Hey friends, it’s SJ here again and I’m writing to you today about (possibly) one of the most crucial stories that you, prospective students, have heard from me yet – you do NOT want to miss this one! This blog is about my personal experience of uni hunting and the exact reasons why I landed on the Uni of Exeter in Penryn, Cornwall to be my home for the following three years!! So, if you’re new here, I am just about to begin my second year studying the Renewable Energy BSc. I am part of the Dance and Swifty Society and LOVE exploring the beaches, hiking over the Cornish coasts or grabbing a coffee in one of Fal’s most adorable cafes. Because of how unique Falmouth is, everyone who studies at this campus is here for very similar reasons. Being unlike any other university around the country, nearly everyone who comes here is here because of the love we share for this environment and the specific courses on offer here.
The importance of open days
So I am a person who absolutely has to feel comfortable somewhere before they commit to anything. And so, open days were the single most important part of the uni hunting process for me and honestly, if I hadn’t have done it properly, I may have ended up somewhere completely different! My course is a very niche one, and alike many courses they offer at the Penryn campus, there aren’t too many university options around the country which offer it, so obviously this massively cut down my search. I was left with about 10 unis in total that had a decent course on offer to me. I did A LOT of online research including virtual tours, online chat rooms with current students and many hours of scrolling through their websites until I finally decided on four that I wanted to go and visit, including two city campuses. Exeter was actually the first I went to. We made the seven hour drive down to the Cornwall campus on the weekend and stayed in a tiny little Airbnb, but we honestly had the BEST time! We were met with amazing student ambassadors who gave us a tour of campus, you could see their admiration for the place from how enthusiastic they all where. They took us all the way down to my course’s specific building, as well as around the greenery on campus and the accommodation. The whole place felt was so peaceful and welcoming. The open day activities from my course were also so interesting, and getting to meet many of the lecturers beforehand meant I got such a good insight on the course itself, and even met a few other students then who I am now friends with to this day! And all I’ll say is, just as the tour was over, I sent a message instantly to my best friend and said, “Think it’s safe to say I will 1000% be coming here”. And honestly that was it for me, I was sold. I actually ended up applying to three different courses all at this campus, and never did apply to two city universities I looked around as seeing them in person showed me exactly how much those places were not for me!
Life as an anxious girlie
As someone who has struggled with anxiety for the past five years of my life, my mental health and wellbeing even came before my choice of course in the order of importance to me when looking for a university. I know that kind of seems crazy, and I’m extremely grateful I didn’t end up in a situation where I had to prioritise one over the other, but I knew from the beginning that if I was not comfortable, if the place did not feel like home or there was anything playing on my mind, I could not move and live seven hours away from my friends and family. I needed somewhere that had an element of peace to it, or somewhere I could go to relax and switch off. But to be honest, I could not think of a less stress inducing place of the country to be than Cornwall. The campus alone with the greenery and the effort that goes into making the gardens and grounds so beautiful, meant I had a safe space I could escape to whenever I wanted- The Walled Garden especially is my favourite place to go and read a book or get some studying done. And all of this was honestly a huge thing for me, especially in comparison to those city unis I looked at. Plus, with the amount of sea swims and exercise I get in from long hikes, it almost becomes impossible to build up too much stress! Although I have never personally used the campus mental health support team, at the beginning of term last year, every single lecturer absolutely hammered it into us where to go to find support and help, they are very aware everyone is away from home for the first time and there is so much available out there if you go looking.
Accommodation and facilities
These are yet another, vital factor when choosing your university. What is the point in spending a lot of money on tuition fees every year, if the facilities and equipment just don’t feel worth it? Luckily, Exeter is full of fancy and modern science labs with tonnes of equipment, making all our STEM courses such good quality (that’s the name for the group of subjects covering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). There are computing rooms, a great library and some really lovely lecture theatres. Also, when it comes to the environmental related courses, the Falmouth location is ideal due to the proximity to the sea, wildlife, renewable energy centres and the mines. The lecturers all have such true passion for their course, and I especially love that the Renewable Energy course has a female subject lead (when zero other universities I visited even had a single female member of staff on the RE course). You are also provided with one-to-one advice through personal tutors, who you get termly meetings with and can contact at any point throughout the year for help on essays, general uni advice or just for a catch up! There are also tonnes of services that comes with the uni, for example the ASK Academic Skills Advisors who are available to support you through individual appointments to look over essays or help you with referencing or even get you back up to date with Maths and Stats through tutorials! When you get given your ELE account (what we use to check lecture notes and assignments), have a play around on the website to see what else you can find on there. And let’s not forget – Exeter is a Russell Group after all, there will always be exceptional help out there! The other section of campus is the accommodation. Glasney Student Village is super convenient and can be found a three minute (yes three, I timed it once!) walk away from your lecture theatres. When looking around the city unis, I found I absolutely hated the 6 story, huge block of flats they seem to have everywhere, they just seemed so daunting. Whereas Glasney, had such a more homely feel – especially when you can see fields, horses, wind turbines and the sea, all from your kitchen window! And the rooms here are huge and all have ensuites! The bus stops can also be found in the centre of campus, meaning traveling to town and back couldn’t be easier, which is great for nights out. Walking around campus or the accommodation at night has never been a worry for me, I’ve always felt safe and it’s not scary in the slightest.
The town and beaches
That last point brings me onto the nightlife and activities you can get up to in Fal. Let’s get one thing clear, if you have come to university purely for huge clubs, insane bars and a huge nightlife scene – this is not the university for you. But if you love a random Tuesday afternoon spent sunbathing at a sandy beach with crystal clear water, followed by a surf and BBQ and then a chill evening in the pub with your mates, then you’re in the right place. Don’t get me wrong, there are tonnes of bars and a few clubs in Falmouth town, and I’ve had a billion wild Wednesday or Saturday nights out, having the best time ever in our local club Mangos, or maybe at a flat party, or society social on a boat. But there is a much more relaxed culture here. And everyone here understands that, we make the most of what we’ve got and honestly no one is complaining. Go and check out some of my previous blogs about our nightlife, but it’s more about enjoying a nice evening with your friends then it is raving, so do not come here expecting what it’s not! Howeverrr, in terms of beaches… I do guarantee you that you’ll be pulled for a sea swim in your Freshers week, so make sure you’ve got your wetsuit! I remember when I was down for my first open day, me and my mum were sat at Gylly café (the local beach) in OCTOBER and we saw two girls run into the sea, whilst it was raining and less than 10 degrees, we thought they were insane! And the crazy thing is, that is now me on a weekly basis :0 My personal favourite beaches you guys should check out are, of course Gylly beach, a 15 minute bus from campus, Grebe beach (stunning views) and Maenporth Beach, great for evening swims and BBQs. Exploring the sites of Cornwall is one of the best things down here to do. And the cozy pubs and really edgy bars in town are perfect place to hang out after a stressful week – this is the kind of community that I knew I wanted to be a part of, and I completely understand that it’s not for everyone, but I knew it was for me.
So, do your research, go to the open days, and go and find out exactly how you want to spend the next three years of your life – it’s an important decision! For me, I love the nature aspect of our Penryn campus, while the course is ideal and the nightlife is exactly my vibe. The close proximity campus and all the different facilities to offer makes this place suit so many different people – and I hope you’re one of them!