Overall, my university and more particularly my course has done a very good job adjusting to COVID this past year. While some of the faculty have been slacking in this time and not understanding of the difficulty of online learning, others have made up for this in a more compassionate and logical approach to delivering online learning material. Being in halls this year was an incredibly important part of this year for me - without meeting my flatmates, I might have felt lost and lonely during these challenging times. I have been very lucky to have met them and connect with people via online society events at the beginning of first year. The best advice for going to a city university such as UCL is put yourself out there! Make the most of your money and connect with people on your course, in societies, and in halls. Use your professors as plentiful sources of knowledge - bug them with stupid questions! The real way to make the most out of university is by making connections. And don’t forget to have fun while doing all that studying!

My favorite places to study are on campus: Torrington Place has amazing views, the Student Center is always busy but incredible productive, and Cruciform Library is the perfect place to focus. Sometimes availability of libraries is difficult, but if one place is full there is usually another and given the quality of study spaces there is no “best place” to study. Student bars (while they have been open) are nice spaces but are often extremely busy with long waits. The drink prices are really good though, so worth checking out early in the evening.

I have received a number of calls from UCL staff asking after my well being and mental health over the COVID period. While a phone call is not necessarily useful for everyone, I found the individuals I spoke to really helpful in connecting me to university resources. If I had more pressing issues with university life, I would have liked more involved well-being services and more student led groups. That said, my degree offers a well-being service specifically for students in my cohort struggling with university life or life in general. I think this is an important initiative that will support students on my course for years to come.

Before COVID, my course was moving toward flipped learning content: pre-lecture material online to supplement in person lectures. So far the transition to online learning has been very smooth with the exception of some lab material being missed - an in person session is being held at the beginning of next year to rectify this. Some modules are more organized than others, however our First Year Director has been extremely helpful in responding to students concerns on Unitu and made real changes to clarify examinable content in problematic modules. Professors are constantly available for questions via email and tutors are generally good at responding to queries. Support from the administrative staff has been very good this year keeping us updated.

8

There are a lot of career service activities and talks on employability, but the university expects you to conduct most of your employment research yourself. Especially in a science degree it can be nerve wracking trying to find something to do in your first summer after starting university. I haven’t found many of the university career resources useful in this aspect. I have had to search career opportunities outside of my degree discipline, and rely on the help of friends and relatives for more hands on advice.

An exciting place to study. Lectures could be improved but overall am really enjoying studying there.