The best part of my uni experience was the sense of independence and discovery it gave me. I loved being able to shape my own routine, study subjects I was genuinely passionate about, and meet people from completely different backgrounds who broadened my perspective. Uni pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t expect, helping me figure out who I was and what I wanted, both academically and personally. The worst part of my uni experience was definitely the pressure and uncertainty that came with it. There were times when deadlines piled up, money was tight, and I felt completely overwhelmed or even lonely despite being surrounded by people. Balancing coursework, personal life, and my own wellbeing wasn’t always easy, and I often doubted whether I was doing enough or heading in the right direction.

The best aspect of my Computer Engineering course was how hands-on and practical it felt. Most of our learning happened through in-class labs, group projects, and interactive workshops rather than just lectures, which made complex concepts like embedded systems and circuit design feel much more approachable. I really valued how accessible the lecturers were — they were always happy to explain things after class or help troubleshoot projects, and that made a huge difference. I also liked the mix of theory and real-world application; getting to design, code, and physically build hardware gave me confidence and kept the course engaging. The worst aspect was the intensity of the workload and the sometimes overwhelming schedule. Because the course mixed hardware, software, and lab time, my weekly hours were much higher than many other degrees, and deadlines often overlapped. Some modules were very theory-heavy, and when those were taught mostly through long lectures, it was easy to fall behind. Online content was helpful, but during blended learning periods it sometimes felt harder to get quick feedback or ask questions in the moment. Balancing labs, reports, lectures, and revision could be stressful, and there were times when it felt like I had no free time at all.

What I liked most about living in Jarratt Hall was the atmosphere — it felt sociable without being chaotic. The flats were a good size, and having an en-suite made a massive difference to day-to-day comfort. I also liked the location; it’s close enough to campus to walk without feeling far from anything, and there are shops and places to eat nearby, so it always felt convenient. The halls had a friendly vibe too, and it was easy to meet people, especially in the first few weeks. What I liked least was the noise and maintenance issues that popped up now and then. Because it’s a big accommodation block, you could sometimes hear people in the corridors or in other flats, especially on weekends. There were also moments where things like heating, showers, or communal areas needed repairs, and it could take a while for them to get sorted. The social side was great, but it also meant it wasn’t always the quietest place to study when deadlines were close.

Honestly, the amount of services dedicated for student support is amazing. We have the Careers' Network, to help with CV writing, interview training, work experience finding, internships and graduate job support, career fairs and much more. We have the Academic skills center to help with academic support, one-to-one appointment support for writing, maths, essays, presentations and much more. We have Worklink to help students find flexible well paid part time jobs on campus providing a lot of experience and support for the CV of students. I just think that if a student engages well with these services and uses it to the maximum, you will find out that the University of Birmingham is the best place to equip undergraduate/post-graduate and international students well for the workforce and full time jobs' life. We have much much more than these services but I just highlighted my top ones. Academically speaking, the school of Psychology where I study, is just beyond amazing, they have mid-module and end-of-module feedback surveys where students can comment on the content, teaching style and materials, examination and marking and much more, and our voices are really heard, we see the feedback that we gave straightaway applied to the next years' cohort and that really is satisfying because they try their best to make sure that students aren't under pressure, they aren't falling behind and that they are capable of coping with the assessment type in relation to the module and they are actually learning from the materials. Other than this we get office hours, support from our personal tutors, formative opportunity to get feedback on our work and we have different types of assignment like, exams, essays, reports, presentations, group work, literature reviews, to help us gain each different skill that comes with every assignment and I am really enjoying it so far. I would never for any reason regret studying at University of Birmingham even though when I look back, I did get an offer in all of my 5 choice of universities. All these students services and the academic support improved all my qualities as a person and as a students dramatically from year one to year two. I have witnessed my own growth and really enjoyed it, university for me was a place that I escape to and not from. The staff members of any of these services are the highlight for me, they just elevate the experience x10 they are the most friendly, approachable, helpful and supportive staff I have delt with, and this is across the student services and the school of psychology. I am Birmingham scholar (I came from an underprivileged background) and I am a RAP student (I have a reasonable adjustment plan to support me because I have a long lasting medical health condition) and never have I felt different to any other student on campus and faced a challenge in terms of the accessibility on campus. The diversity of campus is something that really drew me in, I feel like there isn't a nationality that I haven't interacted with so far and that is just mind-blowing to me, because I didn't receive once a complaint about racism, biased treatment or anything like that, instead what I hear is (OMG I never imagined UoB to be that diverse and able to care for all of these students from different background with different religions and be able to cater for all of their cultural and religious needs as well. I would only say that the reputation needs to me improved, there are a lot of misconceptions about UoB and the city of Birmingham in general, and that just needs to be delt with, because I can't stress enough on the fact that I really love our university and campus and my course and I want a lot of other year 13 students to know about the great services and every support that the university provides. Above all, the university schedules the exams, assignments etc based on different religious observations and not just the Christian ones, they allow all societies to celebrate on campus.

Academically speaking, the school of Psychology where I study, is just beyond amazing, they have mid-module and end-of-module feedback surveys where students can comment on the content, teaching style and materials, examination and marking and much more, and our voices are really heard, we see the feedback that we gave straightaway applied to the next years' cohort and that really is satisfying because they try their best to make sure that students aren't under pressure, they aren't falling behind and that they are capable of coping with the assessment type in relation to the module and they are actually learning from the materials. Other than this we get office hours, support from our personal tutors, formative opportunity to get feedback on our work and we have different types of assignment like, exams, essays, reports, presentations, group work, literature reviews, to help us gain each different skill that comes with every assignment and I am really enjoying it so far. I would never for any reason regret studying at University of Birmingham even though when I look back, I did get an offer in all of my 5 choice of universities. All these students services and the academic support improved all my qualities as a person and as a students dramatically from year one to year two. I have witnessed my own growth and really enjoyed it, university for me was a place that I escape to and not from. The staff members of any of these services are the highlight for me, they just elevate the experience x10 they are the most friendly, approachable, helpful and supportive staff I have delt with, and this is across the student services and the school of psychology. I am Birmingham scholar (I came from an underprivileged background) and I am a RAP student (I have a reasonable adjustment plan to support me because I have a long lasting medical health condition) and never have I felt different to any other student on campus and faced a challenge in terms of the accessibility on campus. Above all, the university schedules the exams, assignments etc based on different religious observations and not just the Christian ones, they allow all societies to celebrate on campus.