St George's, University of London

St George's, University of London (St George's University of London)

Overall ranking: Placed 46th out of 123 in the Complete University Guide for 2015.

History: St George's shares its site and history with St George's Hospital. The latter registered its first apprentice doctor in 1751 and St George's Hospital Medical School was formally established in 1834. It joined the University of London in 1836 and was renamed in 2005. It is the UK's only independent medical and healthcare university.

Address: The main site is in urban London's Tooting although some health and social care students are based in Kingston. Labs, accommodation and student support facilities are all a few minutes walk apart.

Ambience: Small and friendly. Kingston is balanced just above the southern commuter belt, officially one of the furthest tentacles of Greater London but actually more like a separate town.

Who's the boss? The principal is Professor Peter Kopelman who is himself an alumnus of St George's. He is a qualified doctor with a long-standing interest in diabetes care and nutrition, and a major research interest in obesity.

Prospectus: 020 8725 2333 or take a look online here.

UCAS code: S49

What you need to know

Easy to get into? For the five year medicine degree the entry requirements are AAA at A Level, including biology or chemistry, and a grade B at AS Level. Further to this applicants will need: 416 points from their top eight subjects at GCSE (A*-58, A-52, B- 46, C-40, D-34, E-28); meet the individual sections scores and overall minimum score in the UK Clinical Aptitude Test; evidence of relevant work experience; and satisfactory health and police checks.

Vital statistics: Over 5,000 students, some of whom are taught jointly with Kingston University. St George's has a joint faculty of health and social care sciences with Kingston, so some courses offered by the faculty are validated by Kingston and others by the University of London. Excellent graduate employment rate, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Added value: As it shares its site with St George's Hospital NHS Trust, students benefit from studying within a hospital environment offering excellent clinical resources and expertise. It pioneered the graduate entry programme for medics and a common foundation programme for all students. A £7m halls extension opened in August 2012 increasing capacity to 486. Work was also completed recently on a new purpose-built suite of labs and flexible open-plan office areas. More than 200 study spaces in quiet and silent zones have been introduced into the library as part of a refurbishment. St George's are also offering a new health and wellbeing postgraduate course, addressing "challenges for UK health and social care, including integrated care, working across boundaries, public engagement, patient self-management, definitions of wellbeing, and the new commissioning landscape."

Teaching: Bottom of the Complete University Guide rankings for student satisfaction with teaching at 123rd out of 123.

Graduate prospects: Came in second place out of 123 universities, with 87.3 per cent finding graduate level employment.

Any accommodation? Yes. St George’s halls of residence, Horton Halls, offers self-catering, en-suite single study/bedroom units. Halls are a 15-minute walk from the campus, with local shops and transport links close by. The weekly rate at Horton Halls for the 2014-15 academic year is £140 to £150 per week.

Cheap to live there? Considering it's in London, accommodation in Tooting is cheaper than most other areas. A privately rented room in a shared house or flat will set you back around £109 a week on average.

Transport links: You can hop on to the Northern Line at Tooting Broadway tube just five minutes walk away, which will whisk you into central London in 20 minutes. Earlsfield, Tooting and Wimbledon mainline stations are also close by and there are plenty of bus routes. The journey between central London and Kingston takes roughly the same time via the overground railway.

Fees: St George's charges £9,000 per year to home and EU undergrads and £8,000 per year for foundation-level courses

Bursaries: A means-tested award of up to £3,000 is available. In addition, NHS bursaries are available on a number of courses and mean that applicants may not have to pay for some or any years of study. See here for more information.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: The Students' Union organises themed discos, sightseeing trips and comedy nights but if you prefer to make your own fun, there's the usual quotient of pubs, plus some excellent Indian restaurants around Tooting. A whole host of distractions are on offer nearer the centre of town.

Price of a pint: Being London, drinks aren't cheap, so you're looking at around £3.65.

Sporting reputation: Students in general seem to spend more time studying than playing sport- ranked 122nd in the current BUCS league.

Notable societies: Many, many medical themed societies, as to be expected, but a dash of a lot else besides.

Glittering alumni: St George's can boast some pretty useful individuals amongst its former students - Edward Jenner, who introduced the first vaccine for smallpox, the anatomist Henry Gray, John Hunter - credited as the father of modern surgery - and, of course, the comedian Harry Hill. Nice to see someone make good use of their medical training.

Alternative prospectus: Check into The Student Room to chat with former, current and prospective students about what life's really like at St George's.