It has been great! The support system is fantastic, however the course content being condensed into half the time it would usually be taught in has had a huge impact on my mental health. It has been a struggle and I would really benefit from the wellbeing services at this moment in time if the waiting lists weren’t so long to be seen. The town is always bustling and incredible, however there is a big concern at the moment with safety whilst out in Portsmouth.

In terms of my subject, the facilities aren’t amazing because my course was only introduced in 2010 and has a low class size compared to a lot of other subjects. This means that we do not have a dedicated building for our subject and, despite it being Physics, it is not considered a science like Biology and Chemistry and is instead a part of the Faculty of Technology! I find this rather strange. Apart from this, the cafes and food facilities around the whole campus are fantastic and offer a great price for great food. These facilities also have a points system which means you get rewarded with free stuff depending on how often you visit. There are bike racks everywhere, and there are always free computers to use to your discretion. The printing credit is also a massive help as you get £10 worth a year free, and whatever you don’t use gets passed over to your next year of study! They also allow you to borrow laptops to use from dedicated laptop lockers. The library is a big part of my day usually, and it is the best library I have ever had the pleasure of being in!

The academic support here is fantastic. We have access to resources such as Maths Café, which is a drop in café where academics are on hand to go through any problems with mathematical related questions. All tutors and lecturers are responsive and contactable and offer 1 to 1 sessions to see how you are getting on. However, on the personal side, I feel that the well-being service is a let down as the waiting lists are often longer than those being referred by a doctor. I think this is due in part to the general mental health struggle that university naturally brings, however I believe there needs to be some kind of reform in the counselling and wellbeing sector. The finance department are fantastic and offer short term emergency loans if you are in need and will help with student finance applications, alongside applying for bursary’s.

Our student union isn’t amazing - the bar in the union just closed down and the university are currently in talks over what the bar will be turned into. It is also a very small space with limited facilities including a small coffee shop and a varsity shop, seats and a free printer, so there’s not much range there. I don’t see much representation for the students outside of the union except through their mailing list. I don’t feel like the union takes an active role in the problems and solutions of the university and only cares about cheap drinks and organising wristbands for nights out.

Yes, my university is situated in a very small town/island and is a campus university so that means I get to see the whole city whilst travelling to and from my classes and it doesn’t take long at all to arrive at university. There are shops and food places everywhere, even close to all of the residential areas.

There isn’t a lot of societies that interest me personally, however I believe that there is a fantastic range of sports societies especially. I feel like the uniqueness of some of the societies is something I have never seen before!

They introduces a different teaching schedule this year - instead of teaching 6 topics across the whole year, they are to teach 3 whole topics in the first Teaching Block, and 3 more whole topics in the second Teaching block. My course is very very intensive and I have found that lecturers are struggling to give the detailed course content that we need in that amount of reduced time. It also means we don’t get as in-depth of an education as we were used to in the previous year which personally has messed up my organisation and planning that I prepared for this year. It has been more of a struggle to keep up with the course content this year than the last as a result of the latter. However, I enjoy the interactiveness through online resources such as MasteringPhysics and our lecturers are always contactable if we are stuck or need help in general. The support system here is great.

19

Portsmouth is great because with nearly all of the courses, you are highly advised to take a placement year between your second and third year of study. They have fantastic links with employers from across the country, these employers of which often do presentations and workshops with students. They also have a large careers and employability centre, which offer really helpful services like mock interviews, helping you to find a job and answering any questions you may have about future prospects whilst helping you to understand what your future prospects are. They take a really active role in your education and career and I feel like they really care!

While I am the student of Uop, the amount of effort put by university and union for our utmost involvement in many talks, and many more physics related events is exceptional. Professors are helpful, university buildings are well faciliated and location is great too. Before coming to this uni, I was so anxious about how my decision will turn out to be but after reaching here I am just happy that I choose this uni. I like it here!

We can contact any lecturers and they will help us immediately without any issues. The course timing is good, we are able to revise, recite and learn within a week.

First off, this is the cheapest one and the facilities are good as well with enough security, peaceful environment in its vicinity. Only one thing I dont prefer is thr shared bathroom which obviously wont be thing to ask for in less money. So, overall the hall is good to live.