Going Higher: 'Everything you want, but it's not too large'

Jo Beal, aged 22 and from Lincolnshire, has just finished her second year of marine biology at the University of Plymouth

"IT'S DEFINITELY more of a working environment than a friendly environment - it's geared to getting the job done. There is a good social life, however, and a lot of clubs and societies. There are three or four nightclubs in town and lots of other places with dance floors. The Ritzy and The Warehouse are popular with students, as is the union on a Friday night, which is club night. There are several campuses - Exeter, Exmouth and Plymouth and Seale-Hayne agricultural college. I'm based in Plymouth, the biggest campus. Parts of Plymouth are not nice - there's a bit of conflict between service people, locals and students in areas like Devonport and the docks - but most of it is nice.

"It's a good centre to be in if you want to get to the sea or to Dartmoor. It's got everything you would expect from a city, but it's not too big. There is a fair percentage of people from Devon and Cornwall who don't want to go too far away, but people come from all over.

"It's worth noting, if you don't live in the area it does cost a lot to get to London."

Dyfan Jones, aged 21, from Cardiff, has just graduated from the University of Wales, Swansea, with an upper second in history and politics. He is about to start a sabbatical year as president of the students' union

"SWANSEA IS extremely friendly for an institution of its size. Its got 10,000 students but there is a great campus with lots of things going on all the time. There is something for everybody - from choral societies to night-club raves. That's the beauty of it.

"Everything now is bilingual but the number of Welsh speakers is quite small. It's about half English, half Welsh students. Student social life takes place on campus and in town. One of the most popular town venues is the Ritzy night-club on Monday night, student night. On Fridays and Saturdays most social activities take place in the union. On Saturday nights many students do the infamous Mumbles mile pub crawl.

"One of the important things about Swansea is that a lot of universities seem to have trouble integrating with local communities, but that's been overcome here. Students are made to feel welcome."