Xaverian College...what a fantastic place…read more This is where I actually became who I am today. I know that sounds silly but this college is fantastic. I learnt more here in two years than I did in five years at high school. The teachers here really bring you out of yourself, they actually care about the students, not just about the grades. I'm still in touch with most of my tutors now, they care what I've been up to since I left and always get in touch to congratulate me on anything I achieve. The range of subjects is vast and the campus keeps getting bigger and better. It's much different to most other colleges as the buildings are spread right out although not too far so you can still walk to all of them comfortably. It's so different to school, everyone is treated as an adult and it was such a good grounding before university, I don't think I'd have been half as prepared for uni if it wasn't for Xaverian.

It's such a great school of an outstanding ousted rating. The teachers are extremely helpful and…read morethe students are all friendly. Everyone is like friends with everyone. The environment during winter is the best. It gives winter wonderland vibes. I think it's a great place to excel in your future careers and a place to meet longterm friends or partners. Not to mention there are places to relax and maybe nap if you're too bored to do anything.

Firstly, it's spelt 'Aquinas'. Secondly, I've been attending for six months now, and I've been…read moreenjoying all of it. The staff are all friendly, the lessons are great and very well taught, add to that a plethora of extra curricular stuff like sports, College Magazine, Creative Writing, and even an Anime club. The only real big problem with the college is 'Ethics', which is both annoying and pointless, and whats worse is it's an enforced part of the curriculum. Aquinas College, in 2009 surpassed all other local colleges, including the non-state schools, and came out #1 in Stockport. It has close links with several European colleges and regularly partakes in exchanges, currently hosting the Romanian exchange (as of 5/2/09). Several trips are also part of the curriculum, including trips to Rome for Classics, Poland for History and India, for the colleges India project, of which a massive fundraising scheme has been held each year for the past 10 years. Opportunities are also present with talks from several institutions including Journalism talks from the BBC. The latest Ofsted report described Aquinas as 'an outstanding college'. The adjective 'outstanding' was found to occur 26 times in the finished report. The report praised the friendly and positive environment for students to learn in. It was also touched upon that the use of IT was well applied to keep students engaged. Furthermore: Teachers and support staff work very well together to provide outstanding guidance and support. The college's response to education and social inclusion is outstanding. A broad curriculum meets the needs of students very well. Alternative pathways are available for students not yet ready to study at advanced level and the college works hard to engage students who may otherwise not participate in further education. Extensive enrichment activities and voluntary work enhances students'skills. The Every Child Matters themes are embedded in all aspects of college life. A list of Key strengths was drawn up: - Inclusive college - High success rates on many courses - Very good value added on A2 - Excellent individual support for students - Productive partnerships - Outstanding governance - Outstanding range of courses and enrichment activities. Ofsted also criticized the present building as being too cramped for the current demand for students. In response, a new college is currently being constructed, with the old one being demolished upon completion. Additional reading: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4016399.stm - Hundreds que for places at college http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Monaghan - Aquinas alumni http://www.aquinas.ac.uk/ - Aquinas website

I am currently a student here and although may be considered biased I am giving the university 4…read morestars on the basis that I have never felt so welcomed into an education environment since maybe primary school! After depcelopimg anxiety at school and finding it hard to interact with people (both peers a teachers) college was no easy ride, however, when I got to salford last year expecting much the same from uni, I was horribly mistaken, everyone, both staff and students are lovely and could not be happy to help if you have a problem, i find it very easy to approach staff members for help and guidance. Aside from the social pros of Salford the new peel park renovations are absolutely gorgeous even outside looks brilliant!!! New paving stones and all! And of course, to my amazement, multiple places to buy coffee for those dreaded 9am lectures

As a former student of this university and somebody who lives very near to it and still knows a lot…read moreof resident students, I've always felt I have the right to criticise it. But there's genuinely very little to say that's remotely negative. If anyone is even considering studying in Manchester, I'd advise them to veer away from the red brick and overlook the Met to at least give Salford a fair glance. When I came here, a naive 18 year old student fresh out of my little suburban college and having grown up in a village so rural, farmland greeted my back window view every morning, I was a little wet behind the ears to say the least. And it took me a long, long time to get used to pounding the urban pavement. But there's something about Salford that eases you in, in a way the other two Mancunian universities don't. Firstly, the accommodation. Very rarely in Salford are you put somewhere surrounded by city greyness, somewhere bustling and crazy. The halls I lived in were set far back on Frederick Road near some residential buildings, small businesses and a train station. Thus I had a quiet walk to my university buildings each morning, which was pleasant. An actual tree-lined walk no less, along the Crescent, past the train station and the beautiful Peel Building and Museum and Art Gallery. But there was also the option of Horlock or Constantine Court, halls within the cosy campus boundaries near Peel Park, meaning not only did you have pretty views but a quiet community with a local student shop and an HSBC bank with a bookshop accompanying it. I remember buying my Hershey's products from the little newsagent there (yes, for some reason they sold American candy) and thinking, what a nice place to live. That's not the only option. The IQ Centre and Castle Irwell are gated communities on the edge of Salford, reachable through Peel Park and those who live there have a real sense of camaraderie. IQ is perhaps the posher option with its communal room offering Sky TV, its onsite Subway and its larger rooms with kitchens and lounges decked out in Ikea products. Castle Irwell is slightly more rough and ready. But that's far from it, there's even the option of living on what I call the 'Fame' campus, the school of Media, Music and Performance which has a couple of tower blocks for local students, Bramall Court, and Matthias for post-grads. Again, this is set back into a residential area so you're not constantly harassed by traffic noise. Compare this to Manchester Met, where some accommodation is stationed firmly on a road chockfull of bars and clubs. But as for the university itself? I've found myself inspired, educated and I've had plenty of fun along the way. I've had desperate needs met in the form of no-questions-asked hardship loans and grants, and often when people come to Salford, it's because they offered a course specifically tailored to their needs. Something with a major and a minor. For me, it was English with Cultural Studies, which allowed me to explore my equally beloved Media and Psychology as well as Philosophy and Sociology. For others it's something like Journalism with Criminology, or Sociology with Military History. Anything and everything. You come for the course, you stay for the atmosphere, the easy to navigate libraries, the surprising mix of quiet and bustling, beautiful onsite landmarks like Peel Park, the sense of student community (student societies are out in full force here), the cheapest student accommodation in the UK and the enthusiastic lecturers. As with any university there are some bad apples teaching-wise, but we won't let those rot the barrel, as the good ones far outweigh the not so great. I literally couldn't recommend Salford more. And besides, what's better than knowing you're in the studying in the same town that Morrissey and the Smiths featured in photos and videos?

