Optometry at Plymouth University 2018 Entry *Plymouth OpSoc*

Hi, I've firmed Plymouth for Optometry and received an unconditional so I'm definitely coming in Sept! I was wondering if many of the optometry students stay on campus accomodation or nearby or if they tend to live nearer PAHC?? Thanks x

Reply 2

OP

Original post by Kiaralily12

Hi, I've firmed Plymouth for Optometry and received an unconditional so I'm definitely coming in Sept! I was wondering if many of the optometry students stay on campus accomodation or nearby or if they tend to live nearer PAHC?? Thanks x

Hi there!
Congratulations on the unconditional offer! Great to hear that you're coming to Plymouth in September! With regard to accommodation, there are options available closer to PAHC, however I don't know of anyone who has done this. Generally, people tend to prefer living in the city centre (either in the student village or the other halls around the city) and travel up using the free bus pass. Living in the city means you're close to everything (bars, restaurants, SU) and you're within walking distance of the Hoe, which is lovely on a sunny day, whereas if you lived closer to PAHC you'd have to travel for things like this. The bus journey isn't too bad at all and usually takes around 15 minutes in non-peak times.

If you have any further questions then please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Luke

Reply 3

Kiaralily12

Original post by PlymouthOpSoc

Hi there!
Congratulations on the unconditional offer! Great to hear that you're coming to Plymouth in September! With regard to accommodation, there are options available closer to PAHC, however I don't know of anyone who has done this. Generally, people tend to prefer living in the city centre (either in the student village or the other halls around the city) and travel up using the free bus pass. Living in the city means you're close to everything (bars, restaurants, SU) and you're within walking distance of the Hoe, which is lovely on a sunny day, whereas if you lived closer to PAHC you'd have to travel for things like this. The bus journey isn't too bad at all and usually takes around 15 minutes in non-peak times.

If you have any further questions then please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Luke

Thanks Luke, I've applied to accomodation on campus so I'm glad to hear most people do this.

Look forward to meeting you all in September!! X

Reply 4

OP

Original post by Kiaralily12

Thanks Luke, I've applied to accomodation on campus so I'm glad to hear most people do this.

Look forward to meeting you all in September!! X

No problem! We are looking forward to welcoming you in September!

Reply 5

elisa6639

5

I am trying to make my mind up between Cardiff and Plymouth. I have an unconditional for Plymouth. I love them both and I am struggling to decide! What would you say the best (and worst) things about Plymouth and specifically for Optometry?
Thanks

Reply 6

OP

Original post by elisa6639

I am trying to make my mind up between Cardiff and Plymouth. I have an unconditional for Plymouth. I love them both and I am struggling to decide! What would you say the best (and worst) things about Plymouth and specifically for Optometry?
Thanks

Hey there Elisa!
Congratulations on the unconditional offer from Plymouth!

Optometry at Plymouth has many advantages including:
Excellent facilities with lots of new equipment at PAHC, CEE and the new Wellbeing Centre.
A new course structure which puts emphasis on developing practical skills, ready for 3rd year clinics with the public.
Practice placements in Years 1 and 2
Hospital placement in Year 3
Supportive academic team
The Optometry Society!

As well as that, Plymouth really is a great setting to study, with the south west coast making a great setting for sunny afternoons.

Picking a university is quite subjective and depends a lot on your preferences, so go with your favourite. However, I can assure you it will be a good decision if you pick to study at Plymouth.

I hope that helps!

Luke

Reply 7

lolo_skillz1993

2

Original post by PlymouthOpSoc

Hi there!
Congratulations on the unconditional offer! Great to hear that you're coming to Plymouth in September! With regard to accommodation, there are options available closer to PAHC, however I don't know of anyone who has done this. Generally, people tend to prefer living in the city centre (either in the student village or the other halls around the city) and travel up using the free bus pass. Living in the city means you're close to everything (bars, restaurants, SU) and you're within walking distance of the Hoe, which is lovely on a sunny day, whereas if you lived closer to PAHC you'd have to travel for things like this. The bus journey isn't too bad at all and usually takes around 15 minutes in non-peak times.

If you have any further questions then please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Luke

Dear Luke,

It's best that you be brutally honest and allow future Optometry students to make decisions based on the truth. Now, to get to PAHC during peak times anywhere from 7am to 10am and 3PM to 5PM it takes a FULL ONE HOUR to get to PAHC and off-peak takes up to 30MINS.

Yours Sincerely,

A Third Year Optometry student who has been here longer than you!

