[Nynyflower]

(Original post by Craghyrax)

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That looks delicious

Location did pay quite a large part in my university decision, as well as the fact I had absolutely no self-confidence about my grades because my school knocked it out of me. I ended up having to decide between straight Phys Geography at Brighton (CCC), Geog and Environmental Management at UWE (BCC), Countryside Conservation at Aberystwyth (200 UCAS points) and Marine and Coastal Management at Bournemouth (180 UCAS points). Quite a lot of me wanted to go to UWE as the course was more what I wanted to do but I had no confidence in my ability to get a B in any of my subjects so out of the remaining options I decided on Brighton as my firm as the offer was achievable and I also really, really liked Brighton as a place and wanted to live there. I chose Aber as my insurance for some reason, which looking back was a bit of a dodgy choice as I hadn't visited. Come results day I actually did get BCC (could have done so much better but my general hatred of my school and the lack of support from my teachers prevented it) so I got into Brighton and preceded to have a really good three years there. The location definitely made it what it was; Brighton Uni is not the best university in the world (understatement) and although I loved my department, the union and management of the uni was a shambles. Being able to have a life outside of the university meant that my university experience was actually pretty good despite the uni not having it's own events or even a student Union bar. And weirdly enough, I should be off to UWE next year to do my masters, yet another university decision based on location as out of Bristol, Leeds, Derby, Birmingham and Middlesex, I know which place I'd like to study the most, all the unis that offer my masters are ex-polys and about as rubbish as each other.

Well that was a ramble. In other news, got my uni transcript through and confirmation of my 2.i, so that was exciting. Also just finished my first week as a mentor on the National Citizen Service scheme camping with 26 16 years in a field by some lakes and running activities. Next week I get to stay on a canal boat for half the week, I'm pretty excited! It's just such a shame this job is only for a month cos I'm really enjoying it. It does make Youth Work quite tempting but I think I should probably stick to doing my masters and considering a PhD in a few years rather than working evenings and weekends forever more. I think I like research more than teenagers anyway.

[0404343m]

(Original post by Craghyrax)
Yeh... I'm in Politics I was wondering if that might be some of the problem. For the last few years I've been irate at any stereotypical posts on here about Sociology or Politics, but it Cambridge probably wasn't a representative setting.

Yup. To be honest, you'd probably more surprised if it was.

In what way?

I...don't know. Just something. I gave a paper in another one, went to visit friends at a couple and attended some stuff at another one, so I've only got a small sample, but personally I prefer the good British ones. Facilities can be great, and they do a lot for you, but I found the courses thrown together and everyone was off thinking about how they're going to win the Pulitzer prize with their next book. The academic debates were strange, as if they were more keen on sounding intelligent than actually having substance. We often started on a historical point only to turn the debate onto what Thucydides could tell us about the goddamn Arab Spring. Again, this might be because my department (Security Studies, but existing mainly within History) was full of people looking to get into policy rather than academia, but for all the time it was great, it sometimes left me feeling turned off too.

[Craghyrax]

(Original post by 0404343m)
I...don't know. Just something. I gave a paper in another one, went to visit friends at a couple and attended some stuff at another one, so I've only got a small sample, but personally I prefer the good British ones. Facilities can be great, and they do a lot for you, but I found the courses thrown together and everyone was off thinking about how they're going to win the Pulitzer prize with their next book. The academic debates were strange, as if they were more keen on sounding intelligent than actually having substance. We often started on a historical point only to turn the debate onto what Thucydides could tell us about the goddamn Arab Spring. Again, this might be because my department (Security Studies, but existing mainly within History) was full of people looking to get into policy rather than academia, but for all the time it was great, it sometimes left me feeling turned off too.

I might plausibly prefer it, but I'm not sure. One of the things I really liked about going from undergrad to postgrad at Cambridge was that there were suddenly a lot more international students in my classes, including Americans. The result was that people discussed things a lot more and were more engaged. I found the British norm of never talking or contributing ideas very stifling. Even if some people are just trying to show off or cosy up to the staff, at least people are engaging with the subject area which makes things more fun

[apotoftea]

(Original post by 0404343m)
I've been quite lucky- my office and the offices on my floor have 10-12 really good PhD students (and, err, me). It seems to be bloody party central across the road in politics. Good fun on a Friday, impossible to find someone to answer a question before about 1pm.

Just back in the sunny UK as of about six weeks ago. I'm back over in the Fall, whenever that is. Must look that one up. Not a massive fan of American universities to be quite honest with you.

