• Question: what was it like in university?

    Asked by anon-263620 to aprilcridland on 12 Oct 2020.
    • Photo: April Cridland

      April Cridland answered on 12 Oct 2020:

      I did something unusual. I studied at the Open University for my undergraduate degree and then at Sussex University in Brighton for my Masters and PhD. So for my undergraduate I studied at home in the evenings and worked all day in a job. This was particularly difficult. You have to teach yourself the content and be disciplined.

      When I went to Sussex, I could discuss things that I didn’t understand with other students. This was invaluable. It also gave me the opportunity to meet people from all around the world. I think this is an important aspect of university education. It pushes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to challenge your own biases and preconceptions.

Comments

  • Photo: Will

    Will commented on :

    University is a really weird (in a good way) time. For me and most of my friends it was the first time I’d ever lived away from home so all of us were just muddling along with no real idea of what we were supposed to be doing. But at the same time it was also really freeing to not have to check with my parents when I wanted to go out, I could do what I wanted whenever I wanted. There are so many opportunities at uni to do things you’d never have the chance to otherwise. I got to go and live in Australia for a year, I went on a crazy uni ski trip with 700 other students from my uni, I had weekend trips to Dublin and Budapest. I even learnt to Windsurf at one point! (I wasn’t very good….)
    I also found the work really different from school and sixth form. At Uni generally everyone actually wants to be there and wants to learn what they’re being taught so there’s nobody trying to disrupt the lessons because they’re bored. You can also end up having big discussions at the pub about the intricate details of mouse genitals which definitely gets you some funny looks! You also make friends with so many people from different courses who can end up teaching you about so many different aspects of life!