What makes Swansea university stand out is its student support system, ensuring that all the students feel good while studying. During exam periods, the Student Union prioritises well being over academic success, which I think can be achieved when accompanying each other. For instance, they provide free products and pamphlets on how to manage stress, which is integral in learning how to cope with mental health in a high stress environment. This makes Swansea uni a great place to study as there is no individual mentality: you feel like you can receive support at any instance. Swansea suffers a lot of prejudice from other university students, I have had remarks from both Oxford and Exeter students about how it is an inferior institution to go to. I supposed the stigma was attached to Swansea being a Welsh uni, and their opinions were a product of centuries long prejudice towards the Welsh. Swansea shouldn’t be looked down upon, it would be commended as a top uni. Swansea has a high student satisfaction - 82% are overall satisfied with the course, and the Uni is always looking for feedback from their students in a process of improvement. I think Swansea subverts the elitist system of uni rankings by demonstrating to its student that there’s more to life than simply academic success: the students join extracurriculares because they want to, not simply to contribute towards a culture of presentism. To choose Swansea as a top uni is to disengage from nepotism tied to the UK university system as well as elitism . Of course I am biased in my writing but Swansea is a legitimately underrated university. (However it’s brutalist architecture can be depressing at points) but I am not suggesting a large scale rebuilding project just to improve the aesthetic of the university.

The best aspects of my course is that after two years of COVID and online learning, I can finally go back to class. I am sure this is representative of the majority of students, as COVID had a detrimental impact on education as a whole. I have enough contact hours now to engage with my lecturers and they can recognise all of the students despite large numbers in the class. I do a joint honours so the Spanish side of the course has always been almost homely due to the smaller amount of students. I think having a more comfortable relationship with lecturers makes it easier to communicate and this should apply for every student. The worst aspect of my course (international relations) is the repetitive nature of it. Of course some subject matter must resurface over time but as a person who constantly wants to learn about new dimensions of the discipline, sometimes this isn’t met.

I think university halls are generally really expensive across the UK and this should be addressed, but they do offer a lot of services: bills included, post, maintenance etc . For Swansea, the halls aren’t as expensive as other parts of the UK (namely London and Sussex) so it can make uni a more enjoyable experience for students worried about money. Swansea is a cost effective uni and offers financial support to those that need it. However the maintenance is slow and this can be improved

An excellent experience although I am only in 2nd year but my experience has been great the pat year and a half. Everything about Swansea uni is appealing. I study Spanish and the language department is excellent. The support at the uni is great especially have a personal tutor to keep you on track. A thoroughly enjoyable experience which I hope and I'm sure will continue for the rest of my degree.