The University of Reading is a beautiful campus. The Whiteknights Lake surrounded by the trees, is a perfect place to walk around in between lectures. There are many study spaces where I enjoy sitting and working on assignments as well as coffee shops and snack shops that get me through the day. One of the greatest parts of the University of Reading is its proximity to town, as well as the bus transportation system that can be relied on, regardless of time. The University offers a multitude of support systems and communication teams for any question a potential student or an studying student may have. For the people who do not enjoy going clubbing in town, the Student Union is a short distance away from almost all of the accomodations and for a more chilled night, Park Bar and mojo's are the perfect places to visit with your friends. My favourite part of the University of Reading is the courses. I study history, and I feel it has opened up lots of opportunities for me. The dedication for preparing me for my future career is something I appreciate greatly within the department of History and most importantly the involvement of all the staff in ensuring a student success. The worst aspect of my university experience is finding a second-year accommodation. Although student accommodation is available, I find it to be unaffordable. Furthermore, a lot of the houses in Reading face issues daily and have unreliable landlords. Something that can be improved is ensuring the student has knowledge of the accommodation options available and basic knowledge of bills. Another thing I have experienced is the business of the library during exam season, making it sometimes difficult to find somewhere to sit and study.

The best aspect of my course is the reading lists that are provided by my lecturers. These reading lists allow me to further research a topic I am interested in. Furthermore, the lectures are always taught by someone passionate and interested in the topic, making the lecture more engaging. I appreciate the level of preparation we receive before an exam or essay and I never feel like I am unprepared. The wide variety of modules available has allowed me to really explore my interests and pinpoint the period of history I am most interested in. With constant check-ins and emails from my academic tutor and module convenors, I always feel supported and in a position where I would know who to contact if i was struggling. One thing that can be improved about my course is that a lot of my lectures are not recorded. This is an issue sometimes when I miss a lecture or seminar due to illness and have no way of catching up.

The most convenient aspect of my halls was their proximity to the university. The centre of the campus was a less that 5 minute walk away, which allowed me to walk to and from my room efficiently. I enjoyed how close I was to different facilities such as Park Bar and the laundry room. Knowing that there was a support desk close by made me feel more at ease in this new place and the events put on by the home at halls allowed me to speak to people living around me. McCombie house was a great experience for me as I got along with my flatmates, had lots of storage and also had an ensuite. The thing I liked least about the university halls was the constant noise. Often late at night, I would be awakened by students coming back from clubbing or someone playing loud music early in the morning. This was hard to avoid and made it difficult to relax.

Best: superb course design and execution. It’s also in a very beautiful location with lots of natural spaces. The library is also fantastic, and the instructors are amazing especially the clinicians Worst:difficulties accessing neurodivergent support, in general neurodivergence is not expected and planned for in a way that normalises it.

Best: superb clinical expertise passed into us and amazing course design. Lots of contact time. Worst: I would have benefitted from starting the reading list much earlier but it wasn’t released until the course had almost already started. Some lecturers don’t contextualise the subject enough and I get the feeling that teaching us is not a priority for some lecturers

No