THE BOOK OF
SEC R E T S
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THE BOOK OF
SEC R E T S
WELCOME TO
SEC R E T C I T Y
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City, University of London is a unique and inspiring place, unlike any other. Much like London itself, City has a wealth of hidden gems and secret tips. Things that you won’t find in our prospectus because they are usually passed on from year to year. The following pages reveal the top 50 most interesting and useful secrets that our current crop of undergraduates have discovered during their time at City. Every secret is something that our students wished they’d known on day one at City, generously passed on so you can get a head start. www.city.ac.uk/secrets
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Free comedy shows If you love to laugh, you’d be a fool not to check out local comedy institution, the Angel comedy club. Their free nightly comedy shows will have you falling off your chair and offer the perfect relief to a long day of study and lectures.
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Get a room If you are in need of some serious study time, try booking a room in the library. These rooms are frequently left empty, yet offer the perfect space to focus, study silently or complete group projects. It’s a shame to let them go to waste.
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The best coffee For those who like to start the day with a fresh brew, City is surrounded by some of the best areas in London to get great speciality coffee. The best picks close to City are Ozone Coffee Roasters (Shoreditch), Workshop Coffee and Prufrock (Farringdon) plus The Coffee Works Project (Angel).
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Perfect your CV If you’re having a bit of a struggle with your CV then pay a visit to the careers team. They’ll write it with you so that it looks professional and appeals to employers. They even offer mock interviews to help you practice for the real thing.
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Explore the Angel Get familiar with our local high street at the Angel, Islington during your first few months at City. It’s better to discover those hidden gems earlier than later.
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Free Microsoft Office As a City, University of London student you are entitled to download Microsoft Office for free directly from the Microsoft website. Take advantage and stay up to date with latest versions of Word, Powerpoint and Excel without having to pay for them.
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On the books Check your reading list as soon as possible and get hold of all the books you will need during the year. This will give you a huge advantage when your notes fail you.
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Meet the neighbours When you first move into your accommodation, make the effort to meet your new neighbours as soon as possible. Go up and down your corridor trying to meet as many people as you can during freshers week.
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Lose the stress If you’re feeling stressed or just fancy a bit of relaxation and pampering, head over to the Ironmonger Row Baths behind the Franklin Building. For only £9 you can use their spa facilities including steam room, sauna and relax area up to 3 hours.
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A warm hug Briki is a beautiful deli and coffee brewery on Exmouth Market. It is by far the best place near to City for a delicious hot chocolate. Perfect for warming you up on a cold day. It’s like a hug in a cup.
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Earn with Unitemps Sign up with the Unitemps, City’s on-campus recruitment agency. They provide tons of opportunities to make some cash throughout the academic year and beyond. Make your way up to the Careers and Skills Development Office in the Drysdale Building and sign yourself up.
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A short-cut to Cass The fastest way to the third floor of Drysdale, for Cass Business School, is perfect for lazy people who don’t like stairs. Come in through the Lower Ground Drysdale (ELG) entrance near the new courtyard on Spencer Street. Go down one floor, take the Lift to the third floor and you’re there already.
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Best local sushi The freshest and most highly rated sushi place in London is right on City’s doorstep in the heart of Angel. Sushi Show is a small restaurant that offers authentic and affordable sushi to eat in or takeaway using ingredients directly from Japan.
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Group study booths If you want some quality study time with a group of classmates, get to the library for 10am or earlier and head to level three. Here you’ll find some awesome group study booths with TVs that you can be used for group working and presentations.
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Visit Angel Central Home to a cinema, good places to eat and lots of different shops, Angel Central is a modern shopping centre, opposite Angel tube station. From Ed’s Diner and Wagamama to Muji and Gap, it’s a great place for a day out with friends.
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16 Be friendly with second years If you’d like a heads up on what’s coming your way, which teachers are the most friendly and how everything at City works, make friends with some people in the year above you. They have the benefit of a years experience and were going though the same as you last year. A good way to do this is through signing up to the Buddy Scheme when you arrive.
