Ask a current 3rd year York student anything!

Ahhh you lucky duck! That's great you are already going to know somebody at the University! Are you moving far away from family and friends?

I'm going to study Sociology! (If you mention the "Sociology is not a real science" joke, save it! I have heard it a million times before Lol. How about yourself?

Oh wow that is far! I'm similar, I'm in Essex (Unfortunately :P)

Ooooo that's pretty interesting! I'm going to look that up now, i want to know! Never heard of it.

Essex! Not that much closer then! The costs of train fares home are going to cripple me, I'm sure of it. Do you plan on visiting home often?

It's like a mix of psychology, history, politics, social policy and all that kinda stuff. I guess it's just a broader approach to sociology? Who knows!

Nope! Miles away unfortunately! I am also getting the train there on move in day, so that's going to be an eventful journey. Although i've booked in advance so they're slightly cheaper. Have you looked into getting aaaaaaa damn it i have forgotten the name of it! it's like a student discount thingy for travel journey's on trains! I'm sure you know what i am (trying!) to talk about!

My let length is for 40 weeks, so i think i will be every so often i guess! Long way to travel back and forward though How about you?

I checked that earlier too, you get the best of everything by the sounds of it! I have done a little Psychology too and that seems great fun. That's going to be great!

Oh me too! Sucks not having anyone willing to drive all the way up there, so train it is. I hope your journey goes well! When do you move in? Yes I know what you're trying to say, a railcard! I don't have one just yet but plan to switch my student account over from Barclays to Santander once I get to York as there is a Santander branch on campus (and they offer you a free one when you sign up!) Do you have one?

Yeah it really is! I would love to travel home even just once each semester but financially may not be possible, plus it'd only be for the weekend which seems pointless!

Psychology is definitely lots of fun! What made you pick Sociology for a degree?

That's going to be a long day for the both of us it seems! Fingers crossed there are no delays! I move in on the 24th and i believe my accommodation block move in times were between the hours of 11:00 and 15:00, so i'm hoping that the trains run smoothly on that day! How about you?

That's the one! I don't have one just yet, but i have applied for the Santander account too, seemed to be the better option and the possibility of a free railcard was too good an opportunity to miss! Who doesn't love free stuff :P

Oh no It's a shame it's so far away, damn rail prices! Hopefully it does work out that you are able to visit home at least every so often, it would be awful to get homesick and not have the option to go and see family and friends!

Ahhhhhh Sociology. I read a little bit about it before i went to join my local college and it seemed to be the answer to so many questions i had about life, and the more i learned throughout college the more of my free time i spent relentlessly studying it to the point that it has became a hobby trying to understand why society works the way it does and what led it to function the way it does today. To me it really is fascinating. How about you and your course? I'm slightly jealous you get to study a mixture of Social Science courses!

P.s this is a lengthy post, apologies! :P

Geez they give you a time slot?! That's definitely stressful! I haven't checked what my time slot is. I move into my actual accommodation on Friday the 23rd but because I'm doing a foundation year my course starts a week earlier than that, so they're apparently putting me into temporary accommodation from the 17th - 22nd. I've yet to hear what the actual plan is with that though so hopefully they reply to my email soon!

Yep so true! Plus as long as you put £500 in per term (assuming from loans) you get the full overdraft! My one with Barclays at the moment has a pitiful £200 overdraft and if I want to increase it they said I'll have to have an interview where they go over everything I've spent money on and decide if I deserve it or not, depending on if I've spent too much on "non educational purchases".

I think I'm going to miss my pets the most really! Family and friends can suck it. Have you got pets?

Ah well then it sounds like the perfect degree for you! I bet you'll have a fantastic three years studying it! Plus you're fairly close to your department so less travel time and more naps for you! Well I'm jealous you get to do your first degree choice! My first choice would be history but I didn't take it at A Level which York requires you to have done and I didn't want to go to any other uni or take an Access course, so I decided to go for my second choice of Applied Social Science! I did my A Levels what feels like a million years ago so easing into it with a foundation year and get to branch off into either Social Policy, Crime and Criminal Justice, Children and Young People or stick with plain old Applied Social Science (which would cover all of those in less depth) once I've done my foundation year. My plan is to go for Crime and Criminal Justice.