Reply 8

OP

Original post by lolo_skillz1993

Dear Luke,

It's best that you be brutally honest and allow future Optometry students to make decisions based on the truth. Now, to get to PAHC during peak times anywhere from 7am to 10am and 3PM to 5PM it takes a FULL ONE HOUR to get to PAHC and off-peak takes up to 30MINS.

Yours Sincerely,

A Third Year Optometry student who has been here longer than you!

Hello,

First of all, many thanks for raising these points. I agree with you that prospective students are entitled to a true representation when they are making their decisions.

My original claim that the journey takes 15 minutes was not false information. Since the completion of the Derriford roadworks, travel times have improved considerably. The bus journey during non-peak times takes between 15-20 minutes. Granted, you do need to allow time for walking and you are slightly restricted by bus times (although these run pretty regularly).

As with any journey, traffic at peak times adds to the journey time, meaning you will have to allow extra time for 9ams, for example. This journey, following the completion of the roadworks now takes up to 40 minutes. As a guide, I tend to get a bus at around 7:55am which has been getting me to PAHC in good time.

It is also worth remembering that you will not have 9ams every day and there are facilities at PAHC (such as a canteen and coffee shop) for you to grab breakfast, snacks or hot drinks between lectures, or if you have time after getting the bus up.

Many universities have teaching facilities that are not within walking distance to the student village. We are lucky that Plymouth University provides us with a free bus pass for these journeys. I have friends in other universities who have to buy termly bus passes to get from their halls to their lectures.

I presume many of the students will have visited us for an open day/applicant day anyway and during these days, they are invited to PAHC so they can gauge distance from that.

If you have any further queries then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

With best regards,

Luke

Reply 9

amarakhanopsoc

6

Hi all, In response to the comment made by the third year student above:

If you attend an open day at Plymouth University (these are held right up until September so if you are applying via clearing you can still attend an open day before starting!) you have the opportunity to travel between PAHC and main campus so you can gauge how long it takes to get there.

We were all well informed before beginning the course that it involves travel by bus if you choose to live on main campus, and it is understandable that buses can take longer at peak times (occasionally up to an hour) and can be quicker at other times (I have even got to PAHC from town in 13 minutes before) Surely variability in bus times is something a third year should anticipate as this is generally how roads and traffic work?

I agree that all traffic in the area around PAHC and Derriford hospital has been slowed down considerably in recent weeks due to planned roadworks in the area, but these are due to be completed before the end of this academic year and will not affect students applying for Sept 2018 entry. If anything, roads in Plymouth will be even better when you start uni and buses should be quicker than ever.

We are extremely privileged to have bus passes paid for by the university as previous years had to often pay for their own travel. If you do not like the idea of buses and have a better alternative, by all means go for it! Remember that all universities have their own minor inconveniences and no-one's university experience is plain sailing! I hope this clears up any doubts you may have.

Kind Regards,
A second year student who understands how buses work

Reply 10

AnnieC2018

Hi Luke,

I was wondering if you could give me an idea of a first year’s timetable? I know it will change a bit for this year but would be good to have an idea of how much time we spend on campus ( as i’ll be commuting from north devon).

Also, I remember you saying that lectures can be accessed online, do many do that or is it just for the odd occasion?

Thanks!
I’m so excited to start!
Annie x

Reply 11

OP

Hi Annie,

Great to hear that you're excited to begin with us in September, and also great to meet you at the open day!
In terms of the timetable, it does change slightly between weeks, as you said. And the timetable does change between semesters as for some modules (e.g. Optics), there are practical sessions in Semester 2 but not Semester 1.
However, I'll give you a typical Semester 1 timetable as a rough idea/guide. As I said above though, take this as a guide and some weeks, you'll have less scheduled teaching etc.

Monday- 9am - 11am Optics Lecture
Tuesday 9am- 10am Human & Ocular Anatomy Lecture
Tuesday 10am- 12noon Clinical Optometry Practice *LABS*
Tuesday 1pm- 2pm Human & Ocular Anatomy Lecture
Tuesday 3pm-4pm Optics Lecture
Wednesday 11am- 12 noon Visual Perception lecture
Thursday 11am- 1pm Human & Ocular Anatomy Seminar
Friday 12noon-1pm Clinical Optometry Lecture
Friday 2pm- 4pm Clinical Optometry Compulsory *LABS*

You can also fit in study sessions and extra practice in the library or labs around these times, if you travel in.

And yes, you can access all lecture slides online (through the university's DLE Moodle site), along with any revelant seminar notes. Some lecturers will also upload extra reading (in the form of articles etc.). Generally, the lecture slides for the lecture are posted at least 24 hours before, so that you can read ahead if you wish.
Some lecturers also record the lectures and I think this is going to become more common next year. This allows you to playback any lectures and listen to it again, along with the slides.

