I have found so far my university experience has been mixed. At the start i definitely struggled with feeling like an outsider, and being so far from home. I found university really overwhelming, especially because at UEA I am four hours away from my family and friends. However I am really close with many of my flatmates, and have found that sports teams also provide me with a pool of friends. I have found socials that are run, by the societies and by the clubs, are really important in making yourself feel apart of the community, and would definitely recommend going to as many as if feasible to new students! I have also found lecturers to be very in-tune with the knowledge students will already have from A levels and GCSEs, so I am very grateful for that. All lectures have managed to balance being accessible and interesting. Over-all I would say I have struggled a lot in a way i never have before, because I am so far from everything that is familiar, yet the actual university itself does all it can to make the first years experience really wonderful.

I feel that the University of East Anglia is really driven to improve students employability. I have never had a job before, and have found that the university is providing me with my first really work experience. I am now a course representative at open days. There are often different jobs and CV boosters emailed to us, or posted online, so should we wish to improve employability it is really easy to find out how. More casual examples are being a course representative, and being on the board of people who work on the UEA app. There is a little careers centre on campus for students, this has the soul purpose of helping students in terms of careers. There have also been careers fairs, and optional employability seminars. I personally feel that what makes UEA stand out is not only the different options offered to student to improve employability (which cater to all different levels), but there is also a focus on why we should be driven to improve our employability. I know that I would not have been interested in doing this had I not been told in lectures reasons to be driven, and had I not been presented with accessible stepping stones.

What I like the most about the way my courses are taught is the diversity that having international lecturers provides. Especially in politics I have found that I often expected America and Britain to be the two most prominent focuses, but actually the curriculum has been really international, and brought awareness to political situations in many countries. the US political system in particular has hardly been mentioned, it is extremely refreshing. In Economics I have found that I have really enjoyed the student - lecturer interaction. Throughout the lecture we have opportunities to anonymously ask lecturers questions (eliminating anyone feeling shamed for asking what they think may be a silly question). currently i wouldn't say there is much i don't like about the way any of my courses are taught. the only thing which comes to mind is having seminars run by PHD students, who can often seem disinterested - or who can sometimes give conflicting answers to one another (I've found this especially frustrating in maths.) But lectures are all really enjoyable and engaging. They're starting out at a really accessible pace which i appreciate.

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The students union is a really active body of people. In terms of representation I can only commend it. There are continually student elections and as a result continually opportunities for individuals to support, and vote for people who they feel represent them. I have found the main student presidents to be exceedingly friendly, approachable, and helpful. An example of this was when I met the politics president at a social, he went out of his way to give me his email and the email of those he thought could help me in starting my own powerlifting society. So far the students union campaign I have been most aware of the 'decolonise UEA' campaign, which has been a really positive and pro-active movement which the university has been using as an opportunity to diversify and 'decolonise' the curriculum. I personally feel that this embodies how representative UEA is. I have found that many British students have little awareness of other cultures. Throughout school curriculums are largely western-centric. The decolonise UEA campaign for me has been really thought provoking. I had never in school been very aware of how little exposure I was having to other cultures -and I am extremely thankful to now be made aware of it. The students union is a really conciencious group, which is what largely attracted me to UEA in the first place. Examples are the gender neutral toilets which are scattered around the university. Something that demonstrates how driven the student body is to create a safe space for everyone. In all cafes, and shops on campus there are whole ranges of vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, and kosher options available. I feel the students union is what makes UEA the inclusive and open safe space that I feel it is.

The cost of the accommodation is neither here nor there. Whilst cheaper would always be preferable, when realistically thinking about the cost of the flats the word 'fine' instantly springs to mind. Ultimately the flats themselves aren't anything special, just standard university accomodation. Inside of the accommodation costs were definitely kept low - toilet paper, the brittle (and stained) mattress, the chairs which appear to have been sourced from a landfill, though none of us really mind, and from what I've seen of other unis this seems to be pretty universal. Also the luxury of having an oven makes the accommodation completely worth every penny. the conditions of the flat is probably best also described as fine. The cleaners do a much appreciated, and really wonderful job. I can't imagine it is easy to clean up after students. We are gross. I am really grateful to have them. The flats aren't terribly expensive so I am more than happy with the condition of them considering the price. Speaking to flatmates I have found that many of us feel largely safe. We are part of a student village and there is a large sense of mutual trust and sympathy. Our rooms allow us to have a safe retreat, whilst our kitchen allows us to have a community space. The only issue with safety that any of us feel is that being in a disabled access flat, the doors will (understandably) need to close slowly. After hearing horror stories from friends at other universities, many of us have mentioned how we feel that if a stranger wanted to, they could easily follow us into the flat and we would have little power to stop them. We do appreciate however that this concern is niche, and the scenario is one which is unlikely to actually occur. I, and many people I have spoken to have largely a similar opinion on location. It is really handy being on campus. At most, I am a ten minute walk from where my lecture will be. Both the library and the sportspark are a five minute walk from me, which helped me feel settled at this university really quickly. Everything is close and it really helps to build a sense of community. In addition to this there is a beautiful lake and grass area, which i personally feel is probably quite uncommon for a university, but very wholesome to have. There are also copious amounts of rabbits. i will always rememember walking my parents to the accommodation when it got dark, and seeing the outline of all the bunnies ears on the raised bits of land.

