Zoom to Zoology? Uni open days, applications & more 2021-Present - a parents take
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Its been a while since I last updated....(5/5/22)
Reading university booked Travelodge Whitley just outside the city centre and not far from the uni. We booked the 17th of June so we get to go for a meal in Reading first and then sleep, and wake up ready for open day on the 18th.
She also applied for residentials:
Reading Uni - she got awarded a place but then got given the 1 day dates that she would need to attend to before going to the actual residential in the summer. January 1 day - we was in Florida. February 1 day, same time as mocks. March 1 day same time as mock resits..... why on earth Reading needed to put 2 of these dates on because it interupts with exams? So was annoyed about that and had to email them letting know she had to decline because its clashing with year 12 exams. She really really wanted to go to this residential as well. Other unis just do a residential, with the odd online part like UNIQ digital or sutton online, but no, she had to be free all 4 days and the residential.
Cambridge Sutton Trust - Psychology - she did not get in. was not too surprised, after all she does not get free school meals, but postcode is not that great (little village with hardly any shops and all housing thus low employment) so would have hoped to get in with that.
Edge Hill Uni Ormskirk - Psychology. This one she got in for the summer residential in August. Shes looking forward to this. This will be so good for her experience uni life and she has some anxieties, so this will be so beneficial for her. And psychology she loves the alevel course.
Mocks from February, she got Psychology A*, Biology C, Geography C. Biology she re-took the mock in Marh but no results after 6 weeks of doing it. More mocks in June as well, since hey ditched the AS levels at the sixth form.
She was one mark from a B in the Feb biology. I wanted her to challenge it, since her text book says one magnification of a microscope, and it was marked wrong and another magnifcation was written on there. But anxiety, she did not want to cause a fuss bless her.
Shes pretty confident she will get a B or higher. The new topics that are coming she loves. And Geography she knows she can get a B as well. A poorly photocopied map did not help matters much when it came to reading it in the exam.
Reading university booked Travelodge Whitley just outside the city centre and not far from the uni. We booked the 17th of June so we get to go for a meal in Reading first and then sleep, and wake up ready for open day on the 18th.
She also applied for residentials:
Reading Uni - she got awarded a place but then got given the 1 day dates that she would need to attend to before going to the actual residential in the summer. January 1 day - we was in Florida. February 1 day, same time as mocks. March 1 day same time as mock resits..... why on earth Reading needed to put 2 of these dates on because it interupts with exams? So was annoyed about that and had to email them letting know she had to decline because its clashing with year 12 exams. She really really wanted to go to this residential as well. Other unis just do a residential, with the odd online part like UNIQ digital or sutton online, but no, she had to be free all 4 days and the residential.
Cambridge Sutton Trust - Psychology - she did not get in. was not too surprised, after all she does not get free school meals, but postcode is not that great (little village with hardly any shops and all housing thus low employment) so would have hoped to get in with that.
Edge Hill Uni Ormskirk - Psychology. This one she got in for the summer residential in August. Shes looking forward to this. This will be so good for her experience uni life and she has some anxieties, so this will be so beneficial for her. And psychology she loves the alevel course.
Mocks from February, she got Psychology A*, Biology C, Geography C. Biology she re-took the mock in Marh but no results after 6 weeks of doing it. More mocks in June as well, since hey ditched the AS levels at the sixth form.
She was one mark from a B in the Feb biology. I wanted her to challenge it, since her text book says one magnification of a microscope, and it was marked wrong and another magnifcation was written on there. But anxiety, she did not want to cause a fuss bless her.
Shes pretty confident she will get a B or higher. The new topics that are coming she loves. And Geography she knows she can get a B as well. A poorly photocopied map did not help matters much when it came to reading it in the exam.
(edited 1 year ago)
Reading University open day 18/6/2022
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
Original post by Ghostlady
Reading University open day 18/6/2022
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
Hi @Ghostlady,
What a lovely post- we’re so glad you were able to come and visit us and had a good time!
Thank you for leaving such a detailed explanation of your visit as I’m sure this will help many others. Love the photos too!
Good luck to your daughter choosing a place, and we’re here if she has any decision-making questions!
Skye
2nd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student
Original post by Ghostlady
Reading University open day 18/6/2022
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
We set off Friday the 17th of June, the hottest day of the year so far. The plan was to stay at the travelodge Whitley this night, and somehow have dinner at Las iguanas on the friday night at the waterfront in Reading, then open day on the Saturday day. We did not book the table at Las iguanas. It was £5.00 per person if you was a no show, and because we was coming from Nottingham, we did not want to risk hitting the traffic and missing the table and costing us £15.00 for the 3 of us. So instead we was going to turn up and hopefully get a place, if not try elsewhere.
We arrived at the travelodge first. if anyone knows from the previous blog with the eldest, we also review those too lol. Its a definitely no frills travelodge. Its also a spooky travelodge too because the tv had a tendency to turn itself off and on. So we ended up unplugging it in the end. Its also a travelodge which has not had one of the refurbs, so it did reflect in the price. But still comfortable enough to get your head down.
Once dumping our suitcase at the travelodge, we drove to Reading city centre. Thanks for readingmum on TSR who told us about the car park. We did use the riverside car park at the Oracle shopping centre and it was straight forward to use, and easy to get to.
We got to the waterfront and due to the gorgeous weather it was packed. Las Iguanas was full so we ate at Zizzi's instead.
After a nice meal, we wanted to stick around the waterfront, so we got a drink from All bar one and sat outside in the sunshine (daughter got herself a maccy 'ds cola). And we was outside enjoying the singing of a band playing at the beach bar outside until the sun went down.
Following day we got some pastries from Morrisons for breakfast and then got to Reading uni at 9am. We parked in the sports centre car park and parking was free. With lots of helpers along the way we made it to the centre of campus where students usually sit on the grass and hang out in the summer. There was a marquee and we checked in, and daughter got herself a lovely keep cup with llamas on (apparently her name is fifi and she is a real llama associated with the uni)
Our first talk was on biological sciences talk and why study Zoology and Ecology.
