Aberystwyth University

Any questions? :)

Hello

I have just finished my first year of my BSc Criminology degree at Aberystwyth.

I stayed in Pentre Jane Morgan for my first year, and have now moved into the private sector for my second year.

Please leave any questions you have, I will do my best to help!

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

cbolton

Heya! I've got an offer from Aber but I'm so worried about the travel implications. I'm in the channel islands so I'd need to travel to a major airport - probably Manchester or Bristol - and then get an expensive flight to get home. How easy is it to travel from/to Aber?
I'm also really worried about the hill! It looks huge and I'll be doing Marine/Freshwater Biology so I'm worried about the realisticness of me needing to walk up and down it loads - especially after a night out. Could you help stop me worrying at all? I'm finding it so hard to decide where to go x

Aberystwyth University

Reply 2

sophieacain

Original post by cbolton

Hi! If possible I would recommend trying to travel to Cardiff from your home. There is a Megabus route from Cardiff to Aberystwyth which is roughly £6 (I think) which takes a few hours. To my knowledge, that would be your best route. My hometown is close to Manchester so I know that can be an expensive trip.

Aber is a stunning place as we are surrounded by hills and we have the bay, but this does mean that we are a bit isolated, which is a pain, however we do have the train and bus stations, I believe travel opportunities are quite frequent.

Penglais hill is not that bad. Don't get me wrong, the first few times you walk up it you will be red faced and out of breath, but realistically, it isn't that bad, it gets easier and easier every time you do it. If you are on the main Penglais campus, which I think you will be for your course, walking back and to from lectures won't be a hard task, unless you're living on seafront/in town, in which case you will be up and down the hill. There are a few taxi companies that only charge £3 to go from A to B anywhere in aber, I recommend always using them to save money and getting home safely from a night out. (This is probably bad advice but the hill is much easier after you have had a few drinks...but don't follow my lead on that one!)

Have you visited Aber on an open day yet? I would recommend doing this, I fell in love with the uni and the town when I visited.

I know it is easier said than done but try not to worry too much.

Hope it all goes well!

Reply 3

TonyBell

Is there a train station in Aberswyth, if not what is the closest train station?

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

SamKeene

Original post by TonyBell

Is there a train station in Aberswyth, if not what is the closest train station?

Yes. It's the end of the line though. Roughly 4 + 1/2 hours to Bristol Temple Meads, with 1 or 2 changes.

Reply 5

sophieacain

Original post by TonyBell

Is there a train station in Aberswyth, if not what is the closest train station?

Yes there is a train station. Most journeys connect to Shrewsbury, which takes you to almost anywhere in the UK. It is a direct 3 hour journey from Aberystwyth to Birmingham New Street.

Reply 6

Lauren56724

Do you know around how much people Rosser accomodation holds? Is it just one seperate building?

Reply 7

Vixuss

how about course ?? are you satisfied with it ?? it's hard to combine job with studying ?? bit thanks for answer

Reply 8

username2303377

What's the best accommodation for international students (catered and cheap is preferred)? I don't mind the size of the room.

Reply 9

sophieacain

Original post by Lauren56724

Do you know around how much people Rosser accomodation holds? Is it just one seperate building?

Rosser is made up of a few buildings all next to each other, I think there is generally 8 to a flat, not sure how many flats per building.

Reply 10

sophieacain

Original post by Vixuss

how about course ?? are you satisfied with it ?? it's hard to combine job with studying ?? bit thanks for answer

I love my course, I'm really enjoying it, and couldn't recommend it more. If you have done Criminology or a combination of Psychology, Sociology and Law (this is what I done for my A-Levels) then the transition into the degree level of content is much easier.

I have just started working, I wasn't working whilst studying but I will be next year. I imagine it will be difficult to get the balance of work and studying right straight away but if you are willing to put your effort into working and studying equally then it will be fine.

Reply 11

sophieacain

Original post by TishoHristov

What's the best accommodation for international students (catered and cheap is preferred)? I don't mind the size of the room.

I'm not the best person to ask as I'm not an international student. To my knowledge, there is only one type of catered accommodations, here is a link to the university website about it - https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/accommodation/types-accommodation/catered/

Here is a link to a table that compares all residences available so you can see the cheapest options - https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/accommodation/types-accommodation/compare/

Reply 12

Tcmkh1998

Do u know when we find out where our accommodation is??

Reply 13

username2303377

Original post by sophieacain

Thanks! Did you like the Pentre Jane Morgan? I'm currently considering it because it looks good on the pictures and is relatively cheap. Will I be able to use TamedDa while staying there? And is it hard to find a job at Aberystwyth? I was told that the job market is extremely competitive.

Reply 14

sophieacain

Original post by TishoHristov

Yeah I really liked PJM. To me, it was a good bridge between home and living at university as you are in a house not a flat. I'm not sure about TamedDa, I think that is only available for the catered residences. I think anyone can go in and buy food, but to get the "free" meals you need to be in Penbryn.

It is hard to find a job, I was looking throughout my first year and finally managed to get one last month, which has allowed me to be able to stay in Aber over summer. If you start putting your CV out early it will help your chances of getting a job.

Reply 15

username2303377

Original post by sophieacain

Thanks. I was talking about buying from TamedDa and not getting such with AberCard. One more thing: Where do people stay if they decide to stay over the summer to work? Is it private accommodation? Because with rent it would probably cost ~120/week with food and if I work 20 hours a week with a wage of 7 GBP an hour, it's not really a bargain.

Reply 16

matatronic

The "moving in to private accommodation" bit, in the second year, is what's worrying me at the moment ( I have health problems that make this all the more complicated ). What sort of provisions do the university have in place to help with this sort of thing, or are you left entirely to your own devices? How much more expensive is private vs halls?

Reply 17

JDC216

You can apply to stay in halls for your 2nd year, I'm going into my 3rd year and it's my 3rd year in halls, because they have recently built penglais farm they have loads of space, but if you do want to live in town it's definately got cheaper since my first year and a bit more empty i would say since the building of penglais farm

Reply 18

sophieacain

Original post by TishoHristov

I think you can still buy from TamedDa. There are currently people staying in Cwrt Mawr (one of the uni residences) for summer to work. I am currently working around 15-20 hours a week, £5.30 an hour which is minimum wage.

Reply 19

sophieacain

Original post by matatronic

You can stay in halls for your entire time at uni, but you just have to reapply each year. It isn't the same for everyone, but my private home for the 2016/17 academic year is cheaper than my accommodation for last year.