Jen:
BA Media Production, Cumbria Institute of Arts,
Carlisle.
"Being
at uni is like no other life experience you could
possibly have. I didn’t want to come originally,
but now I have, it’s been so worth it!" |
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About the University
About the course |
Name:
Jen Walshe
Duration at BRGS Sixth Form:
2000-2002.
A Levels studied:
Theatre Studies, Art, Geography, General Studies,
AS German.
Previous school before joining BRGS Sixth Form:
BRGS
Date of submitting
these answers:
February 2005
Read about Jen's gap year...
|
| University
you are at, why you chose this university, and give one
interesting fact about your university: |
| I
am at Cumbria Institute of the Arts in Carlisle.
I chose it because I wanted to go somewhere small and
quiet where I wouldn’t feel overpowered by the
environment. But then I did a gap year in London
for a year and realised the fun of being with lots of
people! It’s cool because you can say
you are from C.I.A! One interesting fact…it’s
on a hill so it doesn’t flood… |
| Best
things about your university town/city: |
Because
it’s small it is so easy to get equipment and
personal attention from tutors. You know everyone
so it’s quite a little community. And Carlisle
has the BEST bonfire night firework display I
have ever seen in my life!
|
| Worst
things about your university town/city: |
| It
takes half an hour to walk from uni into town,
and if you are in halls, there are very strict
regulations about being in each other’s flats and
having parties and hanging around in the courtyard. Carlisle
is TINY even though it’s a city but it does have
everything you could need because people come from
miles around- the nearest city to Carlisle is Newcastle-
60 miles away… |
| What
is the social scene/nightlife like in your university
town/city?: |
| Hmm…well,
when I arrived, there was 2clubs and a venue for bands.
Everyone went to just one of the clubs (called XS) and
fell into the routine of going every week. So the other
club shut down. Then, a new club opened on the other
side of town called Concrete, and everyone moved there
instead so now XS is like a ghost club. But it has meant
that it has now become a rock club for three
nights of the week- very fitting for art students!
There are a few nice bars and that,
but again, because there’s so few of us, we tend
to stick together in which is our favourite place at
the time. Social scene- there are loads of nice
cafes, a lovely acoustic venue called ‘The
Source’ which sells everything from beer
to ‘nettle champagne’- very nice. |
| What
activities are popular at your
university/ in your university town/city?: |
| There
are no clubs or societies at the moment apart from
the Christian Union, but it does mean there’s
loads of scope for people to set up their own things. A
mate and me are setting up a climbing club, and there’s
a football team. There’s a leisure centre
down the road, with gym and climbing wall ETC, and
Dave Spikey (Phoenix Nights), and Aled Jones are two
acts performing there soon. There’s two cinemas,
swimming baths…shops……… lots
of nice fields and parks………………………… but
we are only 10 minutes train ride from the
Lake District! |
| Favourite
places to shop in your university town/city: |
urm…Carlisle.
It has all the big named shops like River Island,
Top Shop ETC, my favourite student priced place
at the moment here though is Mk One. All the shops here
are different to what they are like everywhere else though.
For example, MK one is really good and Top Shop
is pretty rubbish. Weird, backward place! But
it does also have some smaller skate shops and
the like. It’s got to have everything here
because everyone from the entire county comes here to
go to town!
