University of Cape Town

From the perspective of an international student, UCT was not my number 1 university of choice but after coming here, I wouldn't leave it. Culturally, UCT is very inclusive of all cultures, backgrounds and religions across the board. For each, they have societies set up allowing you to integrate and grow into who you are as a person and who you identify as. The academic standard is driven towards excellence and realizing potential, pushing each student to be the very best. Other key areas of personal development such as those oriented towards a career they provide platforms through which all that can be achieved. Some areas which could improve such as issues around accommodation, UCT has started to build a new residence to alleviate the pressure off on-campus accommodation. Food wise though, options could improve as the menu on campus isn't as varying as those in other universities. Overall, UCT is great!

An excellent university on the whole, although a few departments are lacking. Extremely high quality of education, students are taught to think further than they did before and come out of university with the ability to think critically and articulate those thoughts. Excellent Humanities faculty! UCT responds to its SRC and always attempts to make changes that are in students’ best interests (although at times this is a complex process.) The university as a whole functions well, but often there are problems within departments that go unaddressed. From tutors who, although they understand the content, cannot explain it to the students, to course convenors and heads of departments who are incredibly difficult to work with. Although I have yet to come across one myself, I have heard of lecturers famous for purposefully making life difficult for their students, and boasting about how their teaching methods are so bad that none of the students can pass their course. This attitude is especially prominent in the Engineering/Architecture (EBE) faculty. As for dealing with physical and mental illness, this also depends on the faculty and department. There are few university-wide rules that help those of us with a chronic illness or similar problems that get in the way of our education. One or two understanding lecturers and tutors can make-or-break your entire degree. The linguistics, maths, and information systems departments are particularly understanding and you can tell that they have their aim is to educate their students, rather than feel superior to them. Departments I would not recommend going to UCT for are computer science, media and classics - in my experience those departments are not really interested in educating their students (or if they are, they do not know how to educate their students.) And although I have no personal experience to base this one on, I have never heard a good review of any part of the EBE faculty - only stories of many mental breakdowns and in one case, years of insomnia after graduating. One friend found studying law at Stellenbosch easy in comparison to architecture at UCT. On a more positive note, UCT’s upper campus is beautiful, and the people are great! There are always events happening and many clubs and societies to join, which I highly recommend doing. The Jammie Shuttle service is very convenient, although the schedule is often inaccurate (if you take it every day you will learn which busses come on time and which ones don’t, it is quite consistent.) Overall, UCT is a great university and if you make it through you will always come out with a high quality of education and a trusted degree. There are some departments I mentioned that I would not recommend for the sake of your own wellbeing, but if you think you are a particularly resilient person, go ahead. People tend to focus on the bad, as I have in this review, simply because there is not much to say about the good. I’ve definitely learned a lot from studying at UCT, and had an altogether positive experience despite the stress. Before coming to university I planned to do as short a degree as possible and go overseas to do my postgrad, but my mind changed very quickly and after 3 years at UCT I do not want to leave anytime soon.

While still having its flaws, University of Cape Town earns its number 1 ranking in Africa without a doubt. We lead the way in research, innovation and transformation with our beloved and highly accredited “Vice Chancellor who cares.” There can never be a dull day on campus with plaza days every Thursday, a plethora of amazing, active societies and of course, the best university meme page in SA keeping us all entertained. All the resources are available for everyone to thrive academically, socially and culturally on our diverse campus. Resources include mentors, tutors, career services, counselors, writing and computer workshops and many more.