Sorry if these come out side ways, but they were taken the right way up with the phone! Before the talk we looked at the cole museum of Zoology and it was facinating seeing all the exhibits. Then a student took us to the Chemistry building next door for that talk and we had to climb four sets of stairs which runs in a double helix which was pretty cool. Graham who did the talk was very enthusiastic and came across very well. We then stuck around the area and went to the Slingo lecture theatre nearby for a mini lecture on venoms and poisons. That too was interesting and to see the phylogenetic tree with all the different types of venomous animals was facinating. We then decided after this point to check out the accommodation. We walked over the friendship bridge leading to Wessex hall/ Bridges Hall and saw some lovely ducks in the lake.
We continued onto Brigdes hall and saw the premium shared accommodation. This one we all liked. Townhouses was not open, but from what we saw from the eldest daughters townhouse in Lancaster, its layout is pretty similar. We also went to Wessex hall. Its not aesthetically pleasing lol I do have to say, but the rooms and kitchens are modern, and next year they are refurbishing the bathrooms. There was times I did think I was back at school with the decor, but from what I saw, it does look like a very sociable halls and if she did choose here, I can definitely see why.
Bridges Hall above
Wessex Hall above
We had dinner. We got a hot dog from the co-op and it was pretty decent. We then made our way back to the Cole museum:
Cole museum above
Cole museum
We checked out the labs and saw some microbes in a microscope and some bugs, then we chatted to students and lecturers about the course, study abroad, and work placements.
We then went to a wildlife and conservation mini lecture before going back to the car and heading home.
This visit has really confused our daughter. Stick Chesters course on Readings Campus and you have a winner. I did give a hypothetical question in the car on the way home and I said, imagine Chester was not there, it no longer exists; would you be happy studying at Reading? and she said yes she would. I think both of these are on a par. She totally loves the campus and the bridge, the ducks, the wildlife and the greenery. Chesters course is more animal behaviour based, but Reading has some elements of that so if she can compromise then Reading is up there. I myself loved Reading. The uni is amazing and feels safe too. I would have liked to have seen a bit more, but we was running out of time. This one is most definitely in the top 5 for the UCAS application
Hi @Ghostlady! Honestly, reading your post really put a smile on my face - I'm so glad you and your daughter enjoyed your time at Reading!
Following on from what Skye said, just to let you know we will be hosting a Zoology and Ecology Taster Day on 12 July, which we would love your daughter to attend if she's available and interested! It'll be a great chance to see a bit more of our campus, and to chat more with staff, current students, and admissions tutors about the course and how studying at Reading could look. We'll be doing a mixture of field-work, laboratory practical classes and seminars on the day about vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, field ecology, mammalian ecology and plant sciences.
I know your daughter's personal statement will be stellar, especially with her residential in August (we're sorry that ours didn't work out with the dates!), and this could be a nice cherry on the top of it, and hopefully will help your daughter to decide which university is right for her! You can sign up for the Taster Day here if you're interested
Lottie
GRTUK and Reading alumna
Original post by UniofReading
Hi @Ghostlady! Honestly, reading your post really put a smile on my face - I'm so glad you and your daughter enjoyed your time at Reading!
Following on from what Skye said, just to let you know we will be hosting a Zoology and Ecology Taster Day on 12 July, which we would love your daughter to attend if she's available and interested! It'll be a great chance to see a bit more of our campus, and to chat more with staff, current students, and admissions tutors about the course and how studying at Reading could look. We'll be doing a mixture of field-work, laboratory practical classes and seminars on the day about vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, field ecology, mammalian ecology and plant sciences.
I know your daughter's personal statement will be stellar, especially with her residential in August (we're sorry that ours didn't work out with the dates!), and this could be a nice cherry on the top of it, and hopefully will help your daughter to decide which university is right for her! You can sign up for the Taster Day here if you're interested
Lottie
GRTUK and Reading alumna
Following on from what Skye said, just to let you know we will be hosting a Zoology and Ecology Taster Day on 12 July, which we would love your daughter to attend if she's available and interested! It'll be a great chance to see a bit more of our campus, and to chat more with staff, current students, and admissions tutors about the course and how studying at Reading could look. We'll be doing a mixture of field-work, laboratory practical classes and seminars on the day about vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, field ecology, mammalian ecology and plant sciences.
I know your daughter's personal statement will be stellar, especially with her residential in August (we're sorry that ours didn't work out with the dates!), and this could be a nice cherry on the top of it, and hopefully will help your daughter to decide which university is right for her! You can sign up for the Taster Day here if you're interested
Lottie
GRTUK and Reading alumna
Original post by UniofReading
Hi @Ghostlady,
What a lovely post- we’re so glad you were able to come and visit us and had a good time!
Thank you for leaving such a detailed explanation of your visit as I’m sure this will help many others. Love the photos too!
Good luck to your daughter choosing a place, and we’re here if she has any decision-making questions!
Skye
2nd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student
What a lovely post- we’re so glad you were able to come and visit us and had a good time!
Thank you for leaving such a detailed explanation of your visit as I’m sure this will help many others. Love the photos too!
Good luck to your daughter choosing a place, and we’re here if she has any decision-making questions!
Skye
2nd Year Speech and Language Therapy Student
Thank you both of you
One of my work colleagues is on annual leave that week in July, so won't be able to get time off to go down to Reading, but we will definitely be coming back for a second visit later this year. I do have a question actually. I know we will have to put towards her accommodation and upkeep which is fine, but I think we might be stretching ourselves at the likes of Childs hall or Mackinder. Bridges Hall Premium pricing would be perfect, so anything around that mark is do able for us maybe even go up to about £6,400-£6,500. How many choices do you have to make when it comes to accommodation?
Some unis I know of have like 7-9 choices which have various prices and not many people can afford to cover all those options, and we also have a budget ourselves, so if its something similar, we wont be able to choose accomodation thats like £7,700.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by Ghostlady
Thank you both of you One of my work colleagues is on annual leave that week in July, so won't be able to get time off to go down to Reading, but we will definitely be coming back for a second visit later this year. I do have a question actually. I know we will have to put towards her accommodation and upkeep which is fine, but I think we might be stretching ourselves at the likes of Childs hall or Mackinder. Bridges Hall Premium pricing would be perfect, so anything around that mark is do able for us maybe even go up to about £6,400-£6,500.
How many choices do you have to make when it comes to accommodation?
