The location is great, next to city centre, loads of shops, beautiful buildings and opportunity to engage with nature since it its near a park and has some nice gardens. Great study spaces and massive libraries with helpful librarians plus some of the libraries are open 24/7 which is very useful. Good transport links via train and coach to other cities in England if you like going home, flights from Cardiff airport are not very regular if you need to fly home but Bristol Airport is always reliable (Bristol Airport is about 2 hour coach journey from Cardiff). There are always activities going on for everyone, whether you're really out there and love to party hard or like more chill activities. Also a variety of sports societies to join if you're athletic. The student union is good with relatively affordable food and drink options. Variety of food options catering to different diets with a recently opened plant based cafe. The uni is making efforts towards sustainability. If you have a chronic illness/disability plan ahead on accessing support-registering with a GP, filling disability disclosure forms etc. Make sure you are aware of all the help available on starting uni so you don't struggle. I personally think the support could be better, for instance the deadline extension for assignments is one week for everyone regardless of circumstances with the option to defer if needed. This may not be enough in extenuating circumstances and I wish it was extended to two weeks like some universities. VERY IMPORTANT: Make use of financial help available as there are different grants and bursaries which you may be eligible for. Generally people are friendly and helpful, I like that it's very multi cultural although if you are from a big city like London you may not agree. Bear in mind Cardiff is a very rainy city and gets cold in winter so come prepared with warm clothes and umbrellas. Overall, I have enjoyed my uni experience and I would advise for everyone to make the most of it as possible, engage in as many socials and clubs as you can, it flies by!

Best parts: Option for free tuition and a non-repayable bursary from the NHS if you can commit to working in Wales for two years (you cannot have both a bursary and student loan and will have to pick one). Lecturers are generally approachable, reply quickly to emails/enquiries and generally genuinely want to help as much as they can so make the most of this. A lot of resources available, online and in library with very helpful librarians. Good facilities in terms of lecture theatres, libraries, practical rooms etc. Usually guaranteed a job on completion plus streamlining helps with the job application process. Placement areas are varied so you have the chance to learn from variety of settings, if you get the same/similar placement twice you can negotiate with the uni to try and change/swap with someone else. Worst aspects: The NHS bursary is the bare minimum so It is difficult financially as you have to balance placement (37.5 hours a week) with academic work and a part time job if you need to work. It helps to bear this in mind when applying for the course and have a plan in place. You could opt for the student loan for an easier life if you wanted but this is repayable in the long run, just a matter of weighing pros and cons. There is minimal uni support when you are on placement, yes there is a personal tutor and a practice education facilitator to contact for help but there is often little they can do unless its too late since the university and placement areas are different entities. Overlap of placement and assignment deadlines is so stressful. Only one week extension available for extenuating circumstances. The course content...lectures are usually 5 days a week 9-2:30 pm in person, I feel that the teaching sessions could be condensed more to avoid having to go in 5 days a week. Sometimes there are study days and online lectures but not very often. I feel that some of the lectures are dragged out on topics that I question the relevancy and I wish there was larger focus on anatomy, physiology and pharmacology as these are the most useful topics for knowledge application on placement. If you rely solely on the course content you will have big gaps in knowledge and feel like a fool on placement so be mindful of having to teach yourself a lot about the topics mentioned earlier. Sometimes you have to chase people around to get competencies signed off on placement. You can be sent anywhere for placement so it could be in the middle of nowhere, just be weary of this and plan ahead. Although if you do not drive and declare this to the uni they usually try and keep you close. Poor support for sickness/disability while on placement. e.g. if you are sick for long periods it's a constant battle of trying to catch up on placement hours and academic work but it is definitely doable. Communicate to the uni as much as you can concerning illness.

I lived in Talybont hall so mostly will be commenting on this. The halls are ridiculously expensive for what you get and there is simply no justification. The rooms are tiny but you get used to. All rooms have en-suite toilet/bathroom (very tiny) which is useful. No lounge so you will have to get used to squeezing into the tiny kitchen for pres/socials. You get fined for propping firedoors open and not emptying bins so be mindful. With that being said, it is close to a big Tesco and Aldi for grocery shopping, with a pure gym close by and a gym on site (this is not included in the rent and has to be paid for separately, personally I preferred the pure gym). It is a trek into town/student union/most uni buildings but is walkable 25-30 mins depending where your building is and how far you walk. There is onsite parking with a ridiculous parking permit fee (about £200 in 2021 when I lived in Taly but this may have changed now and the permit is for the year). It's loud but sociable. Things fall apart sometimes (well feels like a lot of the time), eg. leaky roof, broken toilet etc. but the maintenance/facilities team are usually very quick to fix them or will put you in a new room. It's all part of the uni experience but would never leave there again. Taly court and gate have bigger rooms and a lounge so may be better options for a slightly higher price, depends how fussy you are.

The lecturer's are really helpful and are approachable at all times.

Great teaching. I love the course structure and my lecturer's are fantastic. Communication could be improved between the students and lecturer's as not all the work is marked or uploaded in time.

No