Why you choose your course and what you think?
I chose my course because I’ve always been interested in creating things and the whole idea of media, but more specifically, chose tv because I enjoy watching it and had so many ideas that I wanted to bring to life! When applying, my course stated that there were no ‘ideal’ subjects to be learnt as you learn from the basics onwards, however,
Best A level/Subjects to choose for the course?
I’d definitely say it’s beneficial to study something like media for A-Levels or something similar at college as this meant I already had the basic knowledge and was able to understand more from the get-go.
Best and Worse things about your university?
One of the best things was definitely the opportunities within the uni, my course had amazing facilities - which a lot of uni’s didn’t have. I also really loved the social life haha! However,
the thing that still bothers me the most is how long it takes to get grades back!! I know people from other universities who get the grades back within 2 weeks, whereas ours take a minimum 3 weeks, and during COVID, 5 weeks! (Also still waiting for my diss mark that I submitted in February!!)
Where you live up's and downs (University halls or Housing or home)
I lived in Dorchester Halls for my first year and it was so good! I only had a flat of 4 but got on with them really well and had friends in the other blocks! It was definitely a social place to live, however, security was very strict with noise. For my 2nd and 3rd year, I lived in Winton, which is like the place to live after the first year. It’s nice having your own space with no ‘rules’ as such, but it’s quite difficult to find a nice house that is affordable, especially if there are a lot of you!! You’ll also find that it’s 99% likely that you won’t get all your deposit back :( In my first year, I would’ve definitely said that Dorchester House was the best accom - but Home Park was definitely the nicest.
Best University Accommodation
I can’t comment now because there are so many new ones and I don’t have a clue what they’re like but they are expensive!
Placement year
My placement year for my course was optional and I decided not to do a whole year and just 4 weeks of placement instead. If it was compulsory then I wouldn’t have minded doing it but I wanted to finish uni the same year as all my friends and I also feel as though my course didn’t give much help in finding placements.
What do you think of the University Area? (Night club, shops, food etc)?
I love the area of Bournemouth. I grew up by the seaside so I wanted to go to a uni that was near the sea, and I heard that Bournemouth had great nightlife. The old fire station is 100% my favourite place to go just because they have things on most nights, it’s so much cheaper than the other clubs and there are such varied events, I’m probably a little bit biased too as I worked there for 2 years. I think shop wise there’s a good amount, everything I want anyway, like Topshop and primaryy!
What advice would you give to first years?
primary My main piece of advice to first years is to make as many friends as possible and don’t be scared to put yourself out there!! Have fun! First-year doesn’t count towards your overall grade so don’t stress too much! I didn’t actually join any clubs or societies because there weren’t any that I knew I’d really enjoy, however, working at TOFS was kind of like society as we did socials etc and the people were great to be around!
Why did you choose University Over /Apprenticeship?
I chose to go to university rather than complete an apprenticeship for a few reasons. The main one was that I wanted to move from home and become more independent and the second reason was that I didn’t want to be working and getting paid a rubbish wage! I’d rather get a degree and have fun, and then be able to be paid well (even if it’s not in my degree industry)