PhD Biochemistry

University of Essex

There a lot people around to help and guide and so many fun activities to be a part of. Every day is something new. Although I wish it was easier to find places within the campus

I do love Colchester, the area where my university is located at, as it quite lovely and most of my necessities are easily availbla there. Apart from that I do like staff, they are always there to help and there various other people like the skills for success and the library staff, who are always there to help with things that I don't understand.

It's a generally a good uni at least for my course. However, the facilities are quite small and limited so we get little contact time with the laboratories because they are shared. This is disappointing. We also don't have field trips. The student union and university genuinely go out of there way to support you as much as they can. I find my lecturers and tutors very supportive as well. They have lots of useful workshops in a variety of areas from communication skills, to starting a business, to preparing you for applications for jobs, etc and are generally reliable. The student life is a bit harsh considering that there is almost no night life, few societies and generally few opportunities to meet others and make friends. It's not a very social uni and it can be a real struggle in that sense. Their accommodation is okay and there is a large green space which helps with distressing and is great for nature lovers. The local town is affordable and calm, rather safe too. The uni is a bit far from the city center, so it's not easy to get into the community unless you go out of your way to do so by volunteering or joining a church. My worst experience is to do with social life tbh. The city center is also sort of bare bones, but has lots of historical places to see. Colchester park is great and if you like the beach, it's a couple of pounds to get to Clacton beach Brightlingsea by bus. I would say it's hard to find a job in town sadly, but the uni normally offers lots of great student jobs.

The campus is like a town - you never actually need to leave as there's lots here! It could be improved by increasing the number of casual and study-focused spots on campus. It would also be amazing to be able to book student-card-keyed study pods so that you can leave to go to the bathroom or to get a quick coffee without having to pack everything up! Support for students with learning difficulties in my department is also incredible. Coming from schools where mental health is known but not really understood/respected, my experience of Essex's support structure has been out of this world and super helpful. Here, I can be myself confidently.

This university has amazing campus life, it has everything you could need. The only downside is the location, the city is a bit dead if you're into partying. Otherwise everything else is great, the accomodations, the professors, everything.