Fisrtly, the University of Surrey is a good university - and it receives a lot of funding- paticularly from ouside sources. David S is right in his description of Guildford - it is in the middle of some beautiful countryside in a lovely part of Surrey. The countryside is great (good for long walks) and there are many pretty villages close by.
The medical and educational facilities are also excellent. I love Guildford and go shopping there almost every weekend. http://www.guildford.gov.uk/visitguildfo... It is also an easy train journey into London.
There are also many historic places to see in the county.
Academically Surrey University has a great reputation. I live around the area, and there are plenty of shops that will meet all your needs. As Guildford has a cathedral it is usually mistaken as a small city, it is infact a large town.
In my opinion the area doesn't offer much in terms of its nightlife. There are two main nightclubs, these are 'The Casino' and 'dusk'. However the University has an on campus nightclub, which I heard is pretty good.
As mentioned by others, it has great transport links into London Waterloo. Overall it is pleasant place to live, every area has their good and bad parts. If you choose to live around there look out for the Guildford Bearded Lady.
She is a local celebrity.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.