University Experiences Q&A

Abigail's University Memories.

1) Where did you apply and where did you choose to study?

Abigail: I applied to study at Anglia Ruskin University, Nottingham Trent University, Leeds Trinity University, Falmouth University and another one I can’t remember! It feels like forever ago I applied for university. I chose Falmouth University to study at.

Paris: I applied at Arts University Bournemouth, Plymouth College of Art, UCA Farnham and of course Falmouth University which is where I chose to study.

2) What subject are you studying?

Film.

Paris: Digital Animation

3)What year are you studying?

Abigail: I have almost finished my third and final year of university.

Paris: Third and final year.

4)Why did you choose that university?

Abigail: Falmouth was actually the first place I looked at to study Film, and when I came to an open day and for my interview it just felt like the right place to be. My mom says she knew right away from the look on my face that that was where I wanted to be.

Paris: A lot of people that I knew from home actually came down to Falmouth to study, it just seemed like the place to be if you wanted to study a creative subject. Unlike Abs, I didn't bother to come for an open day I just turned up up to my interview and then moved down to start the course.

5)What was your moving experience like?

Abigail: My parents brought me down from my hometown in Derbyshire with a car packed to the brim with all my stuff. It was nerve wracking but totally worth the 7 hour drive.

Paris: My boyfriend at the time drove me down and helped me move into halls. I think in total I had 2 maybe 3 boxes of stuff, not much at all. The moving experience for me on a whole was really exciting, I don't really get to home sick and for me there was so much going on you don't really get time to.

Paris' University Memories.

6)Where you ready to leave the nest?

Abigail: Yes and no. I’m extremely close to my family and for that reason I really didn’t want to be far away from them but at the same time I was ready for the freedom that university offered.

Paris: I was so ready to leave. New place, new people, new chapter of my life... I was excited!

7)What was your halls experience like?

Abigail: In a word, amazing. I was definitely extremely lucky to be put in a flat with the people I was. We had an incredible time first year, and most of us still live together now. Paris was one of those people I lived with first year, and even though she’s now moved into her own place we’re still just as close.

Paris: It was fantastic, like Abi said we had such a great bunch of people in our flat which really made all the difference. We also lived with the same group of people in our second year in a house that we found closer to town, again I loved it but there were 8 of us, thats a lot of bodies and eventually I needed a slightly calmer spot and I moved into a smaller place.

8)How did you cope with the stress of the course?

Abigail: By knowing there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There have been mini meltdowns and midnight phone calls to my mom for sure but knowing that it will all be worth it at then end definitely helps. And supportive friends ready with cups of tea and chocolate.

Paris: I felt I held it together pretty well... Until this year that is. This year I have been a mess and did not cope with it as well as I previously had. I would say that for me surrounding myself with supportive people really helped and secondly I took advantage of the on campus support team that offered me a huge amount of help including how to best manage my stress levels.

9)How do you feel about your choice of course now that you have almost finished it, was it the right one for you ?

Abigail: The course I chose was definitely the right one for me, I’ve loved every minute of it. It has helped me figure out what I don’t want to do as well as what I do, and definitely helped my confidence to stand up for what I want.

Paris: My outlook on this changes everyday. I have had some really fantastic times on the course however I have also for the first time ever really had my confidence knocked back to zero... I'm still trying to build myself back up from this