|
| How
much on average per week do a) Halls of Residence,
b) Renting a house, cost in your university town/city? |
| Weirdly, halls
are more expensive than houses, and there are only
113 spaces! Lots of people don’t get
in but it is a good experience. My house now is two-and-a-half
minutes walk from uni, right near the Spar shop and
the pub! And it costs… £49/week- bills
included. Which is pretty good really. Houses on average
cost between £48-52 per week,
some with bills paid for and some not. |
| What
is the accommodation like in your university town/city? |
| Halls
are nice, they are only about ten years old. Fairly
regularly sized rooms, they just look tiny when you
first go to move in which is scary! But they are pretty
average. Houses vary greatly! They are all
quite Victorian I think, some with up to 11 bedrooms! |
| How
much on average do you spend on food shopping per week? |
| Not
a lot! I can only be bothered going once every couple
of weeks and spend about £25 a
time. But I live really well and eat loads of veg and
things so it’s not a problem. |
| What
is the course you are studying? - Was
it your original choice when applying for university? |
| I
am studying BA Media Production which is quite
groovy! It’s supposed to be 60%
practical and 40% academic, but I seem to do
quite a few essays anyway. It was my first choice when
I finally decided what I wanted to apply for! |
| How many years does your course last? |
| 3
years. |
| What
you enjoy most about your course/ what impresses you
about it?: |
| I
didn’t have a clue about media when I started
because BRGS didn’t do it then… But
I was integrated into it no problem and now I can run
with the best of them! You get to try a bit
of everything; music video, alternative, film, broadcast
news, documentary, radio, TV, and it’s all backed
up with theory lectures. But you also have
to do practical written things like call sheets,
budgets ETC. The amount and quality
of equipment here is absolutely awesome, you
get to use 3grand's worth of editing suite as freely
and for as long as you like! That is the good
thing about being a small uni; there isn’t the
fight for equipment there would be at bigger
universities. And you can have personal attention
from lecturers and technicians to help you. |
| What
you enjoy least about your course, and what could be
improved : |
| First
year was all good, but my second year has been organised
into semester (two halves) and because of how our work
is
marked, and currently in the middle of a three
week stint with nothing to do! Which sounds great but
gets a bit boring after a while. |
How
do you rate the teaching standards on your course,
and do
your tutors/lecturers/the university give you the right support for your studies?: |
| They
are great actually! Most of them have or still do work
in the media industry, which is fab! One of my tutors
is trying to organise me a work experience placement
at Songs of Praise in Manchester for over
summer, which is awesome because I’ll be able
to do it from home, and it’s just because she
has worked there and happens to know the director!
That’s totally off the record too, so it proves
how helpful they are. Also there’s lots
of support for people who have difficulties writing
essays and things, as long as you go through the right
lines. |
| What
A Level Grades/UCAS points did you have to achieve
to be accepted onto your course? |
The
grades required were two Cs, it didn’t
mention points so when I only got 2Ds, a C and an E
for general studies (don’t tell Dr Edwards!)
I had to ring and check, so whatever UCAS points that
equals is also acceptable.
|
| Why
did you choose the particular course you are studying? |
| I
wanted to do something that wasn’t too academic
but more practical; that was creative but a change
from straight art. This seemed pretty close,
although even though it’s
supposed to be only 40% academic we do a hell load
of essays, so if you like writing, it’s still
good! |
| Best
thing about being at university: |
Being
away from home but still with the support of your parents
and an institution to fall back on.
|
| Worst
thing about being at university: |
| Having
to try to balance your money, but I guess
that happens anyway. Otherwise, there are no down sides
once you make friends. |
| What
do you plan to do after you graduate? |
| I
haven’t got a clue! Although with the BBC moving
some of it’s head offices to Manchester, hopefully
work there. Religion is already in Manchester
though, so as I want to live in Rossendale that’d
be pretty good. Within that though I don’t know.
But this course has been really good at giving us a
taste of everything so it’s been good to discover
what I like and don’t like within the broad spectrum
of ‘media’. For example, I love doing news. |
| If
you were to recommend going to university, what would
you say? |
| Being
at uni is like no other life experience you could possibly
have. I didn’t want to come originally,
but now I have, it’s been so worth it. |
| Do
you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it? |
| Not
really, but I miss my bloke at uni in York! Grr.
Uni is pretty laid back so as long as you don’t
abuse the system too much, you are free to
nip home for a few days if you are really desperate
and keep up with your work. |
| Do
you think you made the right choice? Or looking back,
would you have gone to a different university/started
a different course? |
| In
some ways I wish I had gone to a bigger university,
but I think that’s just because I spent a year
in London so got used to city life! Carlisle
is a city because it has a cathedral (!) but it is
the only city within a 60-mile radius, so you are here
for the duration. It’s easy enough to get home
from here, just an hour on the train to Preston,
then to Burnley, but it’s not like you can go
to the nearest big city for a night out because this
is the ‘big city’ in Cumbria! Newcastle
is 60 miles away, and the last train back leaves at
9pm! We go for nights out at quiet country
pubs in the lakes though (Penrith) because the last
train leaves just after closing at 11.30, which is
perfect! |
| What have you achieved whilst being at university? |
What
have you achieved whilst being at university?
Er…a degree! That’s the obvious one! Various computer related things,
I managed to miss all that at BRGS somehow! But alongside I think the
biggest learning experience I’ve been through is getting used to
living with people who aren’t your family, and who you wouldn’t naturally
choose to get along with! |
