[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]At the western end of Manchester is the city of Salford, [ITAL]but [PARA]screw up your eyes and you can't see the join[EITAL]. [ITAL] Salford isn't [PARA]magically different, nor is it sufficiently far to make it properly [PARA]distinct and so everything we said about Manchester (see [ULNE][PARA]University of Manchester[EULNE]) applies equally to Salford with the [PARA]added benefit of [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL]'s insights.[EITAL] After all, it's only 2 miles to the [PARA]centre of Manchester. [ITAL] It's certainly not the posh end of [PARA]Manchester[EITAL], but the 34 acre site of the University is quite green [PARA]and [ITAL]less ugly[EITAL] than many modern campuses. With a few [PARA]redbrick exceptions, the buildings have all been built in the last 20 [PARA]years. 70% of students study broadly science-based subjects [PARA](although arts and social sciences are expanding) and the [PARA]University has strong links with industry, particularly local firms.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The large proportion of overseas students play an active role in [PARA]the student scene, providing a cosmopolitan air. Meanwhile, the [PARA]University's strong local links provide a real community identity [PARA]for students. Students get the best of both worlds: a campus [PARA]university in a small neighbourhood town at the same time as the [PARA]metropolitan high life of Manchester. The bright lights of [PARA]Manchester are just a touch too radiant to let that local element [PARA]dazzle effectively. Still, it's more relaxed and less poseurish than [PARA]most of Manchester's other colleges. Students of an artistic [PARA]disposition, beware - the arts departments are severely [PARA]outnumbered. The University's intention is that students should [PARA]apply practicality to academia. How sensible.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]LIFE IN MANCHESTER:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]'I'm comin' home I'm comin' home, to your house!' 'My rabbit's [PARA]dead!' 'Listen Naaaadia, you've got a duty to know about these [PARA]things!' Yes, this is the home of 'The Living Soap', the studes you[PARA]loved to loathe. Unfortunately, many people regard the show as a[PARA]depiction of an average student household, which presupposes [PARA]that Manchester is an average student city. Not likely, Mr [PARA]Holdsworth![EITAL][PARA][ITAL] Manchester students dress to thrill, if not in the classic [PARA]late-80s bags, at least in high style. Manchester is Mecca for [PARA]2nd-hand gear, especially Oldham market. The famous Afflecks[PARA]Palace, although past its best, is the place to tog up for term time,[PARA]anything from rags to records and back to rags again (although [PARA]it's quite designer grunge/nouveau 70s nowadays). Amongst the [PARA]200 or so stalls, there's usually a job going for about ú15 a day, [PARA]which keeps the landlord at bay.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] A job's pretty handy (there are a few about but many hunters)[PARA]because life ain't cheap here. Although not on a London scale of [PARA]urban extortion, there are too many temptations to look after the [PARA]pennies and the pounds end up playing follow the leader. [PARA]However, Manchester has very little of the crowded loneliness of [PARA]London or its impersonality. The people are friendly (Paul Calf [PARA]isn't representative of all locals) and, amongst students, local [PARA]pride is a virus. At the end of term, students from the south [PARA]frequently return (to their mothers' horror) sporting 'Born in the [PARA]North - die in the North' t-shirts.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] While the city sprawls for about 10 miles in all directions, its [PARA]centre is relatively small which makes getting out and about a [PARA]cruise. With so much to do around town, there's no excuse for a[PARA]Saturday night on the sofa. A bar or a club on the other side of [PARA]town is only 20 minutes walk and, since the student residential [PARA]areas tend to be inner-city districts, a minicab home won't be [PARA]grant-busting.[EITAL][PARA][ITAL] At the very core, indeed, the hard core of the Manchester [PARA]Scene is ecstacy ('E' or 'the dance drug'). This and other, [PARA]nastier, drugs are readily available in the clubs, pubs and on the [PARA]streets of Manchester. Manchester students' attitudes to drugs [PARA]obviously vary enormously between individuals and although use [PARA]of 'E', 'acid' (LSD) and 'dope' (cannabis) is quite widespread, the [PARA]pressure to partake is small. Fun abounds without chemical [PARA]playmates. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL] Manchester offers a student just about everything any city [PARA]can, but many find it oppressive, especially if they're not from a [PARA]big city. The bright lights invite, but they dazzle too.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]SALFORD:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 217,900[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Salford has its own small and friendly community. Occasionally, [PARA]it looks somewhat like a Lowry painting, full of matchstick men [PARA]and matchstick cats and dogs, factory gates and the rest of it. [EITAL][PARA]Not surprising, really, since this is Lowry's home town. The City [PARA]Art Gallery has the largest single collection of his works. [ITAL] [PARA]Occasionally, it also looks like a scene from 'Coronation Street'.[EITAL] [PARA]Again, no surprise, chuck, as this is where it is set. But far more[PARA]often, it is the rebuilt Salford that shows its face, the docklands [PARA]have been developed and right in the heart of [ITAL]The Grim North[EITAL] are [PARA]all sorts of new constructions: high rise blocks; shopping malls [PARA]and supermarkets; libraries; book shops; banks (including a [PARA]Midland on campus); and everything else a town needs, including [PARA]3 museums, an 'urban heritage park' and its own nightlife.