Good communal areas to study

Good teachers and dynamic surveys

No

The best part about my uni experience has been the nights out and the people I have met. My flatmates were so welcoming and my course mates are so nice and helpful. I have formed really genuine connections with people here that I would never had if I decided to not choose Cardiff University. Yolo on a Wednesday is both amazing and chaotic but is super fun when i don’t have lectures the next day and worth trying out at least once. The SU who hosts Yolo aren’t just amazing on Wednesday nights however, they host so many things practically every day, from therapy dog sessions to vintage clothing sales. They also house the Taf which do amazing carveries. a starbucks and a bunch of other stuff like a coop for when you just need to quickly grab something on the go. Cardiff University is a great place to study because there is so much support and study space around you. During exams, I spent a lot of my study time in the silent part of the library. This was really beneficial as it was quiet and put me in that hard working mode. The only downside of the library was the wifi and reception was pretty bad, so if you’re going to study in there you need to plan and have the work you’re gonna do saved beforehand. Another thing I really enjoy about Cardiff University is where it’s located in Cardiff, right next to the city centre. This is amazing because everything that you need is only a 5 minute walk from the Uni itself. The only downside I have about this isn’t the location of the Uni but the location of my accommodation. I ended up being put into University Halls which is around a 40 minute walk from the city centre and the Uni. Because of this, we are supposed to get a free bus that comes every hour, however a lot of the time the bus is very late without any notice which is very inconvenient for anyone on the Cathays campus.

A positive about my course is my subjects building, Abacws. This was newly built last Autumn and it really lived up to my expectations. There are so many rooms and places to sit and study, which is essential in a course like Mathematics. It is also conveniently close to Lidl for a quick trip during a break for the bakery. One thing that could be improved about it is the size of the lecture theatre. Whilst it is massive in retrospect, the amount of people on the course is also huge, around 240, so we are usually compacted in like sardines. Another positive about my course is majority of the content. Modules like Foundations and Linear Algebra are amazing because they’re what I’m interested in learning more of, however a lot of the modules are just not my cup of tea and it doesn’t really help when the lecturers go really fast and no one understands what’s going on. My opinions on the lecturers differ but one thing I think they all share is they think we’re all gonna pick up something really quickly and suddenly understand a difficult topic just because they do. They need to acknowledge we missed out gcses and a lot of a levels were affected so we may have gaps in our knowledge.

Uni Halls is probably where most Cardiff Uni students don’t want to end up because of its location. It’s very far from the main campus and the city centre which can be a big inconvenience on a night out with cost of ubers and what not. However, the look of the accom isn’t that bad. My room and the kitchen are quite nice, just really small, however the wifi is pretty bad and the water atm has had little to no pressure. I’m not sure about the value for money but I pay around £5.4k for the year which seems pretty standard to me. The accommodation itself seems pretty safe as it’s in a nice area surrounded by big houses and there’s always a security guard walking around.