Fall is literally when the leaves drop off New England is meant to be stunning until that point - enjoy it you jammy sod!!

Wish wish wish I had some form of PhD community to be part of. Guess that's part of the issue of being somewhere where so many students commute in to though...

[0404343m]

(Original post by apotoftea)
Fall is literally when the leaves drop off New England is meant to be stunning until that point - enjoy it you jammy sod!!

Wish wish wish I had some form of PhD community to be part of. Guess that's part of the issue of being somewhere where so many students commute in to though...

I was lucky- we had a really mild winter this year. Had I been there the year before there would have been snow piled high at the side of the roads until March. As it turned out, we had three snow days in January, one in Feb and then 20+ degrees from mid-March until May pretty regularly. In a way, I'm glad I'm not over there in the heatwave right now. My mum was in NY recently, and it was 34 degrees. Sod that.

Yeah- I'm pretty happy with the community. A lot of people work from home at least some of the time, and not many are working on what I'm working on, but all in, could be a helluva lot worse. Does the IHR not try to piggyback with another UoL history department then? I'd have assumed that'd help everyone, but I guess people are mad keen on keeping separate identities these days.

[Text Area]

(Original post by apotoftea)
Fall is literally when the leaves drop off New England is meant to be stunning until that point - enjoy it you jammy sod!!

Wish wish wish I had some form of PhD community to be part of. Guess that's part of the issue of being somewhere where so many students commute in to though...

I think the PhD community that I have in my department is one of the only reasons that I have managed to get this far with my PhD.

Could you not try and set up a lunchtime PhD discussion group? We set up one of those a couple of years ago now where one of the PhD student's will practice a conference paper or whatever and we will offer feedback. So it operates both on the intellectual level, but a lot of people just come to see what other people are up to and how everyone is getting on. Though how this would work with you will obviously depend on numbers- I have a fairly large cohort of about 20-25 of which half regularly come to these meetings.

[scarlet ibis]

Ugh. Floods. In July.

[apotoftea]

(Original post by 0404343m)
I was lucky- we had a really mild winter this year. Had I been there the year before there would have been snow piled high at the side of the roads until March. As it turned out, we had three snow days in January, one in Feb and then 20+ degrees from mid-March until May pretty regularly. In a way, I'm glad I'm not over there in the heatwave right now. My mum was in NY recently, and it was 34 degrees. Sod that.

We had US friends over who went back about 10 days ago. Had an email to say it's close to 40 where they are?!

Yeah- I'm pretty happy with the community. A lot of people work from home at least some of the time, and not many are working on what I'm working on, but all in, could be a helluva lot worse. Does the IHR not try to piggyback with another UoL history department then? I'd have assumed that'd help everyone, but I guess people are mad keen on keeping separate identities these days.

Nope, we're on our own which brings the issue of people not knowing we exist either. Apparently come the new academic year we're going to try and get a bit of a community feel. The director's very keen from what I got told. But I don't think it'll solve the issue - unless you want solely parliamentary history, you wouldn't need to use the library, Senate House library is shocking and for those that commute, most apparently use the university libraries close to them which makes sense (I have three decent History libraries within an hour of me). Even the registrar said she never sees the PhD students and they never reply to any research student emails...

(Original post by Text Area)
I think the PhD community that I have in my department is one of the only reasons that I have managed to get this far with my PhD.

I think my lack of it is what I'm finding hard to deal with. I enjoy PhD life so much more when I've got people to talk to!

Could you not try and set up a lunchtime PhD discussion group? We set up one of those a couple of years ago now where one of the PhD student's will practice a conference paper or whatever and we will offer feedback. So it operates both on the intellectual level, but a lot of people just come to see what other people are up to and how everyone is getting on. Though how this would work with you will obviously depend on numbers- I have a fairly large cohort of about 20-25 of which half regularly come to these meetings.

It's a great idea but we have a national subject specific postgrad seminar group based in the same building and it would cause a lot of stepping on toes. Certainly the times I've mentioned getting a more community feel, the response has always been 'that's what x is for, use that'. That said, there is the issue that this seminar base only meets twice a month, in an evening (tend to finish about 8/9ish) and for those that commute it's just not ideal. That's the problem of London though, people assume that anyone who studies there, lives there...

Could try and organise a London collegiate lunchtime one I guess, but think the big History departments already have them.

(Original post by scarlet ibis)
Ugh. Floods. In July.

