Study area not enough, always full of ppl. Either than that everything perfect.

Lectures all nice.

My academic school (School of Bioscience) is equipped with some fantastic teaching and learning facilities, well stocked labs and knowledgeable lecturers. With 24 hour library access, there's always space to work and the university generally just provides well for its students. It's positioned in a fantastic location just a short walk from the main city centre and the buildings look, for the most part, either modern and sleek or antique and grand. Some buildings look a little bit worse for wear, but for the most part aren't noticeable. I've had lots of fantastic support while at university from both lecturers and other academic staff, however sometimes for my course specifically it feels like this is too much and we are spoon-fed the answers to assessments and coursework, which is why I've lowered this score slightly. Being a student living in Cardiff has been overall a fantastic experience, with plenty to get involved with. Overall, there's something for everyone, including some great student groups run by students to suit any interest you may have. The biggest downfall is by far the Students' Union, which markets itself as the centre of all things students want and need, but fails to provide any of them besides an overpriced, overhyped nightclub. It claims to have students best interests at heart but consistently shows it only cares about their money, spending huge amounts on renovating its commercial venues, marketing these to students and then failing to re-invest in anything which has any meaningful positive impact on student life. Luckily, you can mostly ignore the Students' Union while you study here should you wish.

Studying in the school of Biosciences is for the most part fantastic. The lecturers are knowledgeable and the course content is cutting-edge, usually updated with the most current understanding based on recent research and discoveries. In some cases where relevant, this includes research from within the same year as the teaching occurs. My personal tutor has been fantastic while here, and I feel firmly treated like an equal by them. Their door is always open should I need it and they're always there if I need to email, but they don't push to meet with me constantly unnecessarily, something I've really appreciated while here. I've not had much experience of searching for a career or placement at all, but given that even without looking I'm aware of a whole host of support for this, it suggests there's plenty on offer. The only issue I'd have is that there doesn't seem to be enough in the way of teaching and assessment. Either because we're given months for a few assessments with no teaching in between, or because the assessments themselves are over-supported, or a bit of both. I could see this being fine in first year, but as a third year student it feels ridiculous. For a single assessment I could be given about 5 support sheets, 3 meetings to discuss the content, a mark scheme and so much more. Information which I should be able to find myself at this late stage in my degree. I don't feel as though I'm being challenged or assessed on anything but basic recall, which isn't a high enough level skill to carry me through my masters' year.

The halls I stayed in were nice enough, but had their issues. For a start, like any student hall, they were expensive for what they were - For almost £200/ month less, 2 years later I'm living in a flat sharing with fewer people, bigger rooms and a nicer landlord. Private letting is by far better value for money. The university halls are either out to take money from students any way they can, or determined to treat them like children as far as they can get away with. They'll issue fines for anything and everything, and come round to inspect the place you live on some sort of power trip. Maintenance was okay for the most part, but using the clothing washing facilities is daylight robbery.