Some unis I know of have like 7-9 choices which have various prices and not many people can afford to cover all those options, and we also have a budget ourselves, so if its something similar, we wont be able to choose accomodation thats like £7,700.
One of my work colleagues is on annual leave that week in July, so won't be able to get time off to go down to Reading, but we will definitely be coming back for a second visit later this year. I do have a question actually. I know we will have to put towards her accommodation and upkeep which is fine, but I think we might be stretching ourselves at the likes of Childs hall or Mackinder. Bridges Hall Premium pricing would be perfect, so anything around that mark is do able for us maybe even go up to about £6,400-£6,500. How many choices do you have to make when it comes to accommodation?
Some unis I know of have like 7-9 choices which have various prices and not many people can afford to cover all those options, and we also have a budget ourselves, so if its something similar, we wont be able to choose accomodation thats like £7,700.
Hi @Ghostlady!
That's a shame - but definitely would be great to see you on campus again! We do have our next lot of Open Days on Saturday 8 October and Saturday 15 October which you might like to attend - you can register your interest for that here
In terms of accommodation, we do have around 6 halls in the area of £6,500 (max) per year for 2022-23 (prices for 2023-24 will be available later on in 2022/23 academic year), including Bridges of course! These are various rooms in St.Patricks Hall, Wantage Hall, Sherfield Hall, Wessex Hall (as you saw before!), and St.Georges. Full details of prices can be seen here, and full details of the halls can be seen here in our halls guide. You can choose between 3-5 halls as preferences when you apply to halls, and the accommodation team strive to ensure that everyone gets as close to their top priority as possible! They've also produced a super helpful step-by-step guide to applying to our accommodation, which you can see here (this has become the reply of infinite links!).
I hope this is helpful - do give us a nudge if we can help with anything else!
Lottie
GRTUK and Reading alumna
Little update: were off to Lincoln next week. Very exciting times. Ngl though, a little disappointed at the accommodation options that open to view. They only ones available are like £7.3k or above per year. Now I know there are properties that are in that price range at some unis, but they also show the cheaper end of the spectrum as well.
Considering were on a middle for diddle kind of wage, that means she will get about £6k in maintanance loan. With another uni student to support as well, I do think they should be showing properties that are not as extortionate as those ones and have a better price range, so I dont think we will be looking at any on this visit. That being said, they do have the 360 tours online, and we have seen lots of uni properties which are similar in design over the years so we can kind of gauge what they look like in real time.
On the upside, the course is also right, and the area looks lovely. And we are looking forward to seeing the department as well as the quirky library they have there.
Considering were on a middle for diddle kind of wage, that means she will get about £6k in maintanance loan. With another uni student to support as well, I do think they should be showing properties that are not as extortionate as those ones and have a better price range, so I dont think we will be looking at any on this visit. That being said, they do have the 360 tours online, and we have seen lots of uni properties which are similar in design over the years so we can kind of gauge what they look like in real time.
On the upside, the course is also right, and the area looks lovely. And we are looking forward to seeing the department as well as the quirky library they have there.
Original post by Ghostlady
Little update: were off to Lincoln next week. Very exciting times. Ngl though, a little disappointed at the accommodation options that open to view. They only ones available are like £7.3k or above per year. Now I know there are properties that are in that price range at some unis, but they also show the cheaper end of the spectrum as well.
Considering were on a middle for diddle kind of wage, that means she will get about £6k in maintanance loan. With another uni student to support as well, I do think they should be showing properties that are not as extortionate as those ones and have a better price range, so I dont think we will be looking at any on this visit. That being said, they do have the 360 tours online, and we have seen lots of uni properties which are similar in design over the years so we can kind of gauge what they look like in real time.
On the upside, the course is also right, and the area looks lovely. And we are looking forward to seeing the department as well as the quirky library they have there.
Considering were on a middle for diddle kind of wage, that means she will get about £6k in maintanance loan. With another uni student to support as well, I do think they should be showing properties that are not as extortionate as those ones and have a better price range, so I dont think we will be looking at any on this visit. That being said, they do have the 360 tours online, and we have seen lots of uni properties which are similar in design over the years so we can kind of gauge what they look like in real time.
On the upside, the course is also right, and the area looks lovely. And we are looking forward to seeing the department as well as the quirky library they have there.
Hi @Ghostlady,
It is great to hear that you are coming to visit Lincoln in the next few days we look forward to warmly welcoming you to Campus.
We're sorry that we have only been able to show a limited amount of accommodation at the Open Day out of the huge range we have available at the University of Lincoln. This is largely where our student residents are still on site and living in these accommodation blocks that do not have dedicated show flats which can make it difficult to show visiting guests. All our accommodation blocks are very similar in their look and feel it is simply the sizes of the apartments and the number of students sharing that tend to vary. Like you have pointed out we do have a wide range of accommodation tours on our website and if you chat to our accommodation team during your visit they may have other suggests for how you can get a real feel for the accommodation we have to offer.
Best of luck!
Megan
Y3 BA Education Student
Lincoln Uni Open day July 2022
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by Ghostlady
Lincoln Uni Open day July 2022
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
Love your uni visit blogs! Very informative and detailed, it’s such a headspin looking at all the modules, accommodation, city, campus etc and your take on the unis are a good read.
Original post by Maddie57
Love your uni visit blogs! Very informative and detailed, it’s such a headspin looking at all the modules, accommodation, city, campus etc and your take on the unis are a good read.
thanks ive also got leeds/ lancaster /oxford/ York and leicester on a blog with the eldest. shes at uni now, so they are a coupld of years old.
Original post by Ghostlady
Lincoln Uni Open day July 2022
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
What a gorgeous day to go! Only an hour and 10 mins, this was the closest uni out of all the ones we have seen with the youngest/eldest. So no need for travelodge this time.
Got there for half past nine and car parking spaces were filling fast. By the time it got to about ten past ten we heard all the spaces had been gone. So if you want a free parking space on open day, get there early. The talk for Animal behavior and welfare was not until 12pm, so we had some free time and we decided to do a campus tour. We dropped the little yellow man on google maps, and it gets you so far, however with the brayford, and the train tracks it was difficult on google to get an idea of where everything was, so a campus tour was very much worth it. The student there was taking psychology and she was super helpful, pointing out all the buildings.
