University of Sheffield Fresher - Ask me anything!

Hi I was just wondering a few things:

I plan on going to Sheffield given that I pass my foundation course and I was thinking of getting the Deluxe room. How likely do you think I will be in a flat with more than a few people? I'm not from Sheffield and I really want to make some friends since I'm alienated at the college I'm currently at. I suppose I would make friends on my course and stuff but it would be nice to live with more than a few people.

I was also wondering how easy is it to get a parking permit and is it safe to park around the student buildings? And how likely is it to get a parking space?

What's the gym like?

I have an invitation for an open day which "may involve an informal interview" , what are these interviews like and what do you wear? (its for software engineering btw)

Is the accommodation new and modern or old and traditional and how much choice do you get in your accommodation?

Is there anyone here who does software engineering? Whats the course like in general?

I was wondering about sports at sheffield. I'm from the US, so I'm not sure how they work in the UK. Do you have a volleyball team/club? If so, are they competitive or is just for fun? Thanks in advance

Don't worry about making friends, genuinely, everyone is in the same boat, so if you tag along with people you have met in the corridor for nights out, you will probably end up being close with them! In my deluxe room, I am in Burbage, (the building name), and there are 2 deluxes and 3 ensuites in our flat. I think that is the minimum. Don't worry though, our building has about 45 other people, and that's quite small for a building! My friend is in Rivelin and she has a deluxe, but she has 2 deluxes and 5 ensuites in her flat, so really it is the luck of the draw. If you would prefer more in your flat, you can specify on the accommodation application (by saying in the additional information box that 'you'd prefer a flat with many people'), although, I would just personally leave it to chance, as the likelihood is that you will be put there, and apparently my flatmate's living room and kitchen are the same size as our kitchen and living room (despite 2 more people living there), so there may well be less space. Also, just because you are in a flat of 7, it doesn't mean your flatmates will necessarily be amazing, you could have people get on with you more in a smaller flat (so I'd leave it to chance, but it is up to you!).

Sheffield is the safest city in the UK regarding crime, so nobody really is involved in any. No cars have been stolen that I know of. Permits are £75/year I believe, but new rules insist you must only use the main car park at the weekend. The car park is quite busy then, but that's because visitors use it too. Alternatively, there is a HUGE road to park down, which people do, so you can always opt to do that for free. Spaces are limited, but saying that, I always get one (literally ALWAYS), so there is always space. It may well depend on if your year bring cars.
Failing that, there are car parks dotted around the campus which you can park on whenever, so you can always use them, it's just a few months ago, the university changed its policy on the main car park. They may change it back soon, who knows?

I'm sorry if this has already been asked, I did a thread search but it froze the screen. Are there non-alcoholic events during freshers week and generally? I'm allergic to alcohol

Procrastinating from work, bored out of my mind, so here it goes...

I'm a First Year at the University of Sheffield, ask me a question if you wish.
I can answer about accommodation, changing subjects and a load of other things, so go for it, however silly the question!
Any concerns about the university, applying to it or anything, whether it be how popular courses are, opportunities available, general atmosphere, freshers week or even grades or special circumstances upon getting in, ask me!

is biology a popular course? the 4 year masters especially? also i hear you have the best student union in the Uk, how true is this in your opinion?
also do you know if theres an archery team?

There are 3 biology departments. Animal and plant science (APS) is the one with the mbiol sci. APS has about 200 a year. I don't know how many do the 4 year, but, looking a my tutorial groups sheet, about half do the 3/4 biology. It's the best to pick if you want to keep your options open, as you have the least compulsory modules, and the most free picks.

PS. I don't know if there is a archery team but they do this - http://shef.ac.uk/union/event.php?contentID=14242 - every year. I guess that must be organised by some sort of archery club?

i'm thinking of maybe doing zoology aswell, whats that like? and thanks glad to know theres some form of archery

I'm sorry if this has already been asked, I did a thread search but it froze the screen. Are there non-alcoholic events during freshers week and generally? I'm allergic to alcohol

Zoology is probably the second most popular course
1st year the modules would be the same; by 2nd year, for zoology you would be forced to do modules such as animal diversity, which you wouldn't have to do for biology; but I guess, if you wanted to do zoology you would probably pick that anyway.

More importantly, if you do zoology you are definately going to get a zoologist as a personal tutor, who sets your essays in the 1st year. If you do biology, you may get a botanist and be set essays on plants instead (they tend to set essays in an area they know about), which might not be your thing. And this gets really important in 3rd and 4th year, when you are giving an appropriate supervisor for your project and dissertation.
.

Thanks for the information

I was just wondering on the parking thing really because the other day I witnessed 3 chavs break into someone's car right outside my building. They parked right beside the Chemical and Biological depeartment too which I thought was a safe area to park but I guess not.

hi there, would you know if postgraduate students are allowed to go to all freshers week event? Can you buy a freshers arm wrist? or is it just limited to first year undergrads? Im gonna be 22 so not too old to be thinking of missing out on anythng interesting lol

thanks

is biology a popular course? the 4 year masters especially? also i hear you have the best student union in the Uk, how true is this in your opinion?
also do you know if theres an archery team?

I am sure postgrads can too. It's 'Freshers week', but as far as I am aware, everyone just gegs along. If you live in student accommodation, you get a community membership card, so you can automatically go to parties organised by the university (just for the village), otherwise, freshers tends to be nights out and so on, which I am sure all can attend.