The Student Room Group
University of York
York

Uni of York?

Any experiences? I would like to know, thinking of applying there!
What are you thinking of studying and what would you most like to know about?
University of York
York
Original post by bloovanmeer
What are you thinking of studying and what would you most like to know about?


I want to do Microbiology? I like the look of their course the best due to the topics but wondered what the experiences were like of the area and teaching etc
Original post by ProbablyJade
I want to do Microbiology? I like the look of their course the best due to the topics but wondered what the experiences were like of the area and teaching etc


Oh okay, I can't really help out with the Microbiology side of things as a humanities student (but I can say that my friends in the Biology department seem very happy with their course). The area is lovely - it's a campus uni surrounded by a couple of villages/suburbs but it takes 10 minutes to get into town by bus, so you really don't have to be stuck on campus all the time. York is a really great size, because there's a lot to do even though it's a relatively small city so it strikes that balance pretty well. Oh, and the Biology facilities are AMAZING, I usually walk through the new Bio buildings to get to one of my seminars and am super jealous at how nice it all is - I think they're still expanding as well so they invest a lot in that department.

I also think York as a uni is pretty friendly - at 15'000 students it's on the smaller side of English unis, so chances are you'll bump into someone you know just walking around campus - that said, it's not so small that you feel it's an 'everyone knows everyone else's business' kind of place. Nightlife is pretty good, there are loads of places to eat on campus & in town and there are approximately a billion societies. Any more specific questions (like if you want to know about the college system or anything) just let me know :smile:
Reply 4
Can I jump on this and ask about Law?
Original post by bloovanmeer
Oh, and the Biology facilities are AMAZING, I usually walk through the new Bio buildings to get to one of my seminars and am super jealous at how nice it all is - I think they're still expanding as well so they invest a lot in that department.



That sounds great! Can i just ask how cheap the area is for accommodation and general living? The course sounds amazing, and you obviously like it loads there so it sounds perfect!
Original post by Assan
Can I jump on this and ask about Law?


I don't do Law but my flatmate does, so I can give you some basic info and then hopefully an actual law person will come and be more helpful!

Law students always seem to have lots of work to do but they have the PBL (Problem Based Learning) system, where there are ~12 students to a 'law firm' - they get given a problem and then have to work out the legal implications of it in their firm under the guidance of a tutor. Lots of people really seem to like this style of learning and end up becoming good friends with their PBL firm. The Law faculty is on Heslington East, the new campus, and is a really, really nice building - they have a round lecture theatre that's set up to look like a courtroom, I think that might be where they do mooting but I'm not sure. I've had lectures in there, it's a pretty cool room. That's about the extent of my knowledge though!
Original post by ProbablyJade
That sounds great! Can i just ask how cheap the area is for accommodation and general living? The course sounds amazing, and you obviously like it loads there so it sounds perfect!


Accommodation prices vary and I think they usually go up ~£5 a year but don't quote me on that. The cheapest you can get on campus is £4,239 a year (economy shared bathroom self-catered) and the most expensive is £6,901 (ensuite catered). I'm currently paying around £5000 a year for my ensuite - I'm pretty sure there are accommodation bursaries available but I don't know much about them. Off campus houses range from £60-£85ish a week without bills, though you can get houses with bills included which are more like £100-£120 a week.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by bloovanmeer
Accommodation prices vary and I think they usually go up ~£5 a year but don't quote me on that. The cheapest you can get on campus is £4,239 a year (economy shared bathroom self-catered) and the most expensive is £6,901 (ensuite self-catered). I'm currently paying around £5000 a year for my ensuite - I'm pretty sure there are accommodation bursaries available but I don't know much about them. Off campus houses range from £60-£85ish a week without bills, though you can get houses with bills included which are more like £100-£120 a week.


Oh okay that's not too bad, thanks for your help!
Reply 9
How is sharing a bathroom?
How many people, and any problems?
How do you decide when you get to use the loo?

Original post by bloovanmeer
Accommodation prices vary and I think they usually go up ~£5 a year but don't quote me on that. The cheapest you can get on campus is £4,239 a year (economy shared bathroom self-catered) and the most expensive is £6,901 (ensuite self-catered). I'm currently paying around £5000 a year for my ensuite - I'm pretty sure there are accommodation bursaries available but I don't know much about them. Off campus houses range from £60-£85ish a week without bills, though you can get houses with bills included which are more like £100-£120 a week.
Original post by Assan
How is sharing a bathroom?
How many people, and any problems?
How do you decide when you get to use the loo?


