Lancaster University

Overall ranking: Ranked 11th out of 124 in the Complete University Guide for 2014.

History: The first students were accepted to Lancaster in 1964, the same year that Princess Alexandra was inaugurated as chancellor.

Address: Greenfield site two miles from Lancaster, complete with rabbits and ducks.

Ambience: Modelled on a Spanish hill-top village and set in lovely countryside. At the centre is Alexandra Square, which recently underwent a make-over, set in 250 acres of landscaped woods and fields. The collegiate system with nine colleges (including Pendle with a witch as its logo) gives the university a friendly feel.

Who's the boss? Professor Mark E. Smith, vice-chancellor, an expert in material physics.

Prospectus: 01524 592 015 or request one here.

UCAS code: L14

What you need to know

Easy to get into? Varies by course, but most honours degrees ask for between 320 and 360 UCAS points. You'll need AAA for natural sciences, AAB for modern languages and AAB for economics.

Vital statistics: 12,000 students, very popular with internationals (from over 100 countries) and one of the safest campuses in the UK. As a member of the N8 Group - a research partnership of the top 8 most research intensive universities in the North of England, it focuses on five areas of research: ageing and health; energy; molecular engineering; regenerative medicine and water.

Added value: Many changes and updates to the campus have been completed with students in mind – since 2002 more than £300m has been invested in to the campus creating new halls, academic centres for environment, ICT and management. Student facilities and teaching space have been transformed creating, for example, a 24-hour student learning hub. A £20m sport centre was completed in 2012.

Teaching: Placed 17th out of 124 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: Came 19th in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Graduate prospects: Placed 24th with 74.4 per cent entering graduate level employment.

Any accommodation? Yes - over 6,500 rooms in eight undergraduate colleges, around half of which are allocated to first years. Weekly rents range from £80 to 100 for standard self-catered accommodation while ensuites start at £106 and self-contained luxury can be sought for £140.

Cheap to live there? Indeed. Off-campus rents average £75 per week for a room in a shared house.

Transport links: Direct trains to London (2.5hrs away), Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Good bus and coach networks with services from the town to the middle of campus. The M6 is on the doorstep and the Lake District is within easy reach.

Fees: Set at £9,000 per year for home full-time undergrads. More will be charged for biomedicine, chemistry and some other science subjects.

Bursaries: The university offers a bursary of up to £1,000 per year for students with a residual income of less than £42,600. Scholarships of £2,000 are awarded to any first year UK student entering with A*, A, A in their A-levels. For further details click here.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: On campus, entertainment revolves around the individual college bars. The city isn't the UK's biggest party town, but there are plenty of bars, many of which do live music. Several in Lancaster host popular dance nights, and the Sugarhouse, owned and run by the Students' Union but situated in town, manages to attract some fairly big name acts.

Price of a pint: You'll be looking at an average of £2.55- not bad at all.

Sporting reputation: Not horrendous, but nothing special- ranked 45th in the BUCS league at the moment.

Calendar highlight: The Campus Festival held in Lancaster Square is a brilliant event- this year's began with a garden party and continued into the night with great music and a firework display.

Notable societies: The 20 Minute society sounds awesome. You give them your number and they send you a text, once a week, stating a place on campus and an event to attend. Participants race to the location- the first to arrives gets 20 points, with others up for grabs depending on your place, and everyone who arrives within 20 minutes receives at least one point. Prizes are awarded on a termly basis.

Glittering alumni: Peter Whalley and Marvin Close, Coronation Street writers; Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent, The Independent; Alan Milburn, former health secretary; Olympic cycling gold medallist Jason Queally; actor Andy Serkis (Gollum and King Kong).

Alternative prospectus: www.interstudent.co.uk/university-guides/england/lancashire/lancaster-university/lancaster-university-student-life.html