Cellular and Molecular Medicine ~2015 students~

I'm currently a first year so if anyone has any questions, shoot.

Firstly, did you apply last year for biomedical science course in any university? You see, I don't exactly know what is the difference between CMM and biomedical science, and if they are recognized the same way after graduating :-s

1) do you like the teachers, how they explain, do they try to make you interested, are they neglecting you, are they helpful, do you understand how they teach?

2) How is the university itself ? CMM course rooms, laboratories? Are you satisfied with the facilities?

3) what extra things can you do regarding social life, are there societies?

4) what about the city itself? Do you like it as a student there?

5) what problems or difficulties have you encountered till today? (If any) or what exactly was the most challenging thing you had to fulfill or solve?

6)how are the people around there? (Are they helpful and nice or not really)

7) do you have time for yourself? How does your weekly schedule look like? (Have you considered part-time jobs? If no, do you think there is enough time for a part-time job?)

8) if you are not working, do you know other students who are working part time ? If so, where are they working?

9) how much money, on average, do your living costs (apart from accommodation) cost?

10) are there things you are not happy about regarding any aspect of your current experience? Please tell us.

These are the questions for now, I know there are a lot but I would be happy if you could answer anytime till April (when I have to choose between Bristol and Manchester hahah )

Thank you extremely extremely much!

Good luck with your exams!!

Mixed bag with this one - lecturers change a LOT throughout the term. Some are fantastic, some less so. I can't speak for all of them as I was ill for quite a while so missed some of them entirely! But as far as the actual course content goes it is incredibly interesting, and if you are looking for a career in research science I cannot recommend it enough. (I actually applied for Biochem originally, got rejected, but got offered CMM instead - I am actually very glad that happened). It's also worth noting that CMM is a very good degree to have if you are considering going into graduate entry medicine (which something like 8% of CMM graduates do each year and I am planning to do myself).

Most of the content is well taught and easy enough to understand as long as you put your back into it. You get chance to go and speak to the lecturer (or email them) if you have trouble with anything taught in that lecture, too.

We also have some tutorial sessions that help us in writing essays, answering questions and stuff. While at A-level that was the kind of extra fluff I just found no use whatsoever, at Bris they are actually very helpful, and prepare you very well for what is expected of you in the exam.

I know a few people who are working jobs within the university itself - but they are in general doing less strenuous courses. In general it's a pretty bad idea in my opinion - even if the first year grade does not count towards the end of the degree, it is still pretty valuable as far as adapting to note taking in lectures, for example. CMM year 1 is certainly not the most difficult course and even then I couldn't possibly imagine working a job at the same time.

I've decided to answer these two together as money is probably my biggest problem with the place. My living costs, are on average, £6,400 - that's £4550 at University Hall, £400 for going out (I haven't spent nearly as much as I thought, nights out are surprisingly cheap if you predrink an awful lot), £25/week food, and any other supplies. In comparison to other unis, that is damn expensive.

Personally, my student loan is only £4,100 in maintenance, meaning I have to work the extra £2,300 over the summer months. If I knew it would be this much trouble financially before coming here I probably wouldn't have come here, so please consider it! If you're one of the people lucky enough to get like maximum loan and maximum grant it will be absolutely no problem, but if not, you will end up in the same situation as me!

Aside from that - my only real problem with the place is living in Stoke Bishop. I absolutely despise UH for various reasons and the buses are incredibly inconvenient (though Stoke Bishop as a place is quite nice, just not UH!). I've been on the transfer list since week 3 and have gotten absolutely nowhere and have pretty much just been messed around. I know I am in the minority with that opinion, so take that with a pinch of salt.

Also be aware that we have to find our own properties to live in for next year from a few months after starting our first year, and it is very time consuming and difficult. The same goes for the majority of universities, but some handle it better than others (I know Warwick for example does pretty much everything through the university itself without having to deal with agencies etc).

Haha fair enough, thankyou! Good luck with UCAS (I haven't forgotten what a complete pain in the ass it is)! Let me know if you have any other questions about actual content on the course or how things are assessed!

Oh, i see, but over-all you are satisfied as far as i understand, right?

I am a EU student and i have other exams, the Baccalaureate, not the A-levels so it is super-awesome that you can ask the teachers and attend the tutorials!! xD

Ohhh as i said before i am a EU student and i can apply for the student loan only. I guess i will recieve £9000 because my parents have a suuper low income. So, if i am not going to take a job or get the VC Scholarhip (which is £3000/year) i don't know how i will survive :/ I am optimistic just because i am used to having a busy extracurricular schedule apart from highschool and i hope i will do well with both (part-time job and the studies).

Can you pleeeaase please be kind and sum up your costs and say how much do you spend per month for 1) food, transport, other daily costs and 2)accomodation. I did not clearly understand how you explained because some of them were per year (but i don't know how much it costs / month) and other were per week
Thank you and sorry for putting you to sum them up again. Also, please do not substract your maintenance loan or grant. Thankssss

What is Stoke Bishop and UH? Sorry but i don't know these things :")
Oh, and i remembered another question: If you apply for the university accomodation, how do they choose if YOU will get the house you applied for and not other student? The first applicant the first served?

Are you telling me that you cannot live in the campus, in the Bristol's houses more than one year?! :O !!!! Oh Godness, please ell me that i misunderstood (

Thank you hahha but there is nothing i can do now but wait for all the Unis to answer

Thank you soooooo much again because you answered all the questions, you helped me a lot!!

Best wishes!

Firstly, did you apply last year for biomedical science course in any university? You see, I don't exactly know what is the difference between CMM and biomedical science, and if they are recognized the same way after graduating :-s

Then, how is it there?

1) do you like the teachers, how they explain, do they try to make you interested, are they neglecting you, are they helpful, do you understand how they teach?

2) How is the university itself ? CMM course rooms, laboratories? Are you satisfied with the facilities?

3) what extra things can you do regarding social life, are there societies?

4) what about the city itself? Do you like it as a student there?

5) what problems or difficulties have you encountered till today? (If any) or what exactly was the most challenging thing you had to fulfill or solve?

6)how are the people around there? (Are they helpful and nice or not really)

7) do you have time for yourself? How does your weekly schedule look like? (Have you considered part-time jobs? If no, do you think there is enough time for a part-time job?)

8) if you are not working, do you know other students who are working part time ? If so, where are they working?

9) how much money, on average, do your living costs (apart from accommodation) cost?

10) are there things you are not happy about regarding any aspect of your current experience? Please tell us.

I am a Third year CMM student, so if anyone has any questions about the course in general or the latter years / career prospects etc then ask away

I have a question of my own. How does the experience in years 2 and 3 compare to 1 as far as actual application to real life uses go? Because right now, with ITM, NTC and BIOC, while we've learnt a lot of useful stuff - it feels like some of it is just jumping hoops for the sake of it, A-level style. How much of the first year study comes in use in later years?

Oh yeah, and do you happen to know what time of the year we typically apply for post-grad, and if we can take a gap year? I am quite worried that I will apply to graduate entry medicine, get rejected, and be left with no other options if you have to apply at the same time.

Hi Spleen,

I applied to CMM for 2016 entry - How is your course going at the moment?