I am pleased with the communication from my lecturers and the ability to answer surveys about what is going well and what could be even better. It’s really good that at the end of the year we get to see what things we all said and how the university is going to implement strategies / continue using certain measures which are going well or we feel could be improved. The university’s facilities, such as the library and the careers and placements team, support for disabled students and financial support is outstanding. My tutor often contacts me to see how I am getting on, and I really love it. I get a sense that it’s one big community. The only aspect that I would say could be better is the balance of work, as I would say the amount of reading we are given and pre-recorded work is a bit much. Sometimes, it’s that the pre-recorded work would be better broken up a bit into say 4 lectures, each 10 minutes long rather than 40+ minutes. This may be due to the fact I have ASD and I am a mother, and my concentration is not that good. I have a lot going on, but Aston University always supports me in doing the best I can. As I was pregnant during the end of my first year, I had to seek support from my tutor and other support facilities on campus. I got an ILA in place to help me with meeting deadlines, and when I started my course it was so easy for me to communicate about my disability. From this, I got to organise what I needed in place for when I sit exams. I am able to sit in the back of a room and use the computer rather than write, as I get very awful handwriting when I’m stressed under pressure. Having all of this adjustments to suit my learning style so easily put in place for me when I started was a blesssing. I thought the jump from sixth form to university would be especially difficult due to having to essentially fill in strangers about my whole life to give context for the reason why I struggle in certain aspects of studying life. However, I was took Aback by the support and communal feel of campus. I even have decided I would like to stay on at Aston after my BSc for my MSc which is great! :)

I had already mentioned on the previous page that I find the balance of pre-recorded and on-campus lectures overwhelming. However, the content itself is great. I enjoy most parts, and somehow my lecturers make me enjoy statistics which is not very common 😂. The only thing I have struggled with is placements. I don’t feel there is that much information or guidance freely available without having to book an individual meeting with the careers and placements team.

No

The Uni makes an effort to create study places for students. The library has a lot of resources both online and in person which is very convenient for students , especially with the money, in addition it has study rooms on each floor as well as a help centre of the floors It could be improved by making some journal articles more accessible to students

The course is mostly in person and with an online seminar on Friday. I like this arrangement, it wakes me up and I’m much better when it comes to in-person rather than online. The lecturers are good, they are very passionate about what they are teaching which makes me enjoy the course more. Although I do have a confession, in class I’m very quiet and I have so many things to say but I’m tired which is the only reason why I don’t like in-person lectures, especially when they start from 10. Most of the time, I just want to ask lecturers questions after questions because it’s usually silent in the lecture hall. Another thing is, the internships, I will search at the the beginning of 2nd year as well as during the summer holiday, but I have heard most psychology internship are not paid, but I’m going to get worry about that later. About the course itself, maybe it’s because we’re just in first-year term 2 but I want the course to be more practical than theory-based. I am enjoying the theory but I really want to apply it. It doesn’t have to be job experience but maybe every now and then we can get mock or virtual reality games of consultancy sessions or business or anything that could be applied to real life. In regards to job prospects, I don’t know but I’m somewhat hopeful ������

Birmingham is a fun place to live in. With the location of Aston, we are right in the middle, meaning we are really close to city centre and other fun places which I love about the area. The shops and activities around are also very student-friendly, the bullring centre as well. The bars around such as gosta green are student-friendly . Also tourist attractions such as Stratford upon Avon which is not far. The train stations are also conveniently located by the Uni which is great. Even the clubs are student-friendly and have student nights and everything. However, I personally miss the green areas and parks with slides which is a disadvantage in my opinion but that’s not the fault of Birmingham. We’re literally in the city, it is to be expected.

James Watt residence is placed right on campus which is very convenient for me especially when I am late. The accommodation and uni are also very safety conscious with an app developed specifically for that reason. Although I will say that the internet is not the best, especially in the kitchen. The management of the property is trying, the amount of messes that have been made by the residents are a lot, they do well to maintain the facilities but I will say that the elevator’s button is still broken