18/03/19
Bit of a late update, so sorry about that.
I attended the open day on the 16th and I loved it, so obviously I have been offered a place and I should of attended an offer holder day but train tickets were already booked for the open day.
So the university is around a 30 minute walk from the train station (that’s what they’ve said anyway, I got on the free open day bus which took around 5/10 minutes) sounds about accurate tbf depending how quick you walk. I arrived at the College lane campus and it looked so nice, it’s quite a lot bigger than I expected so I’m glad I went instead of finding out when I moved in. I got a welcome booklet when I checked in about all the talks and tours that were happening throughout the day on that campus specifically which was super helpful.
Before having the accommodation tour at around 11am I had a walk round with my parents as this isn’t my campus of study but I wanted to have a quick look as you never know where you will be when you get to uni. There’s a subway inside one of the buildings and also a restaurant which is always nice (prices are average I would say)
Then the accommodation tour came around we first went to check out the standard room on that campus, the students were so lovely and welcoming and answered all questions you had. Secondly we went to the townhouse which is a shared bathroom. Then the enhanced room which is just a bigger space than the standard room with more storage also. With me studying on the other campus I wasn’t too focused on these accommodations but townhouse is my second choice, if I was to get that I wouldn’t mind as the rooms are pretty nice overall.
Now I needed to get to my campus, there’s a free inter-campus shuttle bus that takes you between campuses and it runs everyday until late. Knowing this was so nice as I’d hate to walk between both campuses late at night. When I got there I was kinda familiar with where I had to go because I had done my research. Collected my welcome booklet for that campus and got talking to people.
So here we did the exact same, we had a walk round by ourselves before doing anything, the campus is so nice but let’s just say there is so much walking to do!!! On this campus there is only one accommodation option so we just checked out one room and the kitchen. The room is a lot bigger than I expected looking at pictures, so much space and a lot of storage, the kitchen is also nice and plenty of space for your food & drinks!
On this tour they also told us about places around the campus, so we had a chat about the gym and what it offers, we also went to the bar and they told us the opening times and things like that. There’s also a shop on site that sells things you may of forgot to bring with you, such as stationery. Oh I also forgot to mention we got a goodie bag full of things on arrival which is so thoughtful of them!
After the tour I wanted to talk to the lecturers about my course, she was so lovely and she was also accompanied by another student who I’m guessing is in her 3rd year as she had just came back from her study abroad programme. They explained each module and how they would be taught, this really helped as I have been out of education since 2017 so going back into can be a struggle, but hopefully all my knowledge from travel and tourism will come back to me! They explained the study/work abroad programme and that the student their went to work at Disney, which is hopefully what I get to do. She said she loved it and she’s so happy she went.
I made sure to collect lots of leaflets and pens, I love doing that. By the end of it my bag was jam packed with stuff! And that’s the end of that, overall it was an amazing day, everyone seems so lovely and welcoming and I can’t wait to be there in September!
Also a little update on what I’d bought, my mum bought me some towels in a salmon pink colour so I’m thinking I should base my room on that colour to make it look nice. I was wanting purple or blue but there weren’t any in stock. I’m going to get my bedding soon which my nana has offered to buy for me so I’m going to have to decide what I want plain or a pattern, ugh tough decisions! Usually my mum would buy me bedding without me having an input.
Anyway I’ll keep you all updated about anything else that happens😊