry from Newcastle or London but we know how to do good, cheap, popular nights out.
Nights out have to be planned in advance
Truth
Unless you plan on spending several hours in a queue for Smack needing a wee, it is not recommended that you head there after 10:30 without a queue jump: they’re pretty essential here, but they can also be hard to get hold of. Busy weeks – early or late weeks of term – sell out days in advance, so it is worth thinking at the start of the week where you want to be later.
There is a ‘bubble’ feeling here
Truth
This is something sadly inescapable within a campus university. With everything necessary being within walking distance, it can be terribly tempting not to leave it; and to stay within the confines of campus for 10 weeks at a time can lead to a very claustrophobic feeling. But the good thing about bubbles is: they burst! Buses leave every few minutes from the campus interchange to all over the Midlands – it’s easy to get out and explore. And I would recommend doing so at the weekends, just for a bit of variety.
It’s in the middle of nowhere
Myth
Yes, Warwick Uni is nowhere near Warwick. Yes, it is slightly in the countryside. No, that doesn’t mean it’s right in the middle of nowhere, like I was led to believe. As mentioned, there is regular, convenient, cheap travel and it’s only 10 minutes to Coventry centre, or around 20 to Leamington.
The friends you make during fresher’s will be the ones you stay friends with
Myth
As a campus university, most of the events here for fresher’s fortnight take place in our SU. This means everyone you’ll meet will go to Warwick, and will thus instantly become your best friend. By the end of first term there will be numbers in your phone you’ve never texted and never will; so don’t panic if you don’t feel like you’ve bonded too closely with anyone at that point. It’s as you join societies and sports teams whilst getting to know your flat that these friendships will be forged.
Campus is super small
Myth
Campus has a lot of buildings grouped closely together around the centre, but it actually is considerably larger than you might think when you get here. It’s not as sprawling as a city campus, but it’s by no means as small as you may have been led to think.
It’s imperative to get your first choice of halls
Myth
Luckily I got my first choice of Rootes, but many of my flatmates ended up there when it was their 3rd or 4th option. Yet, they loved it. Your living situation is what you make of it, so do not stress about it if you end up somewhere other than your coveted first choice.
There’s a racist goose here
Undecided
There were some incidents, some articles, we prefer not to talk about it or confirm the truth either way.
The Koan is the one really in control
Truth
The rotating cone – that used to sit outside the Arts Centre but now tours campus like the rock star it truly deserves to be – is something that you really have to be on campus to understand. Nobody knows why but everyone is obsessed, meaning it must be what is truly in control of us…
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