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Study in silence If you’d like absolute peace and quiet while you’re studying, then head for level four of the Northampton Square library. The best time to get there, and make sure you get a seat, is before 11 in the morning or after 7 in the evening.
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18 Spa Fields Park Find the secret hidden entrance to Spa Fields Park on Exmouth Market and discover an urban oasis that’s perfect for sunny days. It’s the perfect place to enjoy your lunch from the market, sit on the grass, have a go on the swings or try the exercise equipment.
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Perfect chill spot The best chilling spot before any exam are the purple sofa style chairs facing the huge windows on the first floor of the library. You get a great relaxing view and no one can see you sitting on the chair so no one will find you before the exam to stress you out.
20 Tasty pots of joy Try the salad pots in EatCity, City’s main restaurant. They are brilliant value, extremely tasty and filling. For great vegan food options go to The Courtyard cafÊ.
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21 Cheap classical concerts Get Student Pulse, an app for your phone that gives you access to discounted student tickets (usually just a few pounds) for concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra at top venues like the The Barbican and Royal Festival Hall.
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22 Join a sports team Ask about joining one of the social sports teams at City Sport. Not only will this mean you can play your favourite sport but it’s a great chance to have fun and meet new people. Membership of weekly clubs is free and it will keep you fit and healthy while you study.
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23 Use the careers team City has a great careers team that can help with finding and getting your dream job. It’s a good idea to go along to their events from year one. By year two your CV will make it through all of the screenings, when most students are still figuring out how to compose a professional looking CV.
24 Free stuff at McDonald’s Use your City card for free food at the nearest McDonalds (City Road for Northampton Square and Liverpool Street for Bunhill Row). Just show it when you buy any meal for a free burger, McFlurry or extra fries. It’s especially useful for those all nighters spent in the library.
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25 Free first year travel Grab yourself a 16+ Oyster card if you’re still 18 when you come to City. Make sure to read all of the terms and conditions, but it’s more than likely that you’ll still be eligible for free bus travel and discounted tube fares for your first year of study.
26 A quick coffee Grab your tea or coffee from the café on the ground floor of college building. This will save you so much time because it’s always much quieter than the other options.
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27 Find fat chips Kennedy’s on Goswell Road is a great place to get really cheap but good quality fat chips. It’s near CitySport and a medium portion is enough to feed two people. You can sit in or takeaway, making it a great option for those who live in local halls.
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28 A bar with a view The rooftop bar at One New Change easily walkable from the City campus and has a free viewing area situated right next to St Paul’s Cathedral that provides the most amazing view of the City of London. A view that’s equally impressive at night as during the day.
29 Get paid for your thoughts There’s a great way to earn some extra money by taking part in focus groups and student-led research in the psychology department. Check out the noticeboards and email invitations for opportunities to participate and get cash rewards.
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30 Do Exmouth Market If you’re looking for great a place to get lunch near university, check out Exmouth Market. It’s a street food heaven with stalls offering different meals from all over world, like a festival. It’s a great place to eat considering the price and quality of the food.
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Find Camden Passage In the backstreets, just past Angel station is Camden Passage, home to an eclectic market, the best independent shops, bars, restaurants and cafĂŠs including The Breakfast Club which does unlimited free fries during happy hour on Fridays.
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32 Get free coffee En route to the University from Farringdon station, there is a small Waitrose on St John Street. If you have a Waitrose card (like a Nectar or Tesco club-card) you are entitled to a free cup of coffee when you purchase something else, for example a sandwich.
33 Try the best steak If you’re a fan of a good steak, and like a social dinner with your friends after Uni, then head to Covent Garden and eat in Flat Iron. The best place for students to get a unreal £10 steak, with cheap cocktails, free popcorn and free ice-cream for desert. It’s a bargain and a real treat.
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34 Keep your ID card safe Whatever you do, don’t lose your student ID card. It’s your proof of identity and provides swipe access to university buildings. Besides which a replacement costs £7 online or £10 cash in person. Money you’d definitely rather spend elsewhere.
