Being not only a mature student but also a stroke survivor has came with its own issues, NTU have understood this and provided fantastic support through their disability team. Everyone in the Social Work team is very approachable and you really get a sense that they care about their students and want the best for their success. NTU blends somewhat naturally into the city, with buildings and facilities being spread across the campus, sometimes you forget you are at university and it is a refreshing place when it comes to learning. NTU also has a fantastic student union, with friendly and approachable people that will help you get involved in extra activities, whether it be sports, gaming or just finding people with similar interests to you, you can join countless societies also, to meet new people and feel involved inside a community. Being at NTU through the 2020 pandemic also showed me how adaptable they are to their students, as the support was still very person-centred and facilities were always available through Microsoft Teams. One way NTU could be improved would be to enhance and make their communication between students and tutors even better, one way this could be achieved would be through emailing more, to ask if their students need any more support, whether it be with essays and reports, mental well-being and seeing what their students are struggling with, as sometimes it is easier to ask students, rather than wait for them to contact first, as some students may feel overwhelmed. Overall NTU is a fairly good university with a brilliant night-life, countless facilities and societies to use, alongside a really good library and studying spaces.

During the 2020 pandemic we had blended learning, which was hard to adapt to. However, NTU made this feel very familiar and it was easy to contact the Social Work team if you needed extra advice/support. This was achieved through communicating with students effectively through email and Microsoft Teams. It also helped being able to access appointments with lecturers quicker and it was nice to feel comfortable and that the tutors and lecturers really cared about their students. The course hours were full time and spaced between 2 and a half days for first year, which made it easy to balance other personal things, such as part time jobs, social life and personal hobbies. NTU makes you feel involved and part of the university, even when you probably do not think you are, and this is thanks to the lectures and tutors who make you feel very seen and known, this helped me personally with confidence and feeling like I was getting the best out of my degree and time and NTU.

Being in the heart of the city shows you that there are so many things to do, whether that be with a friend or alone. There are a fantastic SU team that can help you get involved in extra activities, such as sport, gaming etc. The shops and restaurants that surround NTU are also really diverse, there is something for everyone in this city to be doing.

I stayed in the heart of the city campus, in a halls shared accommodation called Gill Street South, where students can share from rooms ranging from 4 to 11 students. There were 11 students I lived with and it was nice never feeling alone and also always having someone there to have something to do, this also helped a lot during the pandemic, as things could feel quite isolated. The kitchen was one thing I thought would be a struggle with 11 students, however the kitchen was really big and people came in once a week to make sure the hygiene and all surfaces were clean for their student’s safety. The Gill Street South also had a good ‘fob’ entrance system, which only allowed students inside with their own individual key to open the main gates and their personal room, once good thing I thought was good was that if you were to lose your fob, the Gill Street South reception were very understanding and were easy to replace this. The security inside the building was also very high, with 24 hour surveillance , so that students always felt safe and there was always someone to approach if they were issues that needed to be resolved. The value for money and perks NTU hold is good, with UNIDAYS discounts, free access to academic literature and a brilliant online library. One thing that could be improved would be NTU being more vocal about what to expect from university accommodations, being a more mature student made me realise that the people I was living with were a little more younger, which sometimes could make one feel a little out of their comfort zone. A more extensive look into a student’s background could help match them to an accommodation best fit for them personally. All in all, staying at NTU has made me realise that they care about their students in many different aspects, and that in the future, their improvements could only make what they already have, better.

friendly student support team!

:)

Cheap and cheerful great for students on a budget!