What kind of career are you aiming for after your degree, if any? It feels like such a difficult area of study to translate to a career but I guess studying society really means you could work in any kind of job and it'd be relevant!

(Oh geez mine was much longer, sorry!)

They haven't emailed and told you yet?! Oh wow they're going to need to get a move on that's only in a few weeks! (I'm laughing at you for having to start your course earlier than the rest of us, unlucky chucky! )

They require you to have an interview and want to go over everything you spend it on and decide if you deserve one!? That's crazy but slightly funny! The question is, and i believe i know the answer, have you/will you be spending it on non educational purposes? :P

Hahahaa i'm glad were in agreement that pets are much better than humans! I have a West highland terrier puppy and a bunny! I'm in the same boat as you, will miss the pets more

Precisely! Although when i got the welcome package through in the mail it said on the map that the Sociology department was in a different building to the one on the website if i remember correctly, but i'll be getting a bike probably to make my way around the huge campus! Much simpler and then i can do some of that dreaded exercise stuff at the same time. Ooooo i see! That's a much better option to take the extra year at the Uni you want to go to as opposed to doing it somewhere you don't like, gives you an opportunity to mingle in and get to know everyone/everything earlier! I took an Access Course myself, although now i feel silly for doing so as i never even thought of doing the extra year at York instead of my local college. Whoopsidaisey! That sounds like an interesting choice! What is drawing you in to Crime and Criminal Justice?

That's a question i got asked about a million times last night when i went to see old friends and told them of my choices. And i can say in all honesty that i have no ideal career path i want to go down. I'm content with what i'll have to do for the next 3 years which is sitting down at a table with a laptop, tapping away researching and writing because strangely enough i enjoy doing that a lot more than i probably should. I guess the great thing is we have 3 years to figure that out How about you? Do you have one of those 5/10 year plans that many have?

Nope! I'm starting to get worried now and may need to call them at some point if they don't reply, aaah. Wish they'd just let me move in a week early! Oh thanks! Literally though, got 9-4.30 days all through Freshers

Does Pizza Hut and energy drinks count as non-educational purchases if you need it to stay awake and get through an essay? Cause if not then yes! I've already spent a far portion of my overdraft so glad I'm switching as soon as my loan goes in. Would fail in an instant.

Oh a puppy?! So cute! Must be so hard to leave him/her behind! I have six cats and a dog, going to miss them so much. Pictures will have to suffice.

The map in the welcome package is so confusing! It says there's a bus stop right by my building in Goodricke but when I checked Google Maps and the bus company website it claims it doesn't stop there. Such misinformation! Bike sounds like such a plan! If I wasn't so scared of riding on roads I'd totally get one too. Yeah I prefer having the extra year, plus I get two "first years", get to meet two sets of course mates and such like! I won't be too bummed if I don't make many/any friends this year cause there's always next year! Plus I think for the History Access course you had to get like 45 distinctions or something. Ah but you're in now so it all worked out in the end! I really like stuff to do with the law and crime, I loved Making A Murderer and I did Psychology at A Level so this seems like a good mix of psychology and criminal justice which appeals to me.

Well that's fair! I doubt most students have a clear career path decided when they first get to uni, as long as it's something you enjoy and pays the bills that's all that counts I think! Three years is a long time anyways so no stress! Are you doing the study abroad for a semester thing in your third year, do you think? Looks like a fantastic opportunity! Noo I don't have a plan, haha. I have an area I'm interested in which is the CCRC (Criminal Case Review Commission), they're the people that criminals send their appeals to if they think they've been wrongly convicted and they decide if they have grounds for appeal such as new evidence come to light, etc. Not hugely bothered if I don't work there though but I'd like to!

