Hey guys,
So after recently completing my degree in May, I feel it is always important for others to know about your experience. I have spoken about it in a video but as I've moved out the area, I'm willing to talk about the University so as you all know.
*Before I begin, I don't want my review to persuade you otherwise of this particular University, but unfortunately not all experience are good. I also don't want this to come off as callous or scathing the reputation of the University, because not all my experiences were bad. I don't want admin from the University reading this and tutting because a student gave a honest account of what happened. As I mentioned EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCES ARE DIFFERENT. I'm in no way discrediting the University and instead want to give an open, honest, frank account. If this offends anyone please contact me.*
The University I went to was in Chichester, a small quiet town with not much in the way of clubbing or a social life. Still, it was nice- the rent was extremely high which is expected for a more affluent area. I immediately had to find a job and luckily I met some of the best people at Superdrug, who were so welcoming. Without my job I would have been struggling to pay for the endless text books, some of which were only used for one lesson- please be careful of this; as prices for books aren't as much sold on. The university from the outside was nice, a bit smaller than expected but nice.
In my first year I stayed on site in rented accommodation. I just want to disclose that as you may know I have dyslexia and dyspraxia, I feel in no way is this a hindrance to me or even a "disability". So imagine parking up on a wet, miserable day with a hundred other students, at the back end of a car park, having to walk 10 minutes back and forth with all my stuff. This was the first sign that organisation wasn't at it's finest, which is a shame because I wanted to have a good start. Some students were parking even further back! So back to my "disability" I was placed in what largely became know on campus as the "disabled block" by other students. I found it so hard to make friends because everyone had either trouble socialising, or just didn't want to necessary know. I wanted to have other English students to talk to, but the only one I met was my flatmate. I felt so isolated and cast out when living within this environment. I struggle to make friends too, so could have used a leader authority to help with this. I know what the University was trying to do, but I feel students could have been mixed in, rather than secluded.
However, I was lucky to make new friends and made two really good friends in first year. We had a massive party that got us into lots of trouble, but I apologised and realised this wasn't a frat house. They both affected me massively in different ways, and one I stayed good friends with until we simply just drifted apart.
So the course began, first year was easy enough but I still wanted to try hard and get 40%. I wasn't really into going out, but still went out with my other friend- let's called her Rose. So Rose and I would go out, have fun and enjoy being a student. I desperately craved a society though where I could just read, write and have conversation. There was no English society. We set one up though in my course, but it fell through in a few months due to a lack of interest. I found Grammar the hardest, I felt that if you didn't understand, you weren't going to be helped. I tried to get the complexity of it, but being dyslexic only made it worse.
I was offered a free computer and a Dictaphone, but could never work the dam thing. Support was offered from an outside company but they never said that I could go to someone in University, rather suggest inconvenient hours. I had to get assessed too, despite my family getting my privately assessed. When talking about my needs, I said I find it hard to interact with other students and form my words, "that's not to do with dyspraxia or dyslexia!" he snapped at me. I felt distraught and felt completely misunderstood by someone I thought would offer advice.
After first year me and Rose had a massive row over differences in moving, we never spoke again. In many ways I feel like this taught me a lot, to be a stronger person and stand up for yourself. It taught me the true value of friendship.
So second year, the options weren't fantastic and I picked something I thought might vaguely interest me. I feel like this year was the year I really lost out on my 2.1, because they were offering nothing that I remember reading on the prospectus. American Writers? No. American Drama? No. It felt like a knife in my chest, to realize that these modules were no longer on the curriculum. So I settled for things I thought I'd do well in. I didn't do as well as expected, mainly because I wasn't as interested as I could have been. The creative writing was the best bit about University, and without this I feel like I would never have done well. I felt that nothing was ever explained in depth, it was either you get it or you don't.
Third year was even worse, I was told that I had picked "21st Century Literature." GREAT. I thought, something I'll absolutely love and dive into. The day the lecture came, I was told that 21st Century Lit was no longer a course, I was doing psychoanalysis. How could I do this subject when it was something I really hadn't enjoyed before. Why would they think this was a good choice? I felt distraught and let down by the University, as were other students. The rest of the subjects I tried my best to engage in. The teachers sometimes just showed powerpoints, which I could have looked at in my bedroom. The notes I wrote in my lectures sometimes weren't even related to the exams and assessments I sat. I didn't understand how being told that Lewis Carroll was a paedophile the whole lecture, would help the exam question on him. It just felt like it lacked any sense, shouldn't we as students be briefly looking at the affect of the author on the novel and then looking at the novel separate?
The lectures only lasted an hour too, as did the seminars. I'm not sure if this is the same for all Universities, it would have been useful to have had more time in lectures though; things might have been explained better.
My dissertation was equally as hard, I found it a real burden. I loved the creative writing part, with the help of a fantastic teacher I was able to get a good mark. The essay writing I hated, I felt like I was offered no support, the literacy fellows who everyone harked on about their amazing support were booked up. It was the hardest few months I've had to endure, trying to write 5,000 words about something.
I felt that the entire time I was at University, I was sitting my a-levels all over again. I didn't feel insightfully challenged or felt like things were explained if you didn't understand something.
In closing, when asking the careers advisor what I could do after University, she simply told me to get a job in teaching. After getting a D in maths because I have dyscalculia too I felt like this was a kick in the teeth. Where was the work experience? Where was the insightful knowledge about what's out there? I felt completely drained. They say that this is a community University but I felt no sense of that. It was a University dominated by sports students, so if you are looking to do sport you came to the right place.
I ended up with a 2.2, something which I feel is deserved for the turmoil I encountered at University, but apparently a lot of students ended up with this mark in my year. I feel if the University understood their students better, listened to their advice, did the subjects they intended to in the prospectus- it would have been a more enjoyable experience. Whilst I'm no longer friends with Rose and Peter, I feel that outside experiences have helped me learn the most. I've got three best friends, one who is my lovely boyfriend. I'm graduating in October, so I have a degree. But most of all I have the experience of being an adult and learning to find my feet.