35 Eat real Japanese One of the best Japanese restaurants near City, and possibly in London, is the Tajima-Tei in Farringdon. It offers a full menu of real Japanese food specialities, in an authentic Japanese environment created by Japanese owners.
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36 Borrow a camera Save a small fortune on buying expensive video and photography equipment. If you need to use a camera for your course, the University support staff can lend one to you.
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37 Handy level 5 loos If you’re putting in some serious studying hours on level 5 of the library and need the toilet, don’t head downstairs, walk towards the end of the room. There are toilets for men and women but hardly anyone ever uses them. Saves you running up and down the stairs from levels 6 to 3.
38 Explore the canal The Regent’s canal is just a few minutes walk from both the university campus and Angel. Take a walk along the tow path to admire the painted narrow-boats and locks. It’s stretches for miles to the east and west and is especially beautiful summer.
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39 Bring your own food There are microwaves on campus so invest in a microwave mug (the Sistema ones are great). Having one of these means you’ll be able to bring your own home cooked food into University, rather than constantly forking out for food from the refectory.
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40 Jump on the bus Angel station is around a 10 minute walk, so if you don’t fancy that in the morning, just cross the road and jump on the 153 bus. It stops right outside university building with a total journey time of 3 minutes. Now you even have time for a coffee.
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Best seats in the library You can get a great view of London from the level 6 of the library. Take a sharp right as soon as you walk through the door and there’s a hidden corner with a gorgeous view of Angel and beyond. Get there early to snag a spot with the view.
42 A free dinner If you’re a bit broke and you’ve had enough of microwave meals, head down to the Krishna Consciousness Society on a Thursday evenings. No one leaves with an empty stomach. Expect a free homemade wholesome dinner that you’ll never forget.
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43 Eat in the dark If you’re looking for a special, yet unusual, night out not far away from uni, there’s an amazing restaurant called Dans le Noir, close to Farringdon station. Eating in the dark is a really fun and surprising experience. It’s quite expensive but a great idea for a date or Valentine’s day.
44 Manage your money Try walking about every day with a set amount of change in your pocket or purse for spending on the go. This will help stop you overusing your debit card and can save you loads of money when you see real cash being used to pay for things.
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45 Get a 16-25 railcard If you are travelling to university nearly everyday, you can save a lot on travel costs with a 16-25 Railcard. You can also get it added to your 18+ Oyster to save 34% on Pay-As-You-Go Off-Peak travel in London and it’s great for trips away too.
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46 Experience our local venue Make sure you go to the O2 Academy Islington. It’s right opposite Angel station and home to great gigs, club nights and comedy. Whatever you’re into, you’re guaranteed a great night out, so take advantage as the tickets aren’t that expensive.
47 Eat on the cheap Discover Too Good To Go, an app that allows you to enjoy delicious takeaway food for as little as £2. Local restaurants, cafés, bakeries and other stores who need to sell food that day offer it through the app at massively discounted prices.
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48 Plug into lectures If you are looking for somewhere to plug in your laptop or charge your phone during lectures, check under the desk as many rooms have plug sockets under there. There’s also a really cool lecture room in the Drysdale building that has sofa type desks.
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49 Discover secret bars There are several top secret bars with passwords in central London, such as the Spitalfields Breakfast Club. Tell staff that you are ‘here to see the mayor’ and the waiter will take you to another bar through a secret door disguised as a fridge.
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50 A few more ‘little secrets’… – Primrose Hill near Regent’s Park is a great place for reading with a wonderful view of London. – T here’s a relaxing area with armchairs on the right hand-side of the B200 area. – T he GBK app gives students a 25% plus free burgers and milkshakes on almost every next visit. – If you are looking for a quiet computer room area with printers, go to the Rhind building top floor. – For those in Liberty Court, Bar Smith Farringdon offers two for one pizzas and cocktails all day Saturday. – The best toilets on campus are on level 3 of the college building, they are super clean and quiet.
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