First Flight

The focus for this week is going to be my experiences with my chosen university, from first impressions on open days, to the general atmosphere of the city and university, to my advice for anyone currently studying or wishing to study there.

As previously mentioned, I studied at the University of Lincoln as an undergraduate from 2017 to 2020. The university wasn’t on my initial list, since during A Levels I was leaning more towards an English and Creative Writing course, which Lincoln didn’t have at the time, or an English and Media course, having really enjoyed Media at A Level. There was the straight English course, which I ended up choosing and really enjoying, but I didn’t initially explore this course until later. Instead, I traipsed my family across the country onto various open days for Creative Writing courses at a range of universities, from Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, Sheffield and Lincoln. A worthy note for anyone wishing to go to university to take from this, if lockdown and social distancing has reduced or ended, is to go to as many open days as possible. This gives you an opportunity to learn not only about your course, but about the layout of the university, the city and the facilities on offer. I personally don’t like the rush of big cities and prefer a mix of quiet and busy areas, with a campus that is close together and easier to navigate, which is why I shied away from some of the busier, larger universities.

It was at this point that Lincoln introduced a Creative Writing course, which I found really interesting but was unsure since it was a fairly new course at the time and the modules of the straight English course appealed to me more in later years. An arduous UCAS application later and I received unconditional offers from both courses. Then it was decision time. I decided not to pursue the English and Media course at Nottingham Trent as I felt that a joint honours course would be a strain for me, as I had heard that balancing two different courses wasn’t an easy task. I also leaned away from the University of Nottingham offer as I needed AAB for that course and I didn’t want the added stress during the very stressful period that is A Levels. So that left the two Lincoln courses. In the end I decided to go for the straight English course, realising that I had more choice with the optional modules in later years and knowing that I could choose creative writing modules to satisfy my writing passion as well as my educational interests.

So, on to Lincoln and the university itself. As mentioned earlier I was only just finding my confidence in a city - a smaller city than most, granted, but it was certainly bigger than the town where I grew up. But, the second I attended my first open day, I was confident that this was the city and university for me. I instantly loved the mix of history, with the castle, cathedral and famous steep hill, mixed with the modern shops and restaurants on the Brayford Pool. Honestly, I think it was a little tea room on Steep Hill that made me decide there and then that I would study at Lincoln, since it reminded me an awful lot of the cafe’s in Cornwall, one of my favourite holiday destinations. I highly recommend making the, at times quite painful, ascent up Steep Hill. It is exactly what it says on the tin, but definitely worth it. At the time, the Lincoln Cathedral tour was free to any student with a valid Student ID and so I really enjoyed seeing the culture up close when I went on the tour in my first year of university. For me, Lincoln was the perfect vibe - safe, compact and plenty to do all within a decent walk. Honestly I don’t know what I’d do without Primark, Wilko’s and HMV. They were my lifeblood. Another worthy note for anyone who favours film nights rather than nightclubs is to join Odeon Limitless. Again this is not a plug, but a personal suggestion. £19 a month to see as many films as I liked, any time, was a godsend in my first year, when I was still growing confidence and meeting new people. I must have seen The Greatest Showman at least four times the week it came out.

Much like the city, the university is compacted but spacious enough to allow you to explore. Every building you’d need is within a five to ten minute walk away and the bridges are especially useful to get to the other side of campus when you wanted to avoid the trains. See, the bridge over the main trainline wasn’t built until my second year, so we had to wait until the trains passed near the Tower Bar if we wanted to get to the other side. And those trains can either come quick, or three could go past at a dramatically slow pace. Luckily students don’t need to worry too much about that now, since they can just go over the bridge. We all have different names for the peculiar structure, but my personal favourites are the spiky taco or dinosaur bridge. If you have seen the bridge you’ll know what I mean. I was confused about the layout at first, but honestly two weeks into uni and it’s very easy to know your way around. I was mostly in the Minerva Building, the main hub of the uni, which was only a seven minutes walk from my accommodation.

Which leads me onto my next point - housing. My first open day I looked around different accommodations, deciding right away that I wanted to go to Brayford Quay. I had heard that this was an extremely popular spot, which I later learned was thanks to the AMAZING staff that work there. Despite the accommodation being booked up within ninety minutes I managed to get in, deciding to spend my entire three years there. It’s spot right on the quay was great for getting to uni, coming back from a night out or wanting to get to the cinema, which was only about two buildings away. We were also given a few questions before we moved in so that they could put us in a flat of 5 other like-minded people, which was really useful. There are always the odd squabble at uni, but for the most part I got along really well with who I was placed with. Honestly, living in the city you study at drastically changes your experience, especially if you are placed with nice people. I was very lucky.

One of the many things past students tell you is to join a society. Now I’m joining on the bandwagon a little here, but I would 100% agree! The freshers and societies fayre daunted me a little - hundreds of students calling for you to join their society, thrusting paper into your hands as you work your way through the long crowded line - but I knew for sure that I needed to find something that I knew I would enjoy to help me escape from assessment stress. So, naturally, I joined the English society and attended the Creative Writing society tasters. I never found time to go to many Creative Writing meetups, after finding a job, but joining a society with others on my course turned out to be very useful. It allowed me to meet others on my course and, honestly, those were some of the best socials. In my second year I also decided to join a sport. I wasn’t very sporty but knew that I enjoyed activities when abroad, such as rifle shooting and archery. So I joined archery, finding it hard at first to meet new people, but I pushed on with it. I’m so glad I did. Within a few months I had my own bow and arrow and was competing for the university, soon becoming Social Secretary in my second year. The society was great fun, since it was a solo sport, your results determined by your own skill, but with a social aspect with others who love the sport and want to try something new. Granted, the 5am wakeup for the 7am-9am shoot was painful, but we always went to Wetherspoons after, so it was worth it! There are plenty of other sports too, for a wide range of people. Even pole fitness now! Things will be a lot different now with social distancing, but I would still highly recommend joining a society to all at university. Go to as many tasters as possible and try something new. When else can you say you got to travel around the country representing your university? As mentioned on my ‘About Me’ page, I am currently the President of the University of Lincoln English Society. I’m very much looking forward to encouraging other students in the way that joining the society helped me, a quieter, rather geeky girl who would much rather read than drink away her nights. I’m still that girl, but I feel much more confident in myself and around others, so I have lots of ideas for the next year, even with social distancing. Watch this space to see how this year goes!

So, I hope that this particularly long blog post provided some insight into my opinion of Lincoln and the uni. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment box below or through my email - writeuponwings@gmail.com - if you are thinking of studying or are already studying at Lincoln and would like some advice, whatever it may concern. My online door is always open!

Until next week, when I’ll be reviewing my university course!

Emily