The university facilities that I use the most are Lecture theatres, the sports pitches, the Gym, the swimming pool and the library. I have used the pool often. I find it to be fine. I don't ever find that crowding is an issue, and it definitely gets the job done, so no complaints there. The library is really easy to navigate, and I love spending time there. I think it is really helpful and important to have as many group study spaces as there are. I additionally feel that there stringent policies on noise are really appreciated by everyone. Personally I love the top floor of the library because of the beautiful views you get over the entire campus. The gym is probably the facility I get on with the least. In many gyms there are women's sections which can be really important in encouraging women to go to the gym, or just important in making them feel safe when they are there. Though I never used the women's section when I had one available to me at home, I still think they are so important to have, and I think it really stands out as a shame that a university as inclusive as UEA doesn't have one. I also think the gym is extremely crowded and small. It feels as though the weights are crammed in for the sake of saying they have one. For a university that is so proud of their sports park, the gym is truly awful. I also feel that allowing anyone to enter the gym shatters the sense of community that is so prominent in the rest of the university. It gives the impression that the gym isn't there for student but rather is just a heartless mechanism to generate money. There also doesn't seem to be a cap to the number of members they have, which they really need, because every time I have gone to the gym, close to every single machine has been utilised, and I am not exaggerating when I say there sometimes isn't space to move more than a metre in any direction, without needing to ask people to move. It's extremely unpleasant and claustrophobic. I think overall the facilities are really wheelchair friendly, which is so important at a university. On the whole I do really like the facilities.

My accommodation is around a ten to fifteen minute walk from the furthest lecture theatre. On campus everything is nearby, and it helps to build a sense of community. It is also helpful because i have abysmal time keeping, so being so near to everything is a blessing. I am a five minute walk from the sports park which i really enjoy, its just helps minimise excuses not to keep fit - and that is something which I think is really important to do when undergoing big changes. On campus, everything is close, which is really positive. It can sometimes make me feel like I get no exercise because I hardly have had to move in a day, but I definitely wouldn't change it. What I would change is the distance of Norwich from the University. Norwich is a really beautiful city, it is very quirky, and is one of the few places which has a strong sense of character, and individualism. I also love how bicycle friendly both the university and the city are, which I think is really important when considering it is an hours walk from the campus to the city. If I could change anything, I would make the campus and the city closer because I am only in week 5 and have spent around £20 on bus tickets. If however you had a bike I feel that this would hardly be a problem. I would definitely recommend to any new students to bring a bike, as I didn't, and regret it a lot. The student union shop is about 15% more expensive than an ordinary shop, so it would be nice for us to have a big supermarket nearby. There is a Tesco Express a five minute walk down the road, however as someone with strict dietary requirements this is actually not very helpful for me personally. We have largely solved this problem by ordering shopping online, and having the delivery vans stop quite literally outside our front door. Because we are able to deliver food so easily I no longer mind that we are such a hearty distance from large supermarkets, but it is worth mentioning because in my first week or two it was something which I found hard to adjust to.

I personally play womens rugby. I have never played Rugby before but I've found many of the sports teams were very eager to recruit students regardless of their skill level. Personally I haven't really played a lot of team sports before, so it was nice to feel as though i'd be welcomed to play such a variety. There are overall many sports teams available to join. I have struggled personally because at hone i did powerlifting. I was hoping I would be able to continue this at university because my eldest brother was able to compete, and be part of a powerlifting team at Sheffield University. I have also made friends with a girl on my course, Tanit, who was hoping to play handball at university, but has found there isn't a sports team for it. I have however found that the university seems to really encourage us to set up our own clubs and societies, so I think next year setting up my own powerlifting society would be something I will be really eager to do. There is an absolute plethora of different societies. and like clubs, it seems relatively easy to set up your own. I also really like how each course has a corresponding society, so if you are overwhelmed by the huge variety of choices, like I was, you already have an obvious choice of society to join.

I have found the support to be really helpful. At the start of the year lecturers were keen to inform us about academic help and help with mental health we could receive. I personally have found whenever I have had a problem I have known who to contact because so many contacts have been provided, and Ive found that i have received a response within 24 hours which is really helpful. Often I have found when i reach out to someone (whether it be my tutor, or someone more involved in our wellbeing) they are eager to provide help personally, as well as provide me with options for other people i can consult should i not find their advice useful.

good

some lecturers aren't as clear as others

Expensive but good

Some places that lectures are taken in are not good

bus time is very good

Shorter waiting times needed