That would be so much easier for you if they would! Damn University! Well, that's very very lucky you aren't the typical WOOOO PARTYYYYYY fresher then or you would be extremely hungover everyday for your lessons! Hahaa. Why do you have so many hours at the start?! :O Is that because it's the foundation year?

Well i'd count those as educational simply because they're the only thing that keeps you sane throughout doing an essay... so yes, yes i would Everyone loves a pizza night, i want these at Uni more than anything. Forget clubs, forget everything, just pizza night once/twice a month and i'll be happy.

I had to re-read that, you have 6 cats?! That must be such hard work :O Awwwww, you can only hope you get to go back often to visit them! Pictures will never be enough

See you found the same problem too! Hmm i wonder which one is correct. I bet now we have picked and got our chosen accommodation block, our lectures will be over the other side of the damn campus! Yup, bike is a good plan! I have the same fears as you, so my solution is to stick to the pathways and simply ride into people who don't move out of the way in time. Win win! :P
That's very true! That's why i'm slightly jealous you managed to get on an extra year at York instead of a local college! Wow that is a lot of Distinctions but i guess that proves that the History course here is pretty amazing. They only required me to get 15 Distinctions for the Sociology course, and their department is pretty great from what i've seen so the History must top that!

Definitely going to study the semester abroad! If for some reason i miss out on that opportunity i'll be so disappointed. I've been looking forward to that since the day i found out it was even an option! Is that an option on your course too?

I'm trying to think of something witty that i can jokingly say stands for CCRC but it's a Sunday so my brain is sleeping That sounds incredibly interesting field to get in to! With technology growing at a ridiculously fast rate, there's a huge number of prisoners now who, thanks to new ways of research and collecting evidence, are being found innocent of crimes they didn't even commit over 50 years ago but served time in prison. They're so heartbreaking to see aren't they You have a goal to work towards though so that's a plan in itself!

I don't have a clue why! It just goes straight in with the crazy hours, on Wednesdays I don't even get a lunch break. Just solid lectures with a couple 15 min breaks thrown in there somewhere.

Yes, oh my gosh! Pizza and a good movie would be perfect. Who needs alcohol when you've got pizza? apparently there's a fair amount of free dominoes to be had at the Freshers Fair!

Yep six! It's not as many as you'd think! They're fairly independant so it doesn't ever feel like there's six of them roaming about. We'll just have to make the most of the time we get with them when we're back home.

I don't have a clue but I hope it's the map we got with the welcome pack! Hah, that works! I rented a Boris Bike in London and rode on the main roads one time and it was terrifying haha. I'm pretty sure all the cars and taxis were pretty pissed off at me too. Well done on getting 15 distinctions! Did you have to wait til results day to find out if you got in or did you know before? I'm not entirely sure how Access courses work! Yeah I'm sure the history department is awesome! I think a heck of a lot of people apply to do history too so it's very oversubscribed and the competition is probably fairly fierce! I doubt if I even did get 45 distinctions that I definitely could have still got in so it would have been a bit of a gamble!

Hah, that's fine, Sundays are the exception! it's certainly something to strive towards! Yep, so much work to be done because of all that I'm betting. Have you seen Making A Murderer? The great thing about our chosen field really is that we could work anywhere basically!

For the two Southern 'Mature' students.
1 - Shh. I'll be 32 when we start on the 26th. The mature students lunch happens that day I think.
2 - For cheap travel back to London, book a megabus in advance. It sucks, but I've got a return from Leeds to London for £2.50 before.

Hey! I've applied for law and I think it's on the Heslington East campus. I really loved York when I went on the open day last summer but I live quite far away. If I get an offer from York I would probably firm it, but I've just been wondering; seeing as York is a campus university is there a sense of community? I'm quite anxious about the move for university and it would be really useful to get a current student's perspective on the atmosphere of the university itself.
Also, if you have any comments on York city in general, that would be really helpful.
Thanks!