Hi everyone
Since this is my first post I will start by telling you a little bit about myself and why I chose to study at the University of York. I thought it might be nice if I was able to share some things I have learnt since beginning university and therefore I will try to conclude each post with a few tips or things I wish I had known when I was in your position.
So, my name is Hazel, I’m 20 years old and I’m currently in my second year studying Social Policy. Coming from a relatively small family (I always surprise people when I tell them I only have one cousin!) I am the first for 30 years to be studying at university. Believe it or not, the last person to be at university was my mum – also at the University of York! Unsurprisingly, a lot has changed since then, however she still got excited guiding me around the campus and city centre.
If you have attended university open days, whether at York or elsewhere, it is likely you were bombarded with various facts and statistics regarding the reputation of the university. As a Russell Group university, clearly York is a prestigious institution, and this includes the Social Policy and Social Work department. I won’t bore you with a bunch more statistics, but you can take my word for it – it really is fab.
Living less than an hour’s train journey from York, I think I take the city’s charm and beautiful surrounding countryside a little for granted, so if I appear to skim over anything that you would like to know more about please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions!
York is renowned for its history and culture and has a population of a little over 200,000. To place this into context if don’t know York, you could compare it to cities like Cambridge, Exeter or Swansea. I would consider York to be small enough to feel friendly and not overwhelming, but big enough for it to always feel like there is something going on. All year round the city has a little buzz about it and consequently it is a wonderful place to explore when your family or friends come to visit you at university
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In future posts I will go into more detail about the delights of the city but briefly some of my favourite recommendations;
- Explore the York Minster and city walls
- Window shopping (or actual shopping) down the beautiful cobbled pavements of the Shambles
- Take an amble around the York Museum gardens
- Have a cruise on the River Ouse
- Enter the York Dungeons or take a guided Ghost walk at night (although I can’t say I’ve personally braved either of these)
Visit the York race course- Watch the street performers
- Get a drink in some of the amazing cocktail bars
- Watch a performance at the theatre
I recall being offered so much information and slowly but surely each university, and the slightly different courses they offered, all started to blur into one. I would recommend either taking notes or writing key things you liked/ didn’t like about the city, department, accommodation, transport facilities etc. Whilst the open days have finished for this year however I would highly recommend coming along to have a little snoop around the university campuses and explore the city.
In the meantime maybe have a little watch of these Youtube videos to get a taste of what York has to offer (here and here)
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