The bridge above here was lovely. Its got a great view of the cathedral, and also the bridge in the distance which crosses the train tracks is nicknamed the stegasaurus bridge because of its shape at the top. We crossed over this bridge and then walked down the length of the Brayford to the Minerva building, Enroute was geese and ducks, which is always a winner with the youngest. We loved the Minerva building, its light and airy and we did noticed the cafe did paninis' another little win. We then went past Cygnet wharf, accommodation, and then inside a tunnel under a bridge which led to 'Courts', which is another set of accommodation. This accommodaton is one she would be interested in, as well as Valentines. We then headed to the Arts bridge which then takes you back over to the other side of the train tracks. We had some time to kill so we headed over to the library.
The library is not as big as other librarys we had seen, but there is a Library in the medical school also as well as. It is quite quirky on the outside this library and looks like an old mill of sorts which is fun.
We then went to the Ross Lucas Medical sciences building for the subject talk. The talk lasted about 45 mins. The guy who was talking was very engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Youngest however was not as keen. It was animal behaviour and welfare, but it was more set up for the likes of domesticated animals and farm animals, as opposed to zoo. We then looked at the Zoology course here and it was more geared up for zoo, but the title of the course ''Animal behaviour'' was the bit that won her over and thats why she picked it, thinking it was animal behaviour of zoo and wildlife animals such as Chesters. So lesson learned, never go for a subject title when looking at unis, since some courses have the same title but modules are different.
Overall this uni is still very strong in contention. The uni itself is in the city, but its not like it was like overwhelming such as the bigger cities of Manchester or London. Coming from a village she shared she would feel lost in a bigger city, so Lincoln and Chester are just about right. Accommodation, take your pick from private and uni owned here, all close by. The student union, the bars and and Engine shed club is also another bonus. Having to sit near the brayford at the Swan, or the Teepees all lit up at night, very cute. We do agree on living here she would be happy and the uni lifestyle she would love here also. I really wished we had chosen the right course. Zoology talk was on an hour earlier so we missed it, but looking at the modules on the website, we think that one would be much better suited and it will be that course that she will be put on the UCAS.
Hi!
I am so glad you enjoyed your open day with us! I was in a similar situation to your daughter, I had moved from a very small village into a city and did not want to be too overwhelmed. I found Lincoln was the perfect mix of modern and old too, it was not too overwhelming and had modern elements that all cities have. The old architecture up Steep Hill and the Cathedral Quarter is stunning, I'm not sure if you got a chance to visit but I would definitely recommend taking the trip up there!
If you have any questions about the Zoology course we have a selection of UniBuddy ambassadors on our chat with us section of our website. These will be able to answer any course-related questions you may have as well as general questions to do with applying for university. Link: https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/chatwithourstudents/
Good Luck and Best Wishes!
Trinity
2nd Year Politics and Sociology
Original post by Ghostlady
thanks ive also got leeds/ lancaster /oxford/ York and leicester on a blog with the eldest. shes at uni now, so they are a coupld of years old.
I have really enjoyed all your blogs - very helpful as youngest daughter is a year behind yours. She is now leaning towards neuroscience but hasn't ruled out zoology, so we are going to an open day at Manchester in October where she can have a look at both.
Original post by Darkarchivist
I have really enjoyed all your blogs - very helpful as youngest daughter is a year behind yours. She is now leaning towards neuroscience but hasn't ruled out zoology, so we are going to an open day at Manchester in October where she can have a look at both.
Very nice. You may have to do a blog on Manchester
Eldest is looking at there for one of her options for phd We did look at Manchester for zoology, but she had to do another hard science on top of Biology such as physics or chemistry which she doesnt like, so she had to rule it out unfortunately. If shes looking at more the city unis then Leeds might also be good one to look at as they do both courses too
Campus uni, Reading does psychology with neuroscience and zoology.(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by Ghostlady
Very nice. You may have to do a blog on Manchester Eldest is looking at there for one of her options for phd
We did look at Manchester for zoology, but she had to do another hard science on top of Biology such as physics or chemistry which she doesnt like, so she had to rule it out unfortunately. If shes looking at more the city unis then Leeds might also be good one to look at as they do both courses too Campus uni, Reading does psychology with neuroscience and zoology.
Eldest is looking at there for one of her options for phd We did look at Manchester for zoology, but she had to do another hard science on top of Biology such as physics or chemistry which she doesnt like, so she had to rule it out unfortunately. If shes looking at more the city unis then Leeds might also be good one to look at as they do both courses too
Campus uni, Reading does psychology with neuroscience and zoology.I think she is fairly open minded about a city or a campus uni. One of her older sisters went to Leeds and was very happy there. I think youngest would probably rather go somewhere different to her sister though hasn't ruled out looking at Leeds. She knows the campus and accommodation, but as her sister was a linguist she doesn't have any sense of what science is like there. At the moment she is very keen on the idea of Edinburgh. She loves the city and we had a mooch round the uni and the science campus when we were there earlier in the year. However, it would mean a 4 year degree and Edinburgh insist on both biology and chemistry A levels for both biological sciences (zoology) and biomedical (neuroscience). She is a bit unsure about the chemistry - she finds maths easier, but chemistry would give her more options. She will start the year with both maths and chemistry, alongside biology and psychology, but will need to drop one after a few weeks, so decisions have to be made!
I think Manchester's website says that they will allow psychology as a second science A level for zoology, but they ask for a higher grade than if you have a second hard science?
Original post by Darkarchivist
I think she is fairly open minded about a city or a campus uni. One of her older sisters went to Leeds and was very happy there. I think youngest would probably rather go somewhere different to her sister though hasn't ruled out looking at Leeds. She knows the campus and accommodation, but as her sister was a linguist she doesn't have any sense of what science is like there. At the moment she is very keen on the idea of Edinburgh. She loves the city and we had a mooch round the uni and the science campus when we were there earlier in the year. However, it would mean a 4 year degree and Edinburgh insist on both biology and chemistry A levels for both biological sciences (zoology) and biomedical (neuroscience). She is a bit unsure about the chemistry - she finds maths easier, but chemistry would give her more options. She will start the year with both maths and chemistry, alongside biology and psychology, but will need to drop one after a few weeks, so decisions have to be made!
