A few days ago I received my college and housing confirmation for the University of Roehampton. I will provide pictures of the building once I have left but needless to say the view will be amazing and I live near where Growhampton, a student organization, keeps chickens. Some questions I had and I am sure you have is: Isn't university the same as college? Why does it matter what college I am in?
In England, college and university are not interchangeable terms. To make this easy, think of it like Hogwarts. If you have not read the Harry Potter series bear with me and I promise I this whole blog won't turn into comparisons but here I the example is apt. Hogwarts has four houses and within each house everyone has similar personality traits and they are a cohort. They take classes with their house and they spend a lot of time with those people. It is the same basic idea for university. The University of Roehampton has four colleges: Digby Stuart, Froebel, Southlands, and Whitelands. Each have their college colors and mascot and compete for points towards the College Cup. People relate more to their college than the university as whole it seems. Major usually determines one's college but for me, housing determined my college because I am not there for a particular course of study. Now I shall reveal which college I got "sorted"into...Froebel!
Some fun facts:
1. The mascot is a zebra.
2. The college is named after Friedrich Froebel who was one of the first educators to recognize the importance of early childhood education.
3. According to the University of Roehampton's website "Froebel has for many years been a college in which high academic achievement, profoundly influenced by its tradition, has produced outstanding success in academic life. The ethos of the College is based on the philosophy of Friedrich Froebel."
4. Froebel has a fierce competitive rivalry with Digby Stuart.
It is still early days and but having information soothes my nervous soul. I hope to getting my classes soon and then the real excitement can begin!