Why I Chose to Study in Brighton

When applying for university, my naive little heart was set on going to Wales. Wales is a good place to study my chosen subject, environmental studies - lots of nature. I often think about how different my uni experience might have been if I’d gone to a Welsh university. But I didn't. I went to the University of Sussex, in Brighton.

Originally, the University of Sussex was my fifth choice behind Aberystwyth, Swansea, Cardiff and Portsmouth. However, luckily for me my uncle lives near Brighton and suggested I come down to have a look. I went to the university open day and loved the brutalist architecture of the campus. Most of the buildings were constructed using concrete in the 60s, with seemingly little effort put into the design. I remember walking through the Sussex campus for the first time, and thinking it felt like a university. It was raining.

The Sussex campus, much like the rest of Brighton, is littered with green spaces where people congregate in the sun. People playing music, dancing, and performing circus arts. It’s easy to get swept up by it all – I did.

After looking round the uni, I took the train into town to meet my uncle and his little family.  He showed me round, bought me falafel, and said something along the lines of “Brighton is one of those places you live that you’ll never want to leave”. He wasn’t wrong. I fell in love instantly.

The place has an energy. Not a negative, tense energy like London where everyone walks around stone-faced. No, Brighton has a happy, vibrant energy, making the city a magnet for vibrancy and fun. When you're there, you desperately want to be a part of it.

If you’re considering applying to study at the University of Sussex, here are some of the reasons I chose to study in Brighton.

The University of Sussex may not be the best-known UK university, but it consistently performs quite well in university rankings. It’s currently just outside the top 30 in the UK in the QS World University Rankings 2019, and is also the best university in the world for one particular subject (development studies).