I think Manchester's website says that they will allow psychology as a second science A level for zoology, but they ask for a higher grade than if you have a second hard science?
I think Manchester's website says that they will allow psychology as a second science A level for zoology, but they ask for a higher grade than if you have a second hard science?
True thats right if you have higher grades you can look at a secondary science. Shes not quite hitting there yet, her geography needs to come up. And similar sort of thing, she likes lancaster, but her sister is there, so shes not sure whether she wants to go to the same uni lol.
Eldest did 4 alevels. She did Maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry and an EPQ. It was mad. She nearly dropped FM early on, and then was going to drop Chemistry after her AS level, but she kept them on. It was such hard work for her and was very stressful.
Youngest did not want to go down that route and took 3 and EPQ and found that much easier. She has a Wednesday afternoon off and one Thursday a fortnight she doesnt have to go in until afternoon , wheres her older sister was there full time. So she has that extra time to study, and its worked out much better. Shes finished her EPQ now, so has year 13 to concentrate on the 3 alevels.
I know that Reading if you do well in your EPQ it can contribute as a contexual offer. Its currently BBB and shes done an EPQ thats related, so its a good help. Ive noticed that zoology and animal behaviour have similar modules and some different. Like some contain biochemistry, and others dont. Some are more on animal behviour, others are more pets and welfare, Hartpury is more geared to farm animals. It has taken a bit of digging around to find the right courses to suit.
Original post by Ghostlady
True thats right if you have higher grades you can look at a secondary science. Shes not quite hitting there yet, her geography needs to come up. And similar sort of thing, she likes lancaster, but her sister is there, so shes not sure whether she wants to go to the same uni lol.
Eldest did 4 alevels. She did Maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry and an EPQ. It was mad. She nearly dropped FM early on, and then was going to drop Chemistry after her AS level, but she kept them on. It was such hard work for her and was very stressful.
Youngest did not want to go down that route and took 3 and EPQ and found that much easier. She has a Wednesday afternoon off and one Thursday a fortnight she doesnt have to go in until afternoon , wheres her older sister was there full time. So she has that extra time to study, and its worked out much better. Shes finished her EPQ now, so has year 13 to concentrate on the 3 alevels.
I know that Reading if you do well in your EPQ it can contribute as a contexual offer. Its currently BBB and shes done an EPQ thats related, so its a good help. Ive noticed that zoology and animal behaviour have similar modules and some different. Like some contain biochemistry, and others dont. Some are more on animal behviour, others are more pets and welfare, Hartpury is more geared to farm animals. It has taken a bit of digging around to find the right courses to suit.
Eldest did 4 alevels. She did Maths, FM, Physics and Chemistry and an EPQ. It was mad. She nearly dropped FM early on, and then was going to drop Chemistry after her AS level, but she kept them on. It was such hard work for her and was very stressful.
Youngest did not want to go down that route and took 3 and EPQ and found that much easier. She has a Wednesday afternoon off and one Thursday a fortnight she doesnt have to go in until afternoon , wheres her older sister was there full time. So she has that extra time to study, and its worked out much better. Shes finished her EPQ now, so has year 13 to concentrate on the 3 alevels.
I know that Reading if you do well in your EPQ it can contribute as a contexual offer. Its currently BBB and shes done an EPQ thats related, so its a good help. Ive noticed that zoology and animal behaviour have similar modules and some different. Like some contain biochemistry, and others dont. Some are more on animal behviour, others are more pets and welfare, Hartpury is more geared to farm animals. It has taken a bit of digging around to find the right courses to suit.
Four A levels is tough, especially sciences! Daughter's school doesn't have the option of an EPQ but they are offering AS maths as an extra over two years and she is thinking of doing that if she sticks with chemistry. It won't count towards her uni offer, but that means no stressing about the grade and the extra maths would probably help with the chemistry. I'm hoping that actually seeing what the neuroscience and zoology courses entail at Manchester will help her to get clearer in her mind which direction she wants to go in. Some places are better for one than the other, but Manchester looks to be pretty good for both so it should be a fair comparison.
Original post by Darkarchivist
Four A levels is tough, especially sciences! Daughter's school doesn't have the option of an EPQ but they are offering AS maths as an extra over two years and she is thinking of doing that if she sticks with chemistry. It won't count towards her uni offer, but that means no stressing about the grade and the extra maths would probably help with the chemistry. I'm hoping that actually seeing what the neuroscience and zoology courses entail at Manchester will help her to get clearer in her mind which direction she wants to go in. Some places are better for one than the other, but Manchester looks to be pretty good for both so it should be a fair comparison.
PRSOM
For both daughters we visited unis in both years 12 and 13. All of youngest daughter's friends have left it until September so for them it would be one mad rush to see at least 5 unis, not to mention expensive if you have hotels to fork out for too. You will have to keep me updated as to how she gets on and which course she eventually goes for Bangor Open Day 9th of October 2022.
Final uni visit. A week before we looked at the travelodges in the area. There is one on the A55/A5 junction at the services, but it was about £30 more than the one about 25 mins drive in Colwyn Bay. So for the money we saved booking Colwyn bay went on dinner the evening we stayed there.
Colwyn Bay travelodge does have its parking in the Bay view shopping centre car park and they do sort out your ticket so you get parking for free. The Saturday night we ordered uber eats pizza from a local takeaway and watched strictly on TV. Sunday morning we was up for 7am and arrived in Bangor by 8.40am. We put in Science Campus Deiniol Road postcode and the sat nav took us to Junction 10 of the A55 instead of the earlier junction of 11. This does take you to the temporary park and ride. However, on the way there was also yellow signs for the university which we ended up following instead and it took us straight to the univeristy main building. There are also two car parks there and if you get there early enough, then you will get a space. I would always say if you are going to a an open day, to get there early so you get parking.
We registered and went through the main building. It is like Oxbridge:
The corridors inside are arched, similar to hogwarts, which did please our daughter who is a huge fan of Harry Potter. A slight walk down the corridor and down the stairs led you to the Pontio centre:
This is where they had the Biology/Zoology talk. And this time not only the lecturer gave you a talk, the students did as well which was nice. Trips such as Florida, Uganda, Spain and India did grab her attention. The pontio also has a bar and a cinema as well as lecture theatres and hang out areas.
