King's College London

Age: 182

History: Founded in 1829, King's College London is England's fourth-oldest university institution.

Address: King's occupies four historic Thames-side campuses on the King's Reach in the heart of London, together with the King's Denmark Hill campus in south London. The Strand campus directly overlooks the Thames, mid-way between the Houses of Parliament and St Paul's Cathedral. The Waterloo campus is just across the river, next to the South Bank Centre. The Guy's Campus is in the heart if the historic area of London Bridge, while the St Thomas' campus is next door to the London Eye and directly faces the House of Parliament. The Denmark Hill Campus is adjacent to King's College Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital.

Ambience: A £500m transformation of the college estate is near completion. So far, it has produced two well-equipped sites, with some biomedical and health science students occupying the largest university building in London, near Waterloo Station, while the faculties of biomedical and health sciences, medicine, and dentistry have acquired purpose-built facilities on the Guy's Campus. There is to be further development of the St Thomas' site for medical education and hospital use following the opening of the new and ground-breaking Evelina Children's Hospital. The South Range of KCL's Grade One listed King's building at the Strand was reopened after a two year £40m redevelopment in May 2006, providing new teaching facilities and wireless internet access. The 19th century Maughan library on Chancery Lane, the largest new university library in Britain since World War II, is a Grade Two listed building and a beautiful Gothic masterpiece.

Vital statistics: Just under 14,500 undergraduates and nearly 8,900 postgraduates, with more than 200 courses on offer.

Added value: King's offers a number of additional study options, to enhance your experience on your chosen programme of study. You could study abroad for a semester or a year as part of an organised exchange, enrol on a language course, gain work experience, get help with your English language level, or reqister for their unique Associateship of King's College qualification. Much of the teaching is done in small groups and every student is allocated a personal tutor.

Easy to get into? No, most courses are very competitive and many ask for A* grades at A-level.

Glittering alumni: Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town; Dr George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury; authors Susan Hill and Arthur C Clarke; comedian Rory Bremner.

Transport links: Near mainline and Tube stations, bus and coach routes and airports. Waterloo, Strand and St Thomas' campuses are right next to Waterloo for Eurostar trips. You'll be right in the middle of London, remember?

Who's the boss? The principal is Prof. Rick Trainor, a social historian. Joining from the University of Greenwich in 2004, he is the first person to be the head of both an 'old' and 'new' university.

Teaching: Came 51st out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: Came 20th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: Came 16th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: There are two bars: The Waterfront at the Strand and the Guy's Bar at the Guy's campus. They are competitively priced and provide a friendly atmosphere in which to meet new people and enjoy events such as music quizzes and live music. There are also two clubs: Inverse at Guy's campus and Tutu's at the Strand campus which, not only offers a fantastic view of the London skyline, but also attracts big name bands.

How green is it? Getting better - it came joint 50th out of 138 universities graded by People and Planet for their 'Green League 2011', after coming 113th in last years awards.

Any accommodation? Full-time undergraduates entering for the first time on a programme of two or more years are guaranteed the offer of one year (not necessarily their first) in either halls of residence, self-catering apartments, the student house, intercollegiate halls or nominated, private halls. KCL rents range between around £116 to £176 per week for a standard single room.

Cheap to live there? No, this is London - £95 to £125 or more per week.

Sports Ranking: 42nd in the BUCS league.

Fees: £3,375 for full-time home undergrads starting in 2011. King's plans on charging the maximum tuition fee of £9,000 as of 2012.

Bursaries: King's myBursary is a means-tested grant for every student in receipt of a government maintenance allowance. As of 2012, King's will participate in the National Scholarship Programme, matching awards given by the government, which lead to fee waivers of £6,000 for some students. For more information see the website.

Prospectus: 020 7836 5454; www.kcl.ac.uk

UCAS code: K60