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Course review
Review by: Edward N
University: The University of Birmingham
Course: Geography and Geology
Year of study: 2nd
Level of Study: Undergraduate
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The course in general
How many contact hours do you have in the average week?
8
Ideally, what 3/4 subjects would you recommend doing in order to be in the best position for your course?
Geography, Geology, and another Science, or possibly English
Why did you decide to study your degree programme?
I chose to study my course because it was the subject I enjoyed most at school and I know that there are good job prospects afterwards. Expecially in the geology field and anything to do with Global Warming (which we study a lot about).
Explain the things you wish you'd known about your degree before you applied:
I think it's better to find out things as they come. If you don't like a particular aspect of the course there are loads of people to whom you can talk,or you can pick different modules that you may prefer
Describing your average day
Explain how your day is made up. For example, do you have labs/seminars/tutorials/lectures?
Most days are 2 or 3 hours of lectures. The course is mainly lecture based but there are also some sessions in labs doing practical work. We also carry out several field trips throughout the course, usually lasting 2 weeks, to Wales, Scotland and Spain. For the first year you also have tutorials in groups of about 8 people. These cover more of the non-academic based parts of university life.
How much extra work/reading are you required to do out of lectures?
It is recommended to do lots of reading out of lectures.The university says that being a student you should spend the same amount of time as a person in full time work, eg 40 hours. So taking off the 8-10 hours of lectures means around 30 hours of extra reading. Essays and other assignments take up quite a lot of this time though. The work load is quite heavy with regards to essays. For example, I wrote 7 2000-3000 word essays just in my first semester.
Is there anything else you think is relevant or that you would like to add in respect of your course?
Do it, it is really a very interesting course and Birmingham is a great place to study and to live.
The best and worst parts of the course
What do you like best about your degree programme?
Everything. There are not really many hours of lectures a week so if for a week you dont feel like doing a lot/have been ill/out a lot, then it doesnt really matter because it is easy to catch up afterwards.
What do you like least about your degree programme?
The difficulty.
Academics and course content
What do you think of your university's academics and facilities?
The university is brilliant, there is everthing you could possibly need on site as well as plenty of places to socialise.
Explain how you expected your course to be and how it compares to how it actually is. Give an outline of the content of the course.
As my course is a joint honours there two sides to it that are taught in quite different ways. The geography part is totally lecture based, whereas the geology is more practical with hands on experience. The topics covered are all clearly described on the universities website www.bham.ac.uk .
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University review
Review by: Edward N
University: The University of Birmingham
Course: Geography and Geology
Year of study: 2nd
Level of Study: Undergraduate
Visit the The University of Birmingham forum and see what people are discussing right now!
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Describing your university
Sum up your university in one paragraph:
Birmingham University is a great place to study and Birmingham is a great place to live, There is always something to do, the courses are very interesting but being so large (some 30000 students) it can sometimes be a bit impersonal.
What is the academic life like at your university?
It's all good. Loads of places to study, the biggest library I have ever seen with literally millions of books, and there are people available to help out if you ever need some extra help with something.
Describe your Freshers' Week - was it as you expected, better or worse? Why?
Freshers was brilliant, everything you could ever need to know was easy to find out and the nights out and getting to know people was brilliant. Best week ever!
What is the best and worst thing about your university?
The best thing is that it is in Birmingham which is a great city to live in as it is huge with so many places to go and things to do.
The worst thing might actually be the size of the university and the amount of people on each course.For example there are 350 people in some of my lectures which means you never get to know your tutors personally or many of the people on you course.
Sport and extra curricular
What are the sport and other activities on offer like at your university?
Sport is very highly regarded at Birmingham, the facilities here are only beaten by Loughborough. There are literally hundreds of clubs and societies.You don't have to be brilliant to join and just have a good time.
The social scene
What is the social scene (and/or nightlife) like at your university? Is it particularly alcohol orientated?
It is very alcohol related here as there are loads of huge clubs in the city, all of which offer a great night out. There are other things to do and also loads of societies to join.
What do you think of the city your university is based in or near (as a city)?
Birmingham is great, there are some parts you want to avoid at certain times but if you are in a group it is fine anyway
Accommodation
Do you live in a halls of residence or a student house (or college)? What would you suggest is best in your opinion?
I lived in halls for my first year, I highly recommend doing this as it is the best way to get to know people and to make some great friends. This year I will be living in a shared house but as I haven't moved in yet I can't really comment, although I'm sure it will be great as I'm living with the same people as last year in halls.
If you are in a hall or college, is it catered or self catered? Which is better for the first year in your opinion and why?
I was self catered.I think this is definitely the best way to go from speaking with people I know that were catered. Being self catered means you can eat when and what you want and it is also social to be in the kitchen with your other flatmates. Obviously self catered is a lot cheaper than catered and as long as you don't eat steak everyday it is still cheaper to cook you own food.
Approximately, what is the average cost of accommodation per week in your first year for catered and non-catered halls/colleges?
About £70 pw non-catered. £90/95 catered.
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