Then we came out of the pontio and went to the Brambell Building:
Brambell is the natural sciences building. We went into the labs, and there was stands there all with different courses. Zoology, Zoology with animal behaviour, Zoology with ornithology, Zoology with Herpetology, Zoology with Primatology. One thing we liked is after first year, if you wanted to change course to Zoology with something else you could. We also spoke to a student helper and he was very helpful. Also if she wanted to do a 4th year masters to add on as a research project she could. We also went to the Natural Science Museum on the second floor which had lots of skeletons and taxidermy animals. Me personally find the taxidermy a little creepy, but as museums go, from what I know they usually get given to museums and are many years old. After the Brambell building, we then went back up to the top of the pontio and took some nice shots of Bangor and the bay.
We then caught the complimentary bus to the ffriddoedd village student accommodation. Accommodation is all ensuite in the village and the one we visited was a flat of 8. There was also a Bar and a sports centre there. Would loved to have chance to visit that but it was a whistle stop tour, so got escorted back onto the coach. We did drive on the top part of Bangor where some shops were, past a Morrisons and a pancake cafe.
This was the surprise entry. At one point the weather was looking iffy and it was debatable whether we should go or not. I think if we had not have gone, she would have put this as her 5 but not ranked it as highly, so I'm so glad we went because she loved it.
So as it stands this is how its going:
First Reading University
Insurance Chester/ Bangor. (we will be going back to Chester in November as we didnt see much in ways of accommodation)
Both the others are still up there but one is ambitious entrance grades, and the other is good too, but wrong choice of course when attending the talk so will be changing it to something more suitable.
So hopefully get to see Chester in November again to see more of the accommodation so watch this space
Final uni visit. A week before we looked at the travelodges in the area. There is one on the A55/A5 junction at the services, but it was about £30 more than the one about 25 mins drive in Colwyn Bay. So for the money we saved booking Colwyn bay went on dinner the evening we stayed there.
Colwyn Bay travelodge does have its parking in the Bay view shopping centre car park and they do sort out your ticket so you get parking for free. The Saturday night we ordered uber eats pizza from a local takeaway and watched strictly on TV. Sunday morning we was up for 7am and arrived in Bangor by 8.40am. We put in Science Campus Deiniol Road postcode and the sat nav took us to Junction 10 of the A55 instead of the earlier junction of 11. This does take you to the temporary park and ride. However, on the way there was also yellow signs for the university which we ended up following instead and it took us straight to the univeristy main building. There are also two car parks there and if you get there early enough, then you will get a space. I would always say if you are going to a an open day, to get there early so you get parking.
We registered and went through the main building. It is like Oxbridge:
The corridors inside are arched, similar to hogwarts, which did please our daughter who is a huge fan of Harry Potter. A slight walk down the corridor and down the stairs led you to the Pontio centre:
This is where they had the Biology/Zoology talk. And this time not only the lecturer gave you a talk, the students did as well which was nice. Trips such as Florida, Uganda, Spain and India did grab her attention. The pontio also has a bar and a cinema as well as lecture theatres and hang out areas.
Then we came out of the pontio and went to the Brambell Building:
Brambell is the natural sciences building. We went into the labs, and there was stands there all with different courses. Zoology, Zoology with animal behaviour, Zoology with ornithology, Zoology with Herpetology, Zoology with Primatology. One thing we liked is after first year, if you wanted to change course to Zoology with something else you could. We also spoke to a student helper and he was very helpful. Also if she wanted to do a 4th year masters to add on as a research project she could. We also went to the Natural Science Museum on the second floor which had lots of skeletons and taxidermy animals. Me personally find the taxidermy a little creepy, but as museums go, from what I know they usually get given to museums and are many years old. After the Brambell building, we then went back up to the top of the pontio and took some nice shots of Bangor and the bay.
We then caught the complimentary bus to the ffriddoedd village student accommodation. Accommodation is all ensuite in the village and the one we visited was a flat of 8. There was also a Bar and a sports centre there. Would loved to have chance to visit that but it was a whistle stop tour, so got escorted back onto the coach. We did drive on the top part of Bangor where some shops were, past a Morrisons and a pancake cafe.
This was the surprise entry. At one point the weather was looking iffy and it was debatable whether we should go or not. I think if we had not have gone, she would have put this as her 5 but not ranked it as highly, so I'm so glad we went because she loved it.
So as it stands this is how its going:
First Reading University
Insurance Chester/ Bangor. (we will be going back to Chester in November as we didnt see much in ways of accommodation)
Both the others are still up there but one is ambitious entrance grades, and the other is good too, but wrong choice of course when attending the talk so will be changing it to something more suitable.
So hopefully get to see Chester in November again to see more of the accommodation so watch this space
Chester Uni 2nd Visit November 2022
We booked for another visit to Chester uni. It was holding spot number 2 before Bangor came along, and we only saw the Towpath accommodation last year (Holly bank was advertised but closed last time). We wanted to see more accommodation this time to see what its like because it is a deal breaker.
Couple of niggles to get out the way first. We cant sugar coat this one. Its important. Everyone has their own views and unfortunately this was ours.
The uni sends a programme a few days before. Last time they advertised what accommodation was open, but not this time. I emails and asks the uni, do you have the list of accommodation thats open. Reply was ''Unfortunately, we cannot promise exactly what accommodation will be available to view as sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, the options have to be changed.''
Considering im coming all the way from Nottingham to Chester just to see some accommodation that may or may not be open is not really on!. We was fortunate to see some we liked, but what if only the ones were open that we did not want to see? We would have had a trek for nothing.
Secondly. She did not want catered, she does not want same sex accommodation, and she does not want studios. So we looked on line and saw Parkgate road houses. Looked pretty nice. Plus hoping to try and get Holly bank again.So we hoped they would be open after travelling all that way there.
