I went to Aston university a couple of years ago a...

I went to Aston university a couple of years ago and I would not recommend it unless you like being surrounded by racist faculty staff and students.

During my time at the university we had to do many group works which was something I detested as I wanted to be judged on my own academic acumen. The reason we did group work in my opinion was because the pathologically lethargic staff at the university were to lazy to mark individual students work.

Whilst working in these groups sometimes I found myself being the only coloured student and that meant that on more than one occasion my group marks were deducted despite me showing the staff at the university that I had done the work.

On one occasion my work was not accepted by the group because they felt that the standard of my work was not good enough. The staff refused to look at the work and mark it. In the end the group re-did my work and submitted it and ironically ended up with a mere 40% (the lowest group mark).

One another occasion involving another group the group told the staff that I had not attended a group meeting. Now all our meetings were on a Monday and when I arrived to one of these Monday meetings no one else was there. I received emails from the group members apologising for not being able to attend. Then they re-arranged the meeting on Tuesday without informing me and then told the staff that I never attended. I showed the emails were the group apologised for not being able to attend as evidence that I had attended but the head of undergraduate at the time did not think that was enough proof that the group members were discriminating against me.

The experience had a profound effect on my life, I genuinely believe that racism is rife and the only difference between racism in the USA and UK is that in the UK racism is subtle (under-cover racism). Unfortunately not all racist go around wearing a Kux Klux Klan robe and burning crosses.

In some ways I should be glad because it changed me as a person. I am now aware everyday that I have brown skin but I promised myself not to allow this experience or my brown skin to have an adverse effect on my life.
I went to Royal Holloway University (Amazing university) to complete my Masters and graduated with a Merit and then went to UEL (Amazing university and really supportive staff) and gained more postgraduate qualifications and now I have a well paying job, a property in London, Birmingham and Malaysia.

But my experience at Aston could have easily led me to go downhill. If you want to study in Birmingham then go to Birmingham University or go Warwick University. Aston university has one campus which is miniature. It offers nothing you cannot get from another university.

My sincere advise is avoid this university like the plague. If I can get through to one person then this post was worthwhile.