Really not good. Totally wiping out the season of one of the few sports I follow religiously

[Craghyrax]

(Original post by scarlet ibis)
Ugh. Floods. In July.

I'm worried I'll be upset if it rains on my wedding day. The rest I'm not so fussed about, but it would be such a shame.

[Aeschylus]

I spent 8 hours in Edinburgh University Main library today reading books about medieval things. All was well with the world.

[evantej]

(Original post by Aeschylus)
I spent 8 hours in Edinburgh University Main library today reading books about medieval things. All was well with the world.

I might be going there on Friday. Is it a good library to use; easy to find, accessible, good layout etc.?

[Aeschylus]

(Original post by evantej)
I might be going there on Friday. Is it a good library to use; easy to find, accessible, good layout etc.?

It's alright. I was surprised at how few computer terminals there were but they had all the books I was looking for and it's relatively quiet for the holidays. You got a SCONUL card? I had to bring a phalanx of identification stuff. And the third floor (where all the foreign literature is) is quite nice with some decent views.

[apotoftea]

I saw the Olympic torch today; would rather be in Edinburgh - fell in love with it the other week

[Anatheme]

Someone just quoted a post I had made ages ago about my room in halls in 1st year. I really miss that desk…

[evantej]

(Original post by Aeschylus)
It's alright. I was surprised at how few computer terminals there were but they had all the books I was looking for and it's relatively quiet for the holidays. You got a SCONUL card? I had to bring a phalanx of identification stuff. And the third floor (where all the foreign literature is) is quite nice with some decent views.

I do. I noticed the thing about identification but I tend to carry lots with me anyway (driving license and passport). I will be going to borrow some books me thinks!

[ice_cube]

That is an excellent desk.

I bought my current desk when I was doing my masters and had a ridiculous shaped room that leant itself to a desk the size of a small eastern European country.

Then I picked it up and moved it to London to a teeny room... my room is basically a desk and a bed.And a collection of my boyfriend's stuff, as when I moved in I didnt realise he would be half moving in too for 2... then 3... then 6 months. The desk no longer has work on it, but is used as storage for thing things that would normally go on the floor

[The Lyceum]

I am growing a massive beard; like Sokrates but better looking and massively less knowledgeable. I also daren't compare my girlfriend to Xanthippe (even though I totes should )

It's marvellous, unfortunately it's also a bit red so I look like a right dickhead.

BTW is it weird going for drinks with your supervisor/randomly ****ing about? I know some people think it is... But surely supervision strategies are different all over?

[QHF]

My desk in my first undergraduate year was big, big enough to be a bed. Naturally I never really utilised the space, and then I spent the next two years using something little bigger than those single-person squares you find in school classrooms, swearing I'd never waste space again.

My current desk is okay, size-wise, but a bit of a morass of stuff. I've blu-tacked one of my heavily-armed toy robots to the top of a monitor because it's too low-down on the space priority list to sit on the desk proper.

(Original post by Aeschylus)
I spent 8 hours in Edinburgh University Main library today reading books about medieval things. All was well with the world.

I need to emulate your work ethic! I've had enough time to decompress now and should be knuckling back down, but instead I'm up at twenty past midnight posting on TSR. Erm.

[Anatheme]

(Original post by ice_cube)
That is an excellent desk.

I bought my current desk when I was doing my masters and had a ridiculous shaped room that leant itself to a desk the size of a small eastern European country.

Then I picked it up and moved it to London to a teeny room... my room is basically a desk and a bed.And a collection of my boyfriend's stuff, as when I moved in I didnt realise he would be half moving in too for 2... then 3... then 6 months. The desk no longer has work on it, but is used as storage for thing things that would normally go on the floor

Hah, my room in 2nd year was rather small, and as a result, my library partially relocated itself on my floor. Although to be fair, piles of books look awesome no matter what . I also tend to move stuff that's on my bed but doesn't belong there to my chair before going to sleep, only to replace it on the bed when I need the chair the next day. Space management, eh.

(Original post by The Lyceum)
I am growing a massive beard; like Sokrates but better looking and massively less knowledgeable. I also daren't compare my girlfriend to Xanthippe (even though I totes should )

It's marvellous, unfortunately it's also a bit red so I look like a right dickhead.

A lot of beards tend to do that. Even on people who clearly do not have an ounce of gingerness in them. It is rather odd.

[The Lyceum]

I'm heading down to the Taylorian in a few days btw. Mixing it up freestyle (eg: consulting specific books)