Gets to check in on registration and goes to accommodation stand upstairs in the Seabourne Library (librarys lovely btw). Hollybank is advertised on their flyer same as before, but surprise surprise its shut yet again two years on the trot. Parkgate houses were open, yaay. So we queues up awaiting the tour. Gets into the house, only to be told its same sex accommodation!. Chester does not advertise this on their website. What is it with having loads of same sex accommodation? Daughter does not want to be put with a group of all girls. 'Too much drama' she says (her opinion). Seriously Chester uni, buck your ideas up. Advertise correctly on your website whats what. Does make me wonder why the same sex self catered accommodation and studios are always open and not the self catered mixed is not open two years in a row???????
Plus Parkgate houses were pretty grim. Victorian houses could have done with a lick of paint and the yellow walls with burgandy touches were depressing. Definitely one for using posters to dress up the room.. There was two houses of Parkgate to show as well. We gave up after the first one. Once the student on the tour told us it was same sex, we did not want to know. Only thing id say good about Parkgate is the price £99 per week. So if you want cheap and on a budget then Parkgate is worth it, but definitely dress it up
So at this point we were scratching our heads like hmm come all this way for nothing..................................
Only other option is Grosvenor house studios. Hubby had been pushing this one for sometime. He wants her to be on campus from a safety perspective, but with very little accommodation choices that suit her needs daughter and I was relcutant to go and see it. Plus I had been reading the student crowd website reviews. ''Its really lonely' ,''common room too small'' ''no where to mingle and make friends''. Its really worrying especially after her going to Edgehill summer school and loving a mixed flat accommodation and making friends after just a few days. I needed to go and ask someone. Someone who had been there. I did find that someone. And that someone said its not bad. 'keep your door open' 'knock on peoples doors to say hi','hang out in the corridors'. Basically if you want to make friends make the effort. Do not bury our head in the sand and have your door shut all the time you are there.
Grosvenor House above.
So gives it the benefit of the doubt and wow the room is amazing. Has a little kitchenette and the bathroom is just top notch. Plus a 3/4 bed as well and plenty of room. huge wardrobe too and the little window seat is lovely. The corridors. Are enormous. You can hang out in the corridors with a projector, play games,have enough room to have a christmas dinner. Its like three times the width of a normal uni flat corridor. She was impressed. Yes its a bit more expensive, but for the modern facilities and the corridors being used as a social space it was worth it. Daughter knows she has to make the effort to say hi, and no mention of same sex either. Im thinking already about investing in a bean bag lol.
So as far as on campus goes, Grosvenor house is the best one on campus. But, she would be having this as insurance so accommodation is not guaranteed......... We need to see more.
Back at the accommodation desk we was told that Tudor Place they think is open, but not sure about Abbeygate. These are partnership accommodation that are not on site, but about 10 mins walk way down the main road. Towpath last year was lovely but a little bit too far on a cold dark night on your own after being on a night out.
Gets to Tudor place (ps Chester again update your website because it says Tudor is own by fresh student living when its not anymore. Its owned by Collgiate AC group).
The guy who welcomes us is very friendly. He shows us everywhere. The cinema room, the gym, the study space, the gardens, one of the gold rooms (standard, bronze, silver, gold, platinum + studios are the choices) and the kitchens. Wow, just wow amazing. And very secure as well.
He also took her details and took into consideration that she does not want a quiet flat and to be placed with 1st years on the form. He also said that the uni gives out the standard and bronzes mainly, but should she not get the accommodation allocation she wants come post results day, she should call him directly and ask if there are and Silvers and Gold left for first years and if they are some, to book directly with Collegiate AC and with him, and to then turn down the accommodation offer at Chester and not sign the contract.
Gold are £163pw for 44 week. The Standard and Bronzes are in the 140's.
Amazing. So helpful.
Now after that, we walks around the corner to Abbeygate.
Abbeygate was shut, but we now know how far it is away from the uni. We have seen photos on line and the kitchens and living areas are similar to Tudor but more in length ways than width wise. Still looks pretty modern. So we think we finally have her choices.
Tudor Place 1st
Grosvenor House 2nd
Abbey Gate 3rd
Towpath 4th.
Possibly Hollybank as a 5th.
We walks back to the uni, being glad we saw two accommodations we like. One unexpected studio that we was going to give a miss, and a partnership accommodation which is a short walk and on the same road as the uni.
Its pretty nice to know that should she not get the accommodation she wants, that going privately direct is another option.
Thats daughter walking back to the car towards the Westminster and Downes building with her dad.
So we have a discussion about everything we have seen. Mainly about Chester and Bangor, because accommodation wise, Chester beat Bangor. It came down to the fact at Bangor shes not allowed to bring a toasty maker, and the kitchen dining area we saw was pretty tiny, not a place she could play movies with friends as she envisioned. She loved Bangor and Chester and what they had to offer for the course, and the city, but for these two accommodation was a deal breaker.
Lincoln did not have any accommodation that was cheap enough that was open. They was all expensive and the course talk we saw was not the right one. It was all geared up for RSPCA, or pets or farm animals, and not zoo animals. Animal behaviour at Chester is zoo, but animal behaviour at Lincoln was not, Zoology was. Lincoln uni itself though is very pretty and she liked walking round.
Lancaster is AAB, its pretty close considering her predicted grades are just that AAB. And her sister goes to Lancaster. Always wanting to be different, Lancaster went down the order, although she does love the uni and been there enough times and likes it.
Reading. Green, lush, modern, and teaching and the talk was excellent. City is lovely too. Readings downside is accommodation is pricey, but they do have options that are more affordable than others.
So the order is this:
Reading uni
Chester Uni
Bangor Uni
Lincoln Uni
Lancaster Uni
Shes just got two more references to get and personal statement needs to be proof read for the second time, so hopefully the teacher will crack on with it and get it done soon.
We booked for another visit to Chester uni. It was holding spot number 2 before Bangor came along, and we only saw the Towpath accommodation last year (Holly bank was advertised but closed last time). We wanted to see more accommodation this time to see what its like because it is a deal breaker.
Couple of niggles to get out the way first. We cant sugar coat this one. Its important. Everyone has their own views and unfortunately this was ours.
The uni sends a programme a few days before. Last time they advertised what accommodation was open, but not this time. I emails and asks the uni, do you have the list of accommodation thats open. Reply was ''Unfortunately, we cannot promise exactly what accommodation will be available to view as sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, the options have to be changed.''