Hope that helps!

Luke

Original post by AnnieC2018

Hi Luke,

I was wondering if you could give me an idea of a first year’s timetable? I know it will change a bit for this year but would be good to have an idea of how much time we spend on campus ( as i’ll be commuting from north devon).

Also, I remember you saying that lectures can be accessed online, do many do that or is it just for the odd occasion?

Thanks!
I’m so excited to start!
Annie x

Reply 12

AnnieC2018

Wow thanks Luke,
This is great, just what I needed to know,
Thank you!!!
Annie

Original post by PlymouthOpSoc

Hi Annie,

Great to hear that you're excited to begin with us in September, and also great to meet you at the open day!
In terms of the timetable, it does change slightly between weeks, as you said. And the timetable does change between semesters as for some modules (e.g. Optics), there are practical sessions in Semester 2 but not Semester 1.
However, I'll give you a typical Semester 1 timetable as a rough idea/guide. As I said above though, take this as a guide and some weeks, you'll have less scheduled teaching etc.

Monday- 9am - 11am Optics Lecture
Tuesday 9am- 10am Human & Ocular Anatomy Lecture
Tuesday 10am- 12noon Clinical Optometry Practice *LABS*
Tuesday 1pm- 2pm Human & Ocular Anatomy Lecture
Tuesday 3pm-4pm Optics Lecture
Wednesday 11am- 12 noon Visual Perception lecture
Thursday 11am- 1pm Human & Ocular Anatomy Seminar
Friday 12noon-1pm Clinical Optometry Lecture
Friday 2pm- 4pm Clinical Optometry Compulsory *LABS*

You can also fit in study sessions and extra practice in the library or labs around these times, if you travel in.

And yes, you can access all lecture slides online (through the university's DLE Moodle site), along with any revelant seminar notes. Some lecturers will also upload extra reading (in the form of articles etc.). Generally, the lecture slides for the lecture are posted at least 24 hours before, so that you can read ahead if you wish.
Some lecturers also record the lectures and I think this is going to become more common next year. This allows you to playback any lectures and listen to it again, along with the slides.

Hope that helps!

Luke

Reply 13

Adination

Hi Luke,I’ve firmed a place at Plymouth to study optometry with a conditional offer of D*D*D in btec applied science. Coming to the end of the year now I feel like my grades might be just short of the conditions I needed to get into uni and may end up with D*DD. Is this something I should be worried about or is the admissions team slightly flexible on admission?

Reply 14

OP

Original post by Adination

Hi Luke,I’ve firmed a place at Plymouth to study optometry with a conditional offer of D*D*D in btec applied science. Coming to the end of the year now I feel like my grades might be just short of the conditions I needed to get into uni and may end up with D*DD. Is this something I should be worried about or is the admissions team slightly flexible on admission?

Hi there!

Congratulations on your offer. It's great to hear that you have firmed Plymouth! In terms of entry standards, unfortunately I am unable to comment directly on this. It would be adviseable to contact the Optometry Admissions Tutor directly, if you're worried, to see what leeway there is, in your personal circumstances.

The Optometry Admissions Tutor email address is [email protected].

However, I can say that generally, admissions are based on the application as a whole and not just the grades.

Hope to see you in Plymouth soon!

Luke

Reply 15

Saarah365

Did you do external AS examinations or internal mocks with predicted grades? I’m just wondering if it’s possible to receive an unconditional offer if you only did internal exams as they’ll only have predictions to look from.

Reply 16

Saarah365

Original post by Kiaralily12

Hi, I've firmed Plymouth for Optometry and received an unconditional so I'm definitely coming in Sept! I was wondering if many of the optometry students stay on campus accomodation or nearby or if they tend to live nearer PAHC?? Thanks x

Did you do external AS examinations or internal mocks with predicted grades? I’m just wondering if it’s possible to receive an unconditional offer if you only did internal exams as they’ll only have predictions to look from.

Reply 17

kotwal123

2

hi there,
I am considering doing optom at plymouth, can you give me a full insight of the course as in it being full exam based or any coursework alongside it?

thanks.

Reply 18

elisa6639

5

Original post by Saarah365

Did you do external AS examinations or internal mocks with predicted grades? I’m just wondering if it’s possible to receive an unconditional offer if you only did internal exams as they’ll only have predictions to look from.

Different person but same thing! I applied and I did not do external AS exams, only internal with predicted grades. My predicted grades were AAA. I got an offer of AAB and interview at Plymouth, attended the interview and received an unconditional if I put them firm.
As a side note I put them as insurance, and Cardiff as my first and got into Cardiff with ABB for 2019 entry.

Reply 19

OP