Cardiff University

Ask a Cardiff student

I'm trying to avoid various pieces of work, but yeah if you want to ask me anything about Cardiff - applying, the uni, the city, the halls etc etc then I can try and help. I'm in my first year btw :smile:

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Reply 1

-Someone-Like-You-

Are we going to win in Wembley? :awesome:

Cardiff University

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Reply 2

1overcosc

Hey

I'm a cardiff applicant and I was wondering where you live and what you think would be the best accomodation to apply for??

Reply 3

-aimz

Original post by -Someone-Like-You-

Are we going to win in Wembley? :awesome:

Obviously yes :wink:

Original post by 1overcosc

Hey

I'm a cardiff applicant and I was wondering where you live and what you think would be the best accomodation to apply for??

I live in Taly Court, which is part of the massive Talybont complex which also contains Taly North and South. Most people I have met since being here live in Talybont. It depends on your course really - Taly is the main halls for people who study in the main uni buildings (Humanties building, the Business school, the Law building) as it is about 15 minutes walk from there, plus the SU too. All of Talybont is self-catered, and ensuite, so if you want somewhere like that then it's your best choice. It's quite social - you live in flats with about 5 others and share a kitchen, although the quality of the halls increase from North to Court (it's kind of an ongoing joke that those of us in Court live in 'Talybont Palace'!!). We also have a dedicated social centre/bar on site and a sports centre and a massive Tesco nearby.

Apart from that, there's University Halls, which are quite faraway from here near the Heath campus. That's where a lot of the medical students are I think. I don't really know much about it as I've never been there! There's also Senghennydd, which is really close to the city centre and the Maths/Engineering/Computer Science buildings. I've never been there but I know that it has shared bathrooms and a restaurant for evening meals. It all depends on what your priorities are I guess - being close to lectures, a good social community or cheapness!

Reply 4

Pthaos

Original post by -aimz

As someone who lives in Taly North, I'd like to present the other side to this ongoing 'feud' between Court and North... :P

Talybont is definitely the major halls complex and you'll find a massive range of people here. There are halls that are closer to some of the major buildings (See Colum Hall or Aberconway, both of which are on the doorstep of Business/Humanities.) Talybont is reasonably well placed though. Aimz is right, the quality of the halls does decrease the further away you go! Court has by far the nicest accommodation out of the three Talybont areas, followed by South, with North bringing up the rear. This isn't to say that Talybont North halls are in bad condition but you will notice the difference if you walk past the windows of all three. In terms of walking distance, you should also be aware that Taly is pretty big. While it takes Aimz about 15 minutes to walk to the humanities area, it takes me 25+ from Talybont North. This doesn't sound major, but for a 9AM start, 10-15 minutes extra in bed can make all the difference!

It is worth noting though that most of the extra stuff in Talybont is in North. This includes the Social Centre (A reasonably nice bar but usually very quiet) and the sports facilities. Each of the 3 Talybont sections has its own Reception and Laundry facilities though.

Avoid Uni Halls. It's not so bad for medicine due to the location, but otherwise it's an inconvenience and I've not met anyone who's truly glad to be there. It's about 45 minutes away and though the Uni provides a free bus service, it doesn't seem to run nearly often enough. Uni halls did have it's own bar but this has been shut down. There's talk of it re-opening though.

Basically Talybont is always a good bet and in all honesty it doesn't matter which end of it you get. But if you do end up in North, be prepared to hurl abuse at those in Court, along with the rest of us! :wink:

(Aimz, do you happen to know a Dave in North?)

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 5

1overcosc

Ah okay thanks, seems Taly is the place to be! I've for medicine but I still prefer the sound of Taly to uni halls :smile:

South seems quite a good bet, medium priced but from what I've seen I don't think I'd particularly mind if I got court or north instead :smile:

I just hope I get an offer now!! Thanks for the info :biggrin:

Reply 6

Olush

Hey! I've got the conditional offer for the cardiff, however I'm kind of freaking out because of the conditions. What if I wont meet them? Will I be asked to do more courses during the year, or will I be rejected straight away?

Reply 7

-aimz

Original post by Pthaos

(Aimz, do you happen to know a Dave in North?)

Yes! If you're the Dave I think you are, hi!! Wasn't expecting to see you on here :biggrin:

Reply 8

-aimz

Original post by Olush

Don't think you're rejected straight away if you miss them - I had an offer for AAA and I got A*AB yet when I checked UCAS I was still accepted (I suppose the grades do kind of even out in this case, but still). A lot of people I know also missed their offers slightly, but they still got in. Ring up the department you've applied for if you think you'll miss it.

Reply 9

Pthaos

Original post by -aimz

Yes! If you're the Dave I think you are, hi!! Wasn't expecting to see you on here :biggrin:

Hmm... Are you the Amy, (Or one of them anyway) That I was originally going to be living with next year? If so, how odd to find you on here. :tongue:

@Olush I also got an AAA Offer and ended up with A*AB so all hope is not lost. Generally though they won't tell you to take extra courses, if they wanted that then they would have done so already. If you don't make the offer then like Aimz said, call them up!

Reply 10

Olush

It might be different for me. I'm applying with AP (Advanced placement) exams. I got an offer of 4/5 in 4 AP exams. Additionally, I've done AS math last year and I got a B plus I'm going to do AS business... I hope it will help in case I wont make the offer. So stressful :/

EDIT:
Do you know any international student who applied with APs last year?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 11

-aimz

Original post by Pthaos

Hmm... Are you the Amy, (Or one of them anyway) That I was originally going to be living with next year? If so, how odd to find you on here. :tongue:

Yes haha, the blonde one :') Haven't seen you around in uni for a while either!

