Is anyone planning to go Bangor or Keele University next year?

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I'm applying and it is my top choice so definitely taking a place if I get an offer. Fingers crossed.

Which one will you be applying to?

I am applying to Keele.

I'm going to be applying to Bangor this year. I went to the open day in July and it was really nice
The university was amazing but I'm not so sure about the town because it's quite small and I come from a big city..

Thats nice, i am too. What course do you plan on doing?

Hi! I went to Keele for a year and I also did Geoscience. Unfortunately for me it didn't work out and I was very unhappy as I was not enjoying the course, career prospects, etc (I'd done AS Geology and enjoyed it and thought I wanted to do it for a degree but I was soon realised it wasn't for me). I will say this - for Geoscience/Geology Keele offers a very good course and if you enjoy Geology and want a career in it you'll enjoy it! Lots of practical stuff and you do a lot of GIS (very useful!). I remember I got the third highest mark on a test where we had to identify some rocks and minerals, I think that was because I actually bit the rock to see its texture - be prepared to actually chew rocks! Oh I'd recommend doing the Solar System module if it's still avaliable - it's a very interesting module and the easiest module ever. The coursework and exam was very easy! Some of my coursework was literally 'draw the moon'.

For accommodation I'll be blunt - it's not great. I stayed in Hawthorns and it was dire - you have 30 students all sharing a single kitchen (I was in a catered block but I had applied for self-catering but got put in there) and pretty horrible bathrooms. The bed was a joke, I am not joking - I got given a camp bed/z-bed! I mean that is pretty awful - you'd expect a proper bed! Those blocks were built in the 70's and are supposed to be rebuilt any year now...

Stoke is also pretty run-down but the surrounding area is stunning! You are right next to the Peak District and the Roaches so definitely try and get out there! There are some gorgeous walks nearby! I think it was called Dovedale/Dovedail, but try and do that walk!

Definitly do an open day before applying, it'll give you a feel. If it's of interest I'm at Reading which also has a very green campus and lots of wildlife. So if you want another option for a uni with a green campus Reading's an option! (It may be in town but it doesn't feel like it)

So Keele is a great choice for Geology and don't let my experience put you off.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I defintely have a good overall impression of keele, and i can understand what you meant about the accomodation as i visited there on an open day. I have decided to study biology rather than geology/geosciences after going with my heart rather than my head. I love the countryside of keele, the town doesnt seem great as you said.

I cant say i have looked into reading, i will take a look now.

And as you said about the peak district, places like that appeal alot.

Im starting to look into leicester more currently.

No problem! And yes, go for the subject you love or you'll end up like I did for a year - depressed (my parents made me finish the year).

Reading's lovely with a fantastic campus. Technically the campus is half the size of Keele's but to me it feels twice as large. We've got trees everywhere and a huge lake complete with swans, ducks, coots, etc so every spring there are duckling, goslings and if we're lucky - cygnets. We have a botanical garden and it's really easy and cheap to get into London. Reading's near The Chilterns which is beautiful and you'll see a lot of red kites!

Reading does require higher grades than Keele but they are flexible - I got in on ABC when my course required ABB I think. They seem to be quite happy about letting people in if you miss by one grade! They also take personal statements very seriously there.

Ah OK, Leicester has a nice campus as well I think.

If you do end up at Keele I can strongly recommend The Old Schoolhouse B&B in Keele village if your parents need somewhere to stay. The breakfasts are amazing! The owner also lets students have a breakfast there as long as the parents are staying in the B&B of course.

What course did you end up changing to? Did you go onto second year or star first year again?
That sounds really great. The grade differences arent much tbh.
Well i live 40 minutes from keele near Wolverhamton so anyway within an hour to an hour and a half they wouldnt need to stay i suppose. Did you live far from keele?
Also it is good to hear you are enjoying yourself now as oppose to last year!

In reply to your other reply, i think your course sounds amazing and well done for actually switching rather than putting yoirself through 2 more bad years. How is Ecology? Im thinking of specialising in zoology or taking some Ecology based modules as i really like it. How they handled it at reading must have made you feel very welcomed.

Wow your internship sounds like something i would absolutely love to do! I hope you reslly enjoy it! And you are closer to home now beimg at reading?

Thanks and it would've been 4 years as I was on the Geoscience course!
Well I love Ecology! I get to do all the Zoology modules I like but avoid the really boring ones, so I did all the vertebrate/invertebrate modules. I think all the Zoology students had to do a Maths module if they hadn't done A-Level mathj s or spomething. I do a fair amount of Environmental Science modules (including GIS, which is very important!) as well, modules that the Zoology students don't seem to have access to as much. I have access to the CWAC lab, which is unique to my course so I get to sit in a lab IDing freshwater inverts! This does mean I don't do so many societies but I love CWAC! The other thing I've observed is that on my course everyone is very much keen on conservation, etc of course and for Zoology there is a certain attitude of 'I like tigers'. Also there are far less people on my course, meaning we all got to know each other very quickly! There are some modules all Biology students had to do, so I had to do statistics, genetics for some reason and evolutionary biology. However these modules were 'easy' as they understand they may not be everyone's strong suit.

Reading has such a gorgeous campus I just fell in love - it's far more open than Keele's ever felt with more trees. It's hard to describe, but when I visited Reading I just 'knew' I'd like to study here. And I like the head of my course. Note - Reading doesn't have 'reading week', it has 'enhancement week' so we have activities on so last year we had a bird-ringing event, etc. And Reading's OK for a town centre - lots of shops! But being so close to London's a real bonus! I picked the course because the only other Ecology course I liked the sound of was Exeter's. Because of the mental state I was in a couple of years ago I just wanted out and was not happy about doing another gap year (I applied that December) and went for a straight Ecology course, I decided not to specialise too early on - Hull has a marine ecology course I think. Also, remember I thought I wanted to work in captive animal management - I'd never even heard of wildlife guiding! If I had I may have chosen a marine zoology/ecology course instead.

Yup! Just 2 hours away! And if you're interested in volunteering with whale-watching companies I can send you my cover letters, etc! I can recommend Sea Life Surveys in Scotland if you're interested in seeing how a whale-watching company works and see if wildlife guiding something you'd like to do! I cannot think of a career I'd rather to - outside every day on a boat seeing whales, dolphins, porpoise and so many incredible sea birds! Of course you have to be comfortable with talking to people. I'm shy normally but for some reason I'm not scared at all when I talk to people about wildlife!

I spent my summer with Sea Life Surveys and a whale-watching camp in British Columbia so I've seen BC's infamous orca! So far I'm enjoying myself a lot! SLS was fantastic as always (this was my second season with them) and the camp was brilliant! I was camping in temperate rainforest and we could see humpbacks from the beach and one day we had 100-200 Pacific white-sided dolphins stampeding towards camp! Again, I can offer advice regarding applying for whale-watch placements! Just remember you will be going out in all conditions - I've been out in very rough weather and very rainy weather. Yes I'm the kind of strange person who stands on the sun deck in the rain in case something appears - and it did - I spotted a pod of dolphins! Regarding the competitiveness for the job in wildlife guiding I'm unsure as it's not something that we're told at school or uni is a possible career and you need both a relevant degree and a LOT of experience. As well as a first aid certificate and a powerboat licence in some cases. But if you think that getting to see cetaceans on a daily basis, talking to people about them and getting paid for it sounds like an ideal career then I'd strongly recommend looking into wildlife guiding! If you want to do African safaris you need to do an additional qualification - Bush Safari Guide, it's now legal requirement and takes a year to get.