Any KCL students wanting to be friends?

Hello I do biochem at KCL and I'm starting my second year in September too (except I'm going abroad for first semester).

I'm kinda in the same boat. Most of my friends do medicine and I really like them all but they are closer to each other than to me since they bond over their subject and go to lectures etc. together. But tbh, I feel like the fact that my mental health has suffered this year has contributed to me not hanging out with them/not meeting other biochem people as much as I would've liked. So hopefully next year will be better.

Hi Sorry for replying so late😣

Weirdly enough, even though I do biomed, most of the people I have met and gotten along with do biochem😅 and yh I'm in the same situation as you where they get along better together since they can easily see other every day.

I feel like the way everyone describes uni to be the best years of your life is a myth. There is barely any interactions other than working in pairs for a practical and maybe meet one or 2 people in societies but nevertheless everyone has formed their own small groups that it’s hard to blend in. Also idk if it's just me but everyone just separates and hangs out with people that have the same background. There isn't really a mix when it comes to friendship groups. ofc there are the small number of exceptions but it's a very low chance to be able to join those groups. I'm also praying my second year goes well and mental health improves with more social interactions now that everything will be face to face.

Have you chosen which country you are going do for the first semester?

I’m starting my second year this September and I do biomed at KCL. I’ve made some acquaintances but none who I can actually hang out with or study with. Anyone on the same boat wanna be friends?

I’m starting my second year this September and I do biomed at KCL. I’ve made some acquaintances but none who I can actually hang out with or study with. Anyone on the same boat wanna be friends?

Hey no worries

No yeah I know exactly what you mean. People who are alike tend to stick together and form their own little tightly knit groups. It's really hard to join those if you're not one of them. I also really hope that second year will be better cuz everything is going back to irl on campus teaching which should make it easier to make closer friends. I do think that uni can be the "best years of your life" for some people, but I also believe that life is what you make of it so for other people it might be earlier or later. I hope that the "best years of my life" come later in life lol. I don't really want life to peak at 18-23 lmao.

Yeah I'm currently in the US I have orientation this week and classes start next week so I'm looking forward to that. It's been good so far cuz I get along with my flatmates, but this is the first time I'm gonna be this far away from my family and the longest I'm gonna go without seeing them so idk if homesickness will randomly kick in later on when I start processing that properly lol. We'll see how it goes XD

What theme have you chosen for your modules this year? I know that's something that biomed students have to do.

i'm going into my 3rd year at kcl and I have some uni friends but not people i see all the time so i feel this!

hi, im also starting second year in a similar position. i study neuroscience and psychology, and i have acquaintances but no proper friends at uni. we could form a little study group or something like that and see how it goes from there if people are down

Yess ofccc I would love that!
ive been wanting to create study groups esp after each lecture to go over what we just learnt to consolidate everything. The modules I picked blend in with neuroscience students so I’m sure there is atleast one module we would have in common!

nice! should i pm you my insta?

US! It must be really nice there. Lemme know how different the teaching is there in comparison to the uk!
im sure homesickness will kick in no matter what. Just knowing that one day when ur suddenly feeling gloomy or bored there is no one at home waiting for u to chill with. But at the same time freedom away from family is sometimes the best thing in the world. But yeah ur just gonna have to wait and see! Lmao

i chose neuropharmacology and biology of systems. Not sure if it was a wise decision but I just could not stand studying the other modules. It was too complicated and required too much brain power lol. Even tho tbh the themes I chose are pretty complicated but I think I rather do a module that can help me further my understanding for my future career plan than something that won’t. Regardless it will be a painful year 😖

Yeah it's been really nice so far so I don't think I'll get homesick until the work piles up and I get stressed out lol. Cuz at that point I usually go home for the weekend to take a break from the uni environment and eat my mum's food (which I already do miss).

I really miss clubbing (I'm 19 so can't drink or go to pubs or clubs here) but I already know I'm gonna miss American snacks once I get back to the uk loll. And also, the emphasis placed on sports is encouraging me to do exercise, which as a music and science nerd I would've never thought I'd enjoy and actively wanna do before lol. There's also a lot of community spirit- there's a mascot and loooads of people wear the uni's merch on a regular basis lol. The uni legit has a store full of its (really expensive) merch lmao (yes I did already buy a hoodie haha).

