My final open day this summer was the University of Southampton. Again, Southampton is a fairly local university to me and there is a direct train from my local station to it, which is super handy. I went to Southampton with an interest in their Biomedical Science course, and linked foundation year and also their Graduate Medicine programme that I might be interested in doing after completing my first degree, so what did I think of it?
University of Southampton
Not only did I want to have a look at the university for my own interests, I wanted to have a look as well because my friend, Alicia, is going to Southampton Solent University which is not very far from Southampton University (Solent is closer to the city centre and West Quay whereas Southampton is closer to the airport). I wanted to see the area as well.
When I arrived I was given an Open Day guide, complete with a campus map, and I headed straight for the information fair – which is where main ‘check in’ was located as well. At Check In, I received a tote bag and I managed to talk to a couple of very helpful students, one being a BioMed student, too! The information fair was HUGE and exciting. I went around and spoke to so many different people and picked up so many freebies! I spoke to the Biomedical Science desk and the student union – and I even got a little cardboard VR headset!
After grabbing a quick drink from an onsite Starbucks (and playing with VR!), I headed to the Life Sciences building, which seemed new and recently developed, for a subject talk. I found the talk quite interesting and useful! After the talk, I spoke to a couple of students and picked up some information on the course. I then went to one of the labs to have a quick look around, one of the students showed me some glowing worms under a microscope and it was so weird!
I spoke to admissions at the Information Fair after this to check which course I would need to apply for. They said I wouldn’t need the foundation course and to just apply to the main course. I thought this was good, however, the entry requirements are slightly higher at Southampton than they have been at the other universities so it would depend if I meet the grades!
Then, I headed out to look at some accommodation. I looked a three different ones: an older en suite room, a shared bathroom flat and a very new set of en suite accommodation – all located in or around ‘Glen Eyre Halls’. I thought that they were all very nice, but I thought that the newest set was the nicest! Glen Eyre Halls are only about a 5 minute walk from campus so it’s super convenient! All the accommodation also give students a bus pass too, so I’d be able to get to town and Southampton Central station really easily and cheaply too!
I had some pizza for lunch at a cafe place on campus (can’t remember what it was called… maybe The Piazza or something) and then I went to have a look at the student shop and library!
So, that pretty much covers what I got up to at Southampton University – I hope you enjoyed reading about it! I liked Southampton and I am going to apply to it, but there is a chance that I won’t get in due to the entry requirements being higher!
Thanks for reading – what uni do you like the sound of the most?
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