Original post by Olush

Do you know any international student who applied with APs last year?

I don't, sorry! Everyone I know took A-levels.

Reply 12

Pthaos

Original post by -aimz

Yes haha, the blonde one :') Haven't seen you around in uni for a while either!

I've been struck ill with something horrible over the last week so have taken perhaps a few too many days off! I'll stop hijacking your thread until I have something useful to contribute! :smile:

Reply 13

RainPours

How are the students down there like?

Reply 14

-aimz

Original post by RainPours

How are the students down there like?

I'd say there's a good mix of students here - it depends a lot on what course you do and who you mix with. I'd say about 50-60% of students here are Welsh or live in Wales (pre-uni), but there are a good number of international students too. Saying that, it's predominantly white middle-class. There is a big social community (Cardiff is renowned for its nightlife) but I'd still say the majority of people here are hard working and studious enough - they are at a Russell Group university with relatively high entrance requirements I guess. Everyone I've met has been polite and nice. Unless there's anything specific you want to know?

Reply 15

Philemon

Original post by -aimz

Oh hurray!

Im about 60% of firming my offer from RWCMD but I dont know that much about Cardiff, I was there for a couple of days when I went for my interview but didnt explore that much.

So. Anything a newbie might need to know?

Where is nice to live?
I was thinking Canton or Pontcanna as its close to the school and the parks.
How much is the rent normally? And the size and standard of the houses?
Do most people live in halls? Ive been living in flatshares for forever so I really dont want to move into halls.

What about transport?
Is it pretty safe to cycle? Its easy enough to get round on foot isnt it?

Things to do, to see?
Is there a great variety of things to do? Im not keen on mainstream bars but like different things. And what about theatres and sports clubs and the habour and the student union?

Argh its a bit hard coming up with questions when essentially I dont really know what to ask.

Im living in London at the moment and dont know when to firm here or Cardiff though the school in Cardiff is so much more appealing.
Its just a bit of a tough decision moving away from everything and everybody without knowing that much beforehand (Cos I already did that once moving to England from Denmark).
The lazy option would be to just stay in London :smile:

but Cardiff seems so amazing.

Hope you can give some tips. Cheers.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 16

Pthaos

Original post by Philemon

Where is nice to live?
I was thinking Canton or Pontcanna as its close to the school and the parks.
How much is the rent normally? And the size and standard of the houses?
Do most people live in halls? Ive been living in flatshares for forever so I really dont want to move into halls.

On this note, as a first year you are guarenteed a place in halls, but you're not forced to live there. It's good for meeting new people, but if you're not into the typical student clubbing lifestyle then you might not appreciate being packed in with people who are. I know I don't. Most of the friends I've made are via my course. I know of very few first years who aren't in halls, but there are some.

Aside from halls, the majority of the student housing is in Cathays or Roath areas, these are reasonably close to the Uni buildings and range from 1 bedroom studios up to 11 and 12 man houses. Rent will range from anything between £200 a month and £400 a month depending on size, but generally Cardiff is cheap and if you're sharing with say 4-5 others, expect to be paying about £250/month each. Houses are standard student quality, that is to say very basic. Generally though you'll get a room with a bed, desk and storage space and a shared kitchen and living area.

Finding somewhere to stay shouldn't be too much of an issue, generally there are groups of people who look for an extra couple of people to live with them. There are also some privately owned mini-halls available, which have about 30 bedrooms in them, each room having bed facilities as well as a fridge and microwave, so you just end up sharing toilets and kitchen if you need it but get plenty of your own space.

Reply 17

-aimz

Original post by Philemon

Oh hurray!

Im about 60% of firming my offer from RWCMD but I dont know that much about Cardiff, I was there for a couple of days when I went for my interview but didnt explore that much.

You say you've got an offer from the Royal College of Music, which I personally don't know too much about! I'm not sure where they all live - I presume they have their own halls somewhere? I'd check with them really. I'd say if you're in your first year, most students will live in halls.

Transport is pretty good, there are loads of bus services running anywhere in the immediate area. The bus I usually catch is £1.60 for a single journey and £3.20 for an all day ticket. I see lots of students on bikes, so that shouldn't be too difficult.

There's lots of stuff going on in Cardiff. The New Theatre has lots of productions going on, there are hundreds of shops (seriously, I love shopping, but I find it difficult to cover all of the main shopping areas in a day), loads of gigs/music things going on all over the place. There are plenty of mainstream clubs and bars but also loads of nice little ones, you just have to look a bit harder to find them - places like Ten Feet Tall, Buffalo Bar, Clwb Ifor Bach...
Basically there's always loads of stuff going on. It is the capital of Wales after all!

What I like most about Cardiff is how it's big, but not too big that it's difficult or stressful to get around like some big cities. Everything is really close together. It's also a really modern city - there's been so much regeneration here over the past few decades, it's just a nice environment to live in.

Reply 18

Spoonforknife

How good is the uni for subjects allied to medicine? Like Radiotherapy? I have an interview there in 29 days!

Reply 19

-aimz

Original post by Spoonforknife

How good is the uni for subjects allied to medicine? Like Radiotherapy? I have an interview there in 29 days!

Again I'm sorry but I have no idea as I don't study in that department or know anyone who does! Is it not on the league tables on the Times/Guardian etc?