Considering im coming all the way from Nottingham to Chester just to see some accommodation that may or may not be open is not really on!. We was fortunate to see some we liked, but what if only the ones were open that we did not want to see? We would have had a trek for nothing.
Secondly. She did not want catered, she does not want same sex accommodation, and she does not want studios. So we looked on line and saw Parkgate road houses. Looked pretty nice. Plus hoping to try and get Holly bank again.So we hoped they would be open after travelling all that way there.
Gets to check in on registration and goes to accommodation stand upstairs in the Seabourne Library (librarys lovely btw). Hollybank is advertised on their flyer same as before, but surprise surprise its shut yet again two years on the trot. Parkgate houses were open, yaay. So we queues up awaiting the tour. Gets into the house, only to be told its same sex accommodation!. Chester does not advertise this on their website. What is it with having loads of same sex accommodation? Daughter does not want to be put with a group of all girls. 'Too much drama' she says (her opinion). Seriously Chester uni, buck your ideas up. Advertise correctly on your website whats what. Does make me wonder why the same sex self catered accommodation and studios are always open and not the self catered mixed is not open two years in a row???????
Plus Parkgate houses were pretty grim. Victorian houses could have done with a lick of paint and the yellow walls with burgandy touches were depressing. Definitely one for using posters to dress up the room.. There was two houses of Parkgate to show as well. We gave up after the first one. Once the student on the tour told us it was same sex, we did not want to know. Only thing id say good about Parkgate is the price £99 per week. So if you want cheap and on a budget then Parkgate is worth it, but definitely dress it up
So at this point we were scratching our heads like hmm come all this way for nothing..................................
Only other option is Grosvenor house studios. Hubby had been pushing this one for sometime. He wants her to be on campus from a safety perspective, but with very little accommodation choices that suit her needs daughter and I was relcutant to go and see it. Plus I had been reading the student crowd website reviews. ''Its really lonely' ,''common room too small'' ''no where to mingle and make friends''. Its really worrying especially after her going to Edgehill summer school and loving a mixed flat accommodation and making friends after just a few days. I needed to go and ask someone. Someone who had been there. I did find that someone. And that someone said its not bad. 'keep your door open' 'knock on peoples doors to say hi','hang out in the corridors'. Basically if you want to make friends make the effort. Do not bury our head in the sand and have your door shut all the time you are there.
Grosvenor House above.
So gives it the benefit of the doubt and wow the room is amazing. Has a little kitchenette and the bathroom is just top notch. Plus a 3/4 bed as well and plenty of room. huge wardrobe too and the little window seat is lovely. The corridors. Are enormous. You can hang out in the corridors with a projector, play games,have enough room to have a christmas dinner. Its like three times the width of a normal uni flat corridor. She was impressed. Yes its a bit more expensive, but for the modern facilities and the corridors being used as a social space it was worth it. Daughter knows she has to make the effort to say hi, and no mention of same sex either. Im thinking already about investing in a bean bag lol.
So as far as on campus goes, Grosvenor house is the best one on campus. But, she would be having this as insurance so accommodation is not guaranteed......... We need to see more.
Back at the accommodation desk we was told that Tudor Place they think is open, but not sure about Abbeygate. These are partnership accommodation that are not on site, but about 10 mins walk way down the main road. Towpath last year was lovely but a little bit too far on a cold dark night on your own after being on a night out.
Gets to Tudor place (ps Chester again update your website because it says Tudor is own by fresh student living when its not anymore. Its owned by Collgiate AC group).
The guy who welcomes us is very friendly. He shows us everywhere. The cinema room, the gym, the study space, the gardens, one of the gold rooms (standard, bronze, silver, gold, platinum + studios are the choices) and the kitchens. Wow, just wow amazing. And very secure as well.
He also took her details and took into consideration that she does not want a quiet flat and to be placed with 1st years on the form. He also said that the uni gives out the standard and bronzes mainly, but should she not get the accommodation allocation she wants come post results day, she should call him directly and ask if there are and Silvers and Gold left for first years and if they are some, to book directly with Collegiate AC and with him, and to then turn down the accommodation offer at Chester and not sign the contract.
Gold are £163pw for 44 week. The Standard and Bronzes are in the 140's.
Amazing. So helpful.
Now after that, we walks around the corner to Abbeygate.
Abbeygate was shut, but we now know how far it is away from the uni. We have seen photos on line and the kitchens and living areas are similar to Tudor but more in length ways than width wise. Still looks pretty modern. So we think we finally have her choices.
Tudor Place 1st
Grosvenor House 2nd
Abbey Gate 3rd
Towpath 4th.
Possibly Hollybank as a 5th.
We walks back to the uni, being glad we saw two accommodations we like. One unexpected studio that we was going to give a miss, and a partnership accommodation which is a short walk and on the same road as the uni.
Its pretty nice to know that should she not get the accommodation she wants, that going privately direct is another option.
Thats daughter walking back to the car towards the Westminster and Downes building with her dad.
So we have a discussion about everything we have seen. Mainly about Chester and Bangor, because accommodation wise, Chester beat Bangor. It came down to the fact at Bangor shes not allowed to bring a toasty maker, and the kitchen dining area we saw was pretty tiny, not a place she could play movies with friends as she envisioned. She loved Bangor and Chester and what they had to offer for the course, and the city, but for these two accommodation was a deal breaker.
Lincoln did not have any accommodation that was cheap enough that was open. They was all expensive and the course talk we saw was not the right one. It was all geared up for RSPCA, or pets or farm animals, and not zoo animals. Animal behaviour at Chester is zoo, but animal behaviour at Lincoln was not, Zoology was. Lincoln uni itself though is very pretty and she liked walking round.
Lancaster is AAB, its pretty close considering her predicted grades are just that AAB. And her sister goes to Lancaster. Always wanting to be different, Lancaster went down the order, although she does love the uni and been there enough times and likes it.
Reading. Green, lush, modern, and teaching and the talk was excellent. City is lovely too. Readings downside is accommodation is pricey, but they do have options that are more affordable than others.
So the order is this:
Reading uni
Chester Uni
Bangor Uni
Lincoln Uni
Lancaster Uni
Shes just got two more references to get and personal statement needs to be proof read for the second time, so hopefully the teacher will crack on with it and get it done soon.
(edited 1 year ago)
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