I think that there are going to be problems with people wherever you go, you can't say that there will always be nice people in one area and horrible people in another, at my friends apartment, there are five of them and two bathrooms so it's not too bad, and they devised a shower time table where you can 'book' slots, and that way there are fewer problems
Just wanted to jump in and say that York is a genuinely lovely city, I was lucky enough to live there recently. No idea about the Uni campus itself, but the city has a real ye olde county-town feel - much like Winchester, Bath, Exeter, if you've been to those places. And it's a medium size, so you can walk from anywhere into the city centre in about half an hour - and there are always loads of little cultural things going on.

About Microbiology - one word of advice, research Biomedical Science and make sure you don't want to do that instead. It has large elements of microbiology but also leads to a defined career role within the NHS if that's what you want to do later (https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/life-sciences/biomedical-science). I did Biology when I went to uni, and for many years really regretted not doing Biomedical instead, because it can be a real pain to move sideways later on, as it's a highly regulated medical profession. Worth bearing in mind and doing a little research, anyway!
Original post by antipathy


About Microbiology - one word of advice, research Biomedical Science and make sure you don't want to do that instead. It has large elements of microbiology but also leads to a defined career role within the NHS if that's what you want to do later (https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/life-sciences/biomedical-science). I did Biology when I went to uni, and for many years really regretted not doing Biomedical instead, because it can be a real pain to move sideways later on, as it's a highly regulated medical profession. Worth bearing in mind and doing a little research, anyway!


The reason i want to do microbiology is because i'm not massively fond of the whole Chemistry element but LOVE biology (i have another post on this if you would care to look)
Reply 13
Original post by ProbablyJade
I think that there are going to be problems with people wherever you go, you can't say that there will always be nice people in one area and horrible people in another, at my friends apartment, there are five of them and two bathrooms so it's not too bad, and they devised a shower time table where you can 'book' slots, and that way there are fewer problems


Thanks. It's just that, I'm in my late 20s and have lived alone for years...it would definitely be cheaper to share but I have my doubts :smile:
Original post by Assan
How is sharing a bathroom?
How many people, and any problems?
How do you decide when you get to use the loo?


I think on average there are 3-4 people to a bathroom. I've never shared a bathroom at uni so I don't know firsthand, but lots of my friends do - they've never complained about not being able to get in when they need to. Also, you don't have to buy your own toilet paper if you're shared and I'm relatively sure it gets cleaned daily.
Reply 15
Original post by bloovanmeer
I think on average there are 3-4 people to a bathroom. I've never shared a bathroom at uni so I don't know firsthand, but lots of my friends do - they've never complained about not being able to get in when they need to. Also, you don't have to buy your own toilet paper if you're shared and I'm relatively sure it gets cleaned daily.


Sorry to hijack this thread (:ninja:), but whilst I was looking through the accommodation at different colleges I saw some of the pictures had twin rooms, however there were no prices that mentioned twinned rooms. So my question is could they just give a twinned room to someone who selected shared economy room as it's the cheapest? (I'm panicking because I hate people being all up in my personal stuff :afraid:)
Original post by KaylaB
Sorry to hijack this thread (:ninja:), but whilst I was looking through the accommodation at different colleges I saw some of the pictures had twin rooms, however there were no prices that mentioned twinned rooms. So my question is could they just give a twinned room to someone who selected shared economy room as it's the cheapest? (I'm panicking because I hate people being all up in my personal stuff :afraid:)


you won't be given a twin room if you really don't want one, i promise! when you apply for accommodation, there'll be an option to say if you'd be happy to have a twin room or not - then you can just select 'no.' Selecting the cheap option will not mean you're in danger of sharing a room! I think they now also make a clear distinction between 'shared bathroom' and 'shared room' so you're unlikely to select it by accident (which i know happened to some people a couple of years previously...)
Reply 17
Original post by bloovanmeer
you won't be given a twin room if you really don't want one, i promise! when you apply for accommodation, there'll be an option to say if you'd be happy to have a twin room or not - then you can just select 'no.' Selecting the cheap option will not mean you're in danger of sharing a room! I think they now also make a clear distinction between 'shared bathroom' and 'shared room' so you're unlikely to select it by accident (which i know happened to some people a couple of years previously...)


Ah massive thanks for clearing this up :smile:

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