The Student Union is one of the best parts of the university. There's always lots of different events on and so many societies to join. The university also has lots of study areas with the many libraries and the student union. Getting to live in Cardiff is another great aspect, there's so many shops to explore in the city centre, and it's been amazing to get to know more about the Welsh culture from visiting the museum. The city and university as a whole are very lively and welcoming which has made it really easy to settle into Cardiff as a second home.

The clinical aspect of Optometry at Cardiff has probably been the best part of the course. We get a lot of support from the supervisors in our clinic which creates a good learning environment. There are lots of free practice sessions so we get a lot of opportunities to work on things we struggle with. There's a good amount of in person and online lecturers, and recordings of all the lecturers are online which are a good resource for catching up on missed lecturers or going over content. I would say to improve the course it would be better to have more past papers as a revision resource, but most of the modules have provided us with some exam questions which have been useful.

The rooms are great with a good sized desk, lots of storage space and a good sized en-suite. The kitchen is good as well but it's best when there's not lots of people in the kitchen when cooking as there's limited counter space. The security services are good and when called come fairly quickly. A big benefit of Talybont North is the sports facilities there, there's a gym, netball courts, football courts and lots more. The social centre is a great place to study or meet up with people, and there's free snacks and drinks several times a week. There's a park right next to the accommodation and supermarkets nearby. One of the main downfalls of the accommodation is that it's around a 30-40 minute walk from the university, but it's easy to get used to. The accommodation is great for students with cars as there's lots of parking spaces.

The only bad thing I can say about the student union is that there isn't as much seating as there could be for studying during the day in the SU building and that the waiting time for mental health support can be quite long, however the support they do offer, the facilities and the student engagement is amazing. I feel safe and happy and know that anything I need I can get from the SU especially compared to some of my friends unis ours is the best that I have seen. The SU building is huge and is so varied it's a great space to spend time!

My course is new starting this year so I think there have been a few teething problems, we have a huge amount of content to learn which is ok but sometimes it is not as well organised as I would hope. The school does have great facilities and we have good access to the student clinics when we need them! The building is great and it is nice to have Lidl and town so close as well as having designated study areas in the school. Contact hours are good and I feel supported however I do wish that we had more clarity about what placements are available and more clarity on the years ahead, however I do know this is difficult as the course is still being written.

I love Cardiff! There is so much to do here and I think it's a great place to live.

The halls are quite a long walk from town which for me was a bit of a struggle as I had a part time job at the weekend, the price of the halls was quite expensive and moving in to my second year house I found was cheaper. We had an infestation of silver fish that was never able to be sorted however having a cleaner once a week was so good and helped with the transition from living at home to moving to uni. The front gate of my halls was broken for the whole time I lived there meaning anyone could come through without a key card, this did not make me feel unsafe however I can understand that others might be more uncomfortable with this. The reception were great and fixed any issues I had very quickly.