This week is all just introductory stuff but they actually set loads of homework here- pre class assignments, in class quizzes, post class write-ups and h/w sheets. They also emphasise collaboration more. I had a lab today and our in class assignment was a write-up with our lab partner that we're gonna get the same grade on. Also, pretty much everything gets graded and contributes to our GPA (grade point average). I'm kinda scared about grading tho ngl cuz one of my classes require higher than a 100% to get an A+??? The math isn't mathing :/ But at least I just have to pass.

Nooo that actually sounds so interesting bro!! I really enjoyed the neuroscience and pharmacology modules last year so I'm taking a psych + neurosci module here and a pharm module when I get back. What are you thinking of doing as a future career?

ah glad to know it’s not just me and that this happens to others too. I felt like the odd one out at KCL without any friends to hang out with every day.

How was second year? Seems like it will be really tough. Any tips? How did you manage out your schedule?

Everything sounds so interesting! Seems like the US is really living up to their standards. Didn’t think the mascot and sports stuff really existed as much as ur describing it. Aw man now I wanna go!!

lmao I’m just dying at the part where u need 100% to get A+ 🤣🤣🤣

I’m thinking of applying to medicine once I finish this degree. I wanna be a doctor! Don’t know if I have it in me but I’m willing to try for as long as I need to. Wbu?

Also…ahhh it must be painful not to be able to go clubbing!! It sucks how their legal drinking age is 21. If I had the ability to get away from family and have 100% full control of my life I would want to go clubbing almost every week!

Yeahhh I was also surprised. I found out that Tuesdays are school spirit days too so we have to wear the merch or go dressed in uni colours lmao. But apparently my uni isn't even the most peppy lmao. I met this girl who told me there's this uni where their mascot is a bulldog and they actually bark at each other which I find hilarious.

IKR lmao. I just need to pass though so, even though I'm obviously gonna try my hardest, I'll be rly happy with Bs.

Oh awesome. Good luck with that! I'm thinking of doing a PhD and then going into research. Maybe cancer epigenetics? Except I also really like neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases so idk.

Yeah same lmao. I know some people hate clubbing, but I actually really like it- it's fun when you go with friends.

Bit of a late reply…sorry !!!

How is it going for you though? Especially since exam season is coming.
Have you chosen which modules you are going to take once you come back to the uk?

No worries lol!! It's been going well. Ish. I keep procrastinating coursework and having to stress last minute lmao but at least I've managed to get things done on time and quite well. I am back in the UK now actually since I only did one semester abroad but I've been having a look at next year's modules and think I'm gonna do a mixture instead of taking any 30 credit modules on one specific thing. Atm the plan is to take pharmacology of neurological and psychiatric conditions, cancer genetics, epigenetics, biomedical diagnostics, the 45 credit research project in semester A and protein structure + design (compulsory). Wbu? How have you been? Have you thought about next year's modules?

Oh and what modules are you taking this semester? Maybe we're in a class together lol.

Heya!! I was actually going to pick the pharm of neurological and psychiatric conditions but at the end i decided to lean more towards physiology.
I picked: physiology lib project A, experimental cardiovascular pharmacology, vascular physiology, pharmacology of inflammation as well as cardiovascular and respiratory control . You can probably tell i have something going on for Cardiology lol. I was going to pick research project for pharm but i realised after doing the research pharmacology module this year, that maybe it’s not the best option for me. Plus i already did a module this year that is exactly the same as a library project but the word limit was 6500 instead so i have experience writing a dissertation! For semB im currently in drug discovery and development, physiological report topic B , drugs and diseases and physiology and pharm of the CNS. I’m almost certain you are probably in the CNS module!!

Good luck with the cancer genetics lol…i cant stand learning about cancer. In fact in one of my modules, we have to write 3 essays from a choice of 8 where it’s evenly split between cardio pharm, endocrine pharm, immunology pharm, and cancer pharm. almost everyone are skipping revision for cancer bc its honestly so hard