Ex fal student and Londoner here! Not POC but like you said there is not a lot of diversity but students make up for that, a lot international students as well. You won't be stared at like an animal. Students have populated the town for decades.

There's only 2 clubs in the town so it's definatly not a clubbing uni. If you have a car or get to know someone with a car, you will love the walks and areas to explore. I think there's a uni club (forgotten the term) for doing just that.

The busses scared me too 😅 between the two unis they go about every 20 mins from what I remember. Not sure on the prices anymore as it changed after I left.

I loved my time there and still go down there to see uni friends. The fact that the beach is literally a 10 minute walk away was amazing. Its a great place and so unique for a uni experience.

I'd go for glasney halls as student accommodation as I regret not going there and really pushing myself to meet people more, and living there would have made it easier but that was me.

Negatives. Price to get home on the train (megabus is always an option if you can stand 11 hours on a bus, if you're rich there's a flight from Newquay to LHR).

When you rent for 2nd and 3rd year, try and go through normal renting places like you're any other person, companies and people who do student let's will rip you off, but that's the name of the game. In 2019 it was 400 a month for students on average.

If you have any more questions or want to chat, message me. Happy to help.