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Duration at BRGS Sixth Form: 2000-2002 |
Previous
school: BRGS Date of submitting these answers: August 2005 |
| University
you are at, why you chose this university,
and give one interesting fact about your university: |
|
| I
chose Lancaster as it offered
the schemes I wanted to study and because
it was always my intention to drive to uni,
it was close to home. An interesting fact about Lancaster is that, unlike many universities, you actually study three subjects in your first year and chose the one you continue with. Therefore, if the subject you initially decided to study does not suit you, you can change your scheme of study. I did and so did many others! |
|
| Best things about your university city: | Worst things about your university city: |
| Plenty
of amenities, lots of student discounts as
the city relies a lot on the uni. |
As the uni is actually situated out of town, the expensive transport into town. |
Social
scene/nightlife in your |
Popular activities at your university/ in your university city?: |
| The university students union owns a nightclub in town – The SugarHouse, which plays a wide variety of music for all tastes, and has special nights and themes. Good value as it is solely for students, and heavily discounted by the Student Union. | All sorts, the university has its own Gym, swimming pool and a cool sort of trampoline thing called AeroBall. Very tiring, but enjoyable. |
| 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? |
| Halls £50 – 70 per week, Houses £55 – 75 per week. | Seemed good, my girlfriend had a lovely room at Lancaster and they have just spent millions re-developing student accommodation. The majority is now on-suite, but at a premium! |
| How much on average do you spend on food shopping per week? | |
| N/A – I travelled – fuel cost was Rossendale to Lancaster 5 days per week, approx £40. | |
| What is the course you are studying? - Was it your original choice when applying for university? | |
| Economics, – I originally went to Lancaster to Study Business Computing and Information Systems, but didn’t like it. As Lancaster makes students study three subjects in their first year, this allowed me the opportunity to change to a course I enjoyed! | |
| How many years does your course last? | |
| 3 years. | |
| What you enjoy most about your course/ what impresses you about it?: | |
| The variety of the subjects. There was plenty to choose from, and the staff were very helpful. | |
| What you enjoy least about your course, and what could be improved : | |
| The second year seemed exceptionally tough as there was little choice of topics compared the third year. The second year was far more intense and plus, in Economics at Lancaster, your dissertation is completed in the second, not third year to allow you to more time to search for jobs. This put on a lot of pressure. | |
| 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?: |
|
| Lecturers and Tutors were very supportive, you could email with queries any time. The only problem was the lack of an open door policy. Staff have office hours in which students can visit, outside these hours with some staff it is email queries only. | |
| 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? |
| Three B’s at A-level – General Studies was not included. | I didn’t – I switched as I enjoyed it when I got there. |
| Best thing about being at university: | Worst thing about being at university: |
| The challenge. | The pressure of exams – you think A-levels are tough until you do a degree! The reading for the exams can get horrendous if you don’t keep on top of it. |
| What do you plan to do after you graduate? | |
| I’ve been working for the holiday company, My Travel as a Senior Commercial Executive for the past six weeks. However, a few weeks into my role I was head-hunted by an accountancy company in Manchester and as such am starting the training to become an ACCA qualified Chartered Accountant soon. | |
| If you were to recommend going to university, what would you say? | |
| Go for it, but prepared for hard work, times of depression, but times of joy too. I met my girlfriend at Uni and we’ve been together for nearly three years now and I’ve got friends across the world whom I know I will stay in contact with all my life. | |
| Do you get homesick? If so, how do you deal with it? | |
| Nah, cos I went home every night!!! | |
| Do you think you made the right choice? Or looking back, would you have gone to a different university/started a different course? | |
| I made the right choice, it didn’t feel like it sometimes when the work was piling up, but as I look forward I know it’ll do me well in the future. | |
| What have you achieved whilst being at university? | |
| Apart from a 2:1 BA (Hons) degree in Economics? Loads! Confidence, friends, a fuller view of what work involves. It makes you grow up and fast. | |
| Any other comments about your university experience: | |
| Give it a go, there will be good times and bad times, but with the right support network around you – you’ll be OK. One word of advice though. Choose the course and uni that is right for you, don’t do what your friends do because you’ll make new friends, and your friends' choice isn’t your choice. | |