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Not 1 but 2 mainline stations, Manchester Piccadilly for [PARA]London and the South, and Manchester Victoria for just about [PARA]everywhere else. Routes go all over, including London (2:30hrs, [PARA]1/hr); Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] All sorts of coach services, including, of course, [PARA]National Express to, among most other places, London (ú16.00, [PARA]3:30hrs, 7/day), Birmngham (ú7.50, 2:20hrs, 8/day), Edinburgh [PARA](ú13.75, 5:55hrs, 2/day) .[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] From the north, M6 (then M61 or M62), A6 or M66; from the [PARA]east, M62, A58, A62; from the South, M6, A6, A523, A34; and [PARA]from Wales, the M56. Parking may well be a problem in central [PARA]Manchester,[ITAL] but, for the lazy or environmentally carefree, a car [PARA]doesn't go amiss.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Manchester Airport is one of the UK's big ones - flights all [PARA]over the world as well as inland.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Not possible from central Manchester, but quite good on[PARA]arterial routes out of the city.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Manchester has a major bus network, running all over [PARA]town, especially up and down Oxford Road[ITAL].[EITAL] Trains are a [ITAL]quicker[EITAL][PARA]alternative, especially for the outskirts. The spanking new Metro [PARA]Link tram service is now up and trundling.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD][ITAL] Manchester's centre, being relatively small, means taxi [PARA]trips are a viable resort. The black cabs which screech to a halt [PARA]as you hail them are a lot more expensive than the private traders[PARA]who are only supposed to pick up phone callers and drop ins. [EITAL][PARA][ITAL][BOLD]Bicycles: [EBOLD]Manchester's quite bike-friendly (flat with a fair few [PARA]bicycle lanes), but theft is rife. A mountain bike will identify you [PARA]as a drug pusher, especially if you're about 12.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Salford Crescent station is actually on the campus, [PARA]although for some national services it may be necessary to [PARA]change at one of Manchester's stations (trains every 15mins). [PARA]Salford to London (ú21.80, 2:30hrs, 1/hr).[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express and other services go all over the [PARA]place always via Manchester, including London (ú16.00, 5:00hrs, [PARA]2/day) .[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Parking a car doesn't really present a problem[EITAL] and Salford is[PARA]accessible on the M61, M62, M63, A57 and A580. [ITAL]However, local[PARA]communications are good enough that students might as well [PARA]give the environment a break.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Manchester Airport is 9 miles from the University to the [PARA]south of Manchester and beyond that... the world.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching: [EBOLD][ITAL]Not the world's safest place to hitch from, but the [PARA]connections are good.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Salford is covered by Manchester's bus and train networks[PARA]which are reliable, comprehensive and generally cheap. Buses [PARA]go to Manchester city centre every 3 mins. (Local travel in [PARA]Manchester, see [ULNE]University of Manchester[EULNE].)[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Around Salford, private cab companies are surprisingly [PARA]inexpensive, but still not for daily travel.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The traffic flow is quite heavy and theft a quite a [PARA]problem. There are better ways of getting around, but it's your [PARA]trip...[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Soc Sci[EBOLD] 2,136 22pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 1,585 20pts[BOLD][PARA]Engineering[EBOLD] 1,811 19pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 308,529 [BULL] Periodicals: 92,345 [BULL] Study places: 999[PARA][BULL] Computer workstations: 400[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]Library and computers under one roof. Many departments have [PARA]their own libraries too.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 4full/2part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 12%[ESTAT][PARA][PARA][PARA][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]*This flunk rate is, perhaps, a bit misleading, since it includes [PARA]students on Salford's 2+2 access courses. This allows students [PARA]with non-standard entry qualifications to register as Salford [PARA]students, whilst taking an HND course at a local college, followed[PARA]by the final 2 years of a degree course at the University. Some [PARA]choose to leave after gaining the HND, which isn't flunking, but [PARA]looks like it in statistics land. It's a very successful scheme, but it [PARA]does bugger up our figures.[PARA][BULL]Fergie is the University's Chancellor. [ITAL]Perhaps, with hindsight, [PARA]not the wisest of appointments.[EITAL][PARA][BULL]The academic year consists of 2 14-week semesters rather [PARA]than 3 terms (Oct-Feb, Feb-June).[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]According to the University, many of its graduates "now hold [PARA]senior positions in major industrial, commercial and academic [PARA]organisations" but the only ones they named were Ieuan Evans [PARA](Welsh Rugby Captain) and Alison Utley (journalist).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads.[PARA][PARA]
