Rachel S.

How did you get into Psychology? 

I took Psychology A Level at school and loved it, and knew I wanted to study it further at university. Birmingham provides me with so much opportunity and diversity in studying psychology, from the different modules to pick from in final year to the wide variety of dissertation topics. Birmingham also offers great opportunities for career planning, such as the careers network team and career events. Joining the psychology society has also helped me as I have met many other psychology students, including those from other years of study or MSci students – who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. 

What was the main reason you chose Birmingham?

I chose Birmingham as they had a great Year Abroad scheme. I have always wanted to do a year abroad and Birmingham had a very well established scheme, with links to so many universities - I felt that it would give me the opportunity to go anywhere I wanted to. It made me feel that they had a better system and more established relationships with their partner universities than other UK universities I was looking at. The global ambassadors I spoke to on my open day also reassured me how well supported they felt during their application process for their year abroad, and that the university helped them out during and after their time away.

How have you found managing your time?

Over the past 3 years I have managed to balance a lot whilst studying. I have been a member of the kayak club since first year. In second year I joined Redbrick newspaper and went to theatre productions and wrote reviews, I also became a psychology ambassador and I joined the Guild as catering and bar staff. I feel all of this is very manageable as the uni organisations allow students to put studying first. I feel I have a lot of control and input in my working hours and can pick up shifts and features when it suits me.

What are your top 3 tips for prospective students?

1. Ask “How easy is it to get to and from the uni? What are the travel connections like?”
   For me personally I like to travel a lot, including going in and out of the city centre, going home to see family, seeing friends at other universities and spending my weekends kayaking outside of Birmingham. Birmingham was great for that as it is right in the middle of the UK so isn’t too far away or isolated from other cities. It has great train links – including the University station – and buses and trams in the city centre.
2. Look at the societies – if you are already part of a social or sports club at home and want to carry on whilst at uni – look at what is on offer at different unis and sign up. Likewise, if you have always wanted to try a sport but never had the opportunity, uni is the best time to try new things, especially in freshers week when there are lots of free taster sessions.
3. Look at the university rankings – university rankings are really helpful to look at and compare unis overall, on specific subjects, and things like ‘student satisfaction’ are important to consider – you will be living here for the next 3 years! Rankings are constantly changing, and whilst one uni might not be ranked very highly overall, it might be in the top then for the degree you want to study. Likewise a prestigious uni might not actually have a great ranking for your degree subject.

What are your future career plans after graduation?

I would love to spend a year working and travelling abroad. I am planning on travelling South America for a month, an then working in the Alps doing a ski season, perhaps as a chalet host or in the kindergarten. Then I would love to spend the following summer working at a kids camp in California as a lifeguard. I would then like to work maybe as a teacher or in a school, as I love working with children and young people.

What is your favourite memory at UOB so far?

My favourite memory at UOB has been kayaking in Slovenia as part of the UBKC summer trip to the Alps.