The thing that attracted me to studying Dentistry here in Plymouth was initially the structure of my course, as it gave me critical practical experience early in the degree which included patient interaction. As you can imagine, this is what I will go on to do full time once I graduate, so Plymouth were building strong foundations for us from the start and I’m sure this translates across the other courses available here too.

Being Britain’s Ocean City there are inevitably a lot of ocean-based activities to do whether it be sports, exploring the surrounding areas or relaxing and enjoying the views. There are so many locations such as beaches and activities such as fishing out at sea that I would have probably never got to experience had I not chosen this university and I’m grateful for that. The good thing about Plymouth is that there is a good balance between the aforementioned activities and the normal city life that you would typically expect to find elsewhere in the UK e.g. restaurants/bars/shops. These things have helped me keep a healthy studying to relaxing ratio and I am sure they do for most of the students here.

University can be a struggle if you are unable to properly manage your finances. The first thing is to assess what your monthly/weekly income will be from all your streams of income which may be loans/grants from student finance, money from parents or from a job if you have one. Once you know this you should first start by allocating a fixed amount to the essentials e.g. rent and food etc, before seeing how much you have left to spend on things you would like rather than need. You can then divide this remaining money up however you wish to cover other costs such as gym/sports memberships, nights out or retail therapy.

You might wish to find a job to help earn some extra income. There are lots of opportunities for this in Plymouth whether it be in the city center or even working for the University as a Student Ambassador meaning you can choose the type of job which will best fit your schedule.

University is all about getting an education and having fun so try and keep a little bit aside from your monthly budget for those unexpected nights out or to buy your pal a gift on their birthday or to buy the latest FIFA, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Finally, companies know students can struggle with finances so always ask if student discount is available wherever you go and check Unidays before making a purchase as it can make a huge difference!