My Experience at Chester: The Best Years of My Academic Journey
Second-year Forensic Biology student Hayden talks about his favourite aspects of being a part of the University of Chester, and also some of the challenges he has overcome.
Hi there! My name is Hayden. Coming to university can be an intimidating experience for thousands of students, but in my two years at the University of Chester, I have had an amazing experience both inside and outside of the lecture halls.
My Favourite Part of Chester
My favourite part of the campus is the accessibility. Compared to a lot of other universities, the University of Chester is not overbearingly massive. Each of my classes is only a few minutes away from the others, massively lowering stress about making it on time and not getting confused about where any of my lectures are.
Forensic Biology
I love my course here at the University of Chester. Forensic Biology was a course I rarely found at other universities when I was researching my options. This course takes a deep dive into all aspects of forensics, such as DNA profiling and fingerprinting, taught by experts in these subject areas. It has been the best educational experience of my life!
Chester Itself
Chester is full of life. The Chester races, parades and music performances – Chester has it all. There is never a dull moment here, and there's always something going on to keep me busy. Furthermore, it is so accessible, you can walk practically anywhere in Chester, whether it is shopping, entertainment or employment. Nothing is ever too far to access here in Chester.
Challenges
Before coming to university, I was told a lot by individuals both in college and secondary school that university is a free-for-all with no support systems, and I would like to share with you some of the challenges I have faced in my time here and how I came to overcome these obstacles to show how the University of Chester is the opposite of this university stereotype.
Referencing
One key struggle I have faced at university was referencing. This was an entirely new concept to me that I had never faced. During secondary school and college, exams were just completed using information you were taught in classes and textbooks, but university takes that extra step, where you must reference where every piece of information comes from and know the correct sources to take information from. For every assessment completed, there is always an element of referencing.
The University of Chester is incredibly helpful during struggles like this. Lecturers recommend specific forums to find information, such as ScienceDirect. There are also provisions, such as the academic skills team. They were very helpful during early assignments, such as with the formatting into APA 7th. They provide helpful tips to make sure you are on the right track.
Employment
With the cost-of-living crisis building within our country, it gets increasingly difficult for students to survive solely on their student loans while they study. From personal experience, it makes budgeting money a stressful process, leading many students to seek employment in the city.
Employment here has been wonderful. The University is a great help for us students in gaining employment. They show job advertisements that are local in the area that are ideal for fitting around studies, ensuring you can still make all your classes and allow you to make enough money to live comfortably while you study.
Conclusions
Overall, my experience here at the University of Chester has been the best two years of my academic journey, and I feel so lucky to know I have another year to experience. Why not book an Open Day and discover first-hand the experience I've been lucky enough to have?
Below, I will leave a link to my course to give a taster of the kind of experience you may get from Forensic Biology!