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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: |
|
| Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge. I wanted to study Archaeology and Anthropology, and there aren't many places where you can do that, especially if you want to specialise (as I did) in Biological Anthropology. The city is beautiful, and it's academically one of the best universities in the world. I chose Emma out of all the colleges through sheer laziness as it was nearest to my department, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made. It has a reputation for friendliness, while maintaining a top three position in the University rankings. | |
| Best things about your university city: | Worst things about your university city: |
| It's small enough to walk (or cycle) almost everywhere; colleges provide accomodation cheaply, usually for the whole time you're there and Cambridge is incredibly beautiful. If you want to escape, London's not far away | Cambridge isn't like the real world. The city is based around the university, so it's hard to escape the feeling that you should be working all the time. Plus, it's always full of tourists walking really slowly.true. |
Social
scene/nightlife in your |
Popular activities at your university/ in your university city?: |
| There are plenty of places to go out whether you want culture or clubbing, and most places are pretty cheap - especially college bars. | Rowing's the big one, but the university has a society for every interest, and if it doesn't you can always form one. |
| 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? |
| Varies depending on college and quality of room. I had a grade 1 (the best) in my last year, with a sitting room, bedroom, kitchenette and my own bathroom for £80. | Provided by colleges, generally cheap, clean and centrally located. |
| How much on average do you spend on food shopping per week? | |
| Most colleges have EPOS cards or similar systems - subsidised college provided food, added to your bill. A hot meal and pudding was under £3, not that you'd want to eat there all the time. The only regular food costs are tea and biscuits. | |
| What is the course you are studying? - Was it your original choice when applying for university? | |
| Biological Anthropology as part of Archaeology and Anthropology. | |
| How many years does your course last? | |
| 3 years - I graduated in 2005. | |
| What you enjoy most about your course/ what impresses you about it?: | |
| The sheer variety of topics covered. In the first year Social Anthropology, Biological Anthropology and Archaeology; then for the next two years you pick one of the three. The subject is fascinating because anthropology means literally, the study of people, and you go from genetics to metaphysics, sometimes in the same lecture. | |
| What you enjoy least about your course, and what could be improved : | |
| Statistics. I hadn't done maths since GCSE, so to be faced with t-tests and ANOVAs was daunting. Unfortunately, my disinclination towards maths doesn't make it any less necessary. | |
| 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?: |
|
| Standards
were excellent, and support was provided at both the
college and department level. Meetings with directors
of study at least twice a term to make sure you're happy. |
|
| 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. |
I liked sciences and humanities - this course let me carry on with both. |
| Best thing about being at university: | |
| Being surrounded by interesting people who were geniunely some of the most respected thinkers in their disciplines. | |
| What do you plan to do after you graduate? | |
| I'm a doing a year as a trainee librarian at The Guardian newspaper before (hopefully) going on to a Masters in Information Science. | |
| Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it? | |
| One
of the first things you get told by your college
parents (older students who volunteer to look
after you) is that you will get the Five Week
Blues. Nobody believes them, but exactly as the fifth week started, so did the homesickness. I found tea, biscuits and my lovely Northern next door neighbour helped a lot. |
|
| Do you think you made the right choice? Or looking back, would you have gone to a different university/started a different course? | |
| Definitely the right choice. | |
| UPDATE: September 2007 | |
| Amy has just finished a Graduate Trainee year in the library at The Guardian newspaper, and starts an MSc in Information Science at City University in September 2007. | |