University of Kent

Arriving at the Canterbury Campus of the University of Kent just outside Canterbury (1½ hours south-east of London), the first thing to strike you is the sheer size of the place – the university is set within a vast expanse of greenery at the top of a hill that gently rolls down into the city below. Kent is also a collegiate university, though the colleges themselves are set in amongst the other university buildings and are open access to all students. For those who don’t fancy living in a college in their first year, head over to the student village on the north-western side of the campus, which feels something like a small town completely filled with students.

If you want to study certain courses, such as sport science, art, music technology and the like, then you’ll almost certainly be based over at Medway Campus, near the towns of Gillingham, Chatham, and Rochester (1 hour south-east from London). Kent occupies one end of the site that shares many facilities with other universities. This creates a sense of being on a much larger campus as well as provides ample opportunity to meet new people.

Famous alumni of Kent include authors Kazuo Ishiguro and Sarah Waters, comedian Alan Davies, and the journalist Carolyn Quinn.