i currently attend the Manchester college's new campus on great ducie street and id just like to…read moresay that its not worth going. the art and design tutors are a full on joke, the pickout students and make them feel bad about all thier work. Mental health isnt a priority for them and they need to learn to communcate not only with thier srudents but with staff aswell as i feel there is no clear communication. i come to college and sit doing nothing because non of the tutors can actually agree anythng.

I have attended Manchester College of Arts and Technology on day release for the last two years…read more Part of the Openshaw campus has been rebuilt so is still new. It is a great college, and the building is impressive. It is a modern design and has water features outside, between the old and new building. Inside the new building are classrooms, the canteen and the East City Manchester Library aswell as a large computer room. It also houses the Motor Vehicle department. It is well decorated and well looked after. It has great facilitys, food is good at the canteen and having a library in the college is great. The old part of the building houses classrooms and another cafe. The food here is also good. Overall it is a great college

5 stars for amazing facilities! I'm part of the first years to go through Birley on my pgce and te…read morefacilities are just 2nd to none! I can only speak for the music department, but we've had first play on everything from state of the art jamhubs, ukulele classes, African drumming with brand new djembes- not to mention the large work stations with new touch screen computers! The tutors are fantastic and are always on hand for advice and a shoulder to cry on when lessons go wrong! The cafe is fab if a little expensive, the canteen serves amazing street food, soups, main meals, breakfasts, sandwiches, drinks and cakes! Though the one downside to it is that it's too small! Every lunchtime there is a crush to pay and choose food- only bad point!

Wow I was quite surprised at this campus. It is modern and contemporary with friendly students and…read morestaff. Have to drop one star off from being amazing because it is situated in God knows where. One of the best university building in Manchester in my opinion.

As you might have guessed from my Salford review, I'm something of a Salford University fan. And…read morewhile Manchester Metropolitan is still a great university, there's one word that comes to mind when I think about it. 'Fragmented'. I could be completely wrong, after all, it was a post-grad course I did here and they tend to be sectioned off somewhat from the rest of the crowd... hang on, I tell a lie. One of my best friends is currently doing her Masters at Salford and she feels part of the machine, so it goes to show, there can be differences. The fact that Manchester Met has so many campuses has a great deal to do with it, I think. The main campus is set across Oxford Road, which as we all know is one of Manchester's main party streets. Bars, clubs, pubs aplenty are dotted along the street, so your student accommodation would only be a stone's throw from someone being sick via too much sambuca. Depending on what kind of student you are, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. But there's more. While Oxford Road has a sense of community, some students are chucked far, far away on a campus entitled Crewe and Alsager. Have you ever passed Crewe on a train from Manchester to God-knows-where? I have. Many times. It takes a very long time. And I visited the Crewe campus. There is NOTHING there. Similarly campuses are scattered around Didsbury as well as other parts of Manchester... perhaps I feel like I've been spoiled with Salford and the fact that everything's within walking distance - in fact I know I have. I do admire Man Met's student union building, as it even has a rock club in it, and the Humanities department has a great mix of teachers. I adored my supervisors during my Masters, they were fabulous. However one of my best friends did make the mistake about talking about Man Met's 'not so great reputation' (the rumour that they'll let anyone in regardless of grades) on The Weakest Link, to which Anne Robinson raised an eyebrow and the Man Met head honchos chastised him greatly. So my conclusion would be, don't get drawn in by its central location and party atmosphere. Go there because you like the tutors and find a course that suits you. If you do, you have the potential to make good use of Manchester's student Mecca. Enjoy! (Just don't get stuck in Crewe, for the love of God. Unless you're into suburbs and trumpets.)

mmu = mickey mouse university…read more the happiest place on earth! This area includes All Saints, The New Business School, Hollings Faculty, Mabel Tylecote, School of Art and Geoffrey Manton to name a few. On the other side of Oxford road are delicious cheap takeouts and easy-going cheap pubs. Lovely place to go for a pint when you have had enough of seminars and lectures.

Open University is definitely the way to go to avoid lots of student debt. Plus a degree doesn't…read morehave to take any longer than in a brick institute as long as you're prepared to put the work in. Many people will be eligible for help with fees etc. Although it is mainly distance learning there are on many courses the option of face to face tutorials which are great. I'd suggest setting up a 'study group' with other people on your course so that you can contact each other for help and support although the tutors are always on the other end of the phone line if you need them! Lots of different courses available so there is usually something that will interest you!