Clare Sociology BA Hons
Being brought up in Scotland, from the outset I knew I wanted to study away from home. Newcastle had a huge appeal to me as I was raised visiting a lot of family who are based down here, so I already knew that the city was vibrant, lively and full of fantastic people! The main appeal for me was that the University was big enough for there to be something to offer everybody, and I never tire of getting involved in new extra-mural activities and meeting whole new groups of people. Finally, my Dad lived in Ricky Road in 1982 and still maintains it was one of the best years of his life – and I was intrigued to see what the fuss was about!
I am pleased to be a member of Sociology as there is such a huge range of content that can be studied over the three year course, which means you never feel stuck in a rut in terms of choice. The way that teaching was organised in the first year gave me a great introduction to the fundamentals of my subject areas and set me up to expand upon ideas and concepts to develop my own way of thinking.
There is a lot of support available in the school and I have never struggled to find help when I have needed it, whether academic or otherwise. The teaching staff are incredibly enthusiastic and make an effort to get to know their students personally which I really appreciate.
I really appreciate the different forms of assessment used as well. I am not great at exams, and have found over the past 2 years that most of the assessed work is essay or portfolio-based, which encourages you to develop your own ideas and apply the taught material from there, rather than learning a bunch of quotes to churn out under exam conditions.
The course attracts a wide variety of people from different places and backgrounds, which makes seminars and discussions incredibly interesting due to the different viewpoints that people have. It is these things which never fail to make my course invigorating and rewarding.
As for facilities, everything that I have ever needed I have been able to access, whether it is a book, or a study space to hide away in when things get a bit last-minute! The new Union is brilliant, and this year I have found myself spending a lot of time there, during the day and at night time too.
I have felt encouraged and welcomed in to a range of extra-curricular activities that I would never have thought to try before. I have met loads of new friends through getting involved in big events such as the Freshers crew and RAG crew, which are really fun and integral to the Universities social calendar.
And the nightlife! Newcastle is not a typical student city in that there is a choice of places to spend your evening every night of the week, and a hilarious time is always guaranteed. It is small enough to get around easily, but it is huge in terms of culture and events that go on throughout the year, which means it is impossible to get bored.