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Duration at BRGS Sixth Form: 2000-2002 |
Previous
school: BRGS Date of submitting these answers: October 2006 |
| University
you are at, why you chose this university,
and give one interesting fact about your university: |
|
| University
of Glasgow- I chose this one because they offered
me a place! But really, it was my favorite
of those I applied to because of the atmosphere
and people. Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the english-speaking world and was founded by a papal bill from Pope Nicholas V. |
|
| Best things about your university city: | Worst things about your university city: |
| There's
a perfect mix of campus and city
life as the university dominates the west-end so
you can spend all your time surrounded by
student life if you want to but the city
is right down the road to escape into the
real world as well. |
Weather.
Though being from Rossendale is very good training...! |
Social
scene/nightlife in your |
Popular activities at your university/ in your university city?: |
| Absolutely fantastic! The pubs and clubs are here to suit anybody's taste. The music scene is brilliant. A good band's UK tour isn't complete without playing the Barrowlands or King Tuts! I should also mention that Glasgow University is the only university to have 2 unions (you can join both). That means two completely separate places to buy extremely cheap drink... | Again
there's whatever you want really. |
| How
much on average per week do a) Halls of Residence,
b) Renting a house, cost in your university town/city? |
What is the accommodation like in your university town/city? |
| I
was in a catered hall (which was fantastic
for meeting folk as everyone has to get together
for meals) and it worked out at about £100
a week. I think! Obviously self catered is
cheaper set fees but I honestly don't know
if it works out cheaper overall. The flat I rent is out by the vetschool so is only £50 a week including bills but down at the main university you're looking more like £80. The flats are generally a bit bigger and you could be living in a very nice old building too. |
Varied. Glasgow has had some flak for its housing (they might still use Maryhill in the Geography urban redevelopment course...) but there's never been any bother with anyone I know. The halls are all nice, some very new builds too. Housing around university is variable from beautiful old buildings to modern new places but its all pretty good. One thing I would say is to remember your heating bills when looking at the gorgeous high ceiling flats with big bedrooms... There's a new housing law around here that means flats have to have a Multiple Occupency Licence (known as HMO) before more than 2 people can rent there so it gets inspected for standards which is great for us as renters. |
| How much on average do you spend on food shopping per week? | |
| Once again its up to how you want to live. Very little while I was in halls really. I cook with the people I share a flat with mostly so that brings food bills down too. It probably works out at about £30ish . | |
| What is the course you are studying? - Was it your original choice when applying for university? | |
| Veterinary Medicine- Exactly what I wanted. | |
| How many years does your course last? | |
| 5 years - I'm in my 5th year now. | |
| What you enjoy most about your course/ what impresses you about it?: | |
| The course is a great mix of lectures and practicals. There's also a lot of group work. The class is small so you know everyone and everyone generally gets on great. Our lecturers are (for the most part) brilliant and really approachable. There's lots of tutorial-type stuff to get groups even smaller. The lecture-free final year is a big plus as we spend the whole time in clinics and on farm etc actually being vets. | |
| What you enjoy least about your course, and what could be improved : | |
| The organisation! Timetabling is a nightmare but I think that's probably due to the complexity of all the little groups we get split into etc. There are currently changes to the course that make it a bit more clinical earlier on which everyone agrees will be great for helping you see the relevence of what you're doing which doesn't happen until 5th year usually when suddenly you (I) wish you'd learned some stuff better... | |
| 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?: |
|
| The teaching is again pretty good. Some staff are obviously better than others. But most of those that give slightly poorer lecturers are brilliant in wee groups for tutorials. Teaching assessment scores are always top rated. | |
| What A Level Grades/UCAS points did you have to achieve to be accepted onto your course? | Why did you choose the particular course you are studying? |
| AAB (A in chemistry). | I
wanted to be a vet..... (guess this applies better to other courses) |
| Best thing about being at university: | Worst thing about being at university: |
| Freedom! The people you meet. The variety of stuff to do right there for you. |
Having to be responsible for having clean socks...no, really very little that you wouldn't deal with whenever you left home. It makes the transition easier as the support of everyone else doing the same is right there too. |
| What do you plan to do after you graduate? | |
| Hopefully be a vet! Some travelling would be fun but getting a job will be first priority. | |
| If you were to recommend going to university, what would you say? | |
| This again applies little to my course because if you want to be a vet this is the only way to do it. I would say though that its the place where you can be who you are the easiest. Because everyone else is on a journey of their own learning things way beyond what they say in your lectures. Or something like that anyway.... | |
| Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it? | |
| I did for about an hour. Then I opened my door, met the girl across the corridor, went down to dinner, met a hundred people and never looked back. I was lucky though. I know people who really found it hard. Some people still go home often. But be careful not to go home too easily or you'll miss a lot of what university can give you. | |
| Do you think you made the right choice? Or looking back, would you have gone to a different university/started a different course? | |
| This has been perfect for me. Glasgow is everything I wanted it to be. And no regrets over my course at all. It's hard and there's an awful lots of work. But it's brilliant! | |
| What have you achieved whilst being at university? | |
| What a question! I've made some amazing friends who I will keep for life. I've expanded my mind in ways I never thought possible. And I'm nearly a qualified vet which I gotta say I'm proud of! | |
UPDATE:
December 2007
|
|
After
graduating in 2007, Pam is now a qualified
vet. She is based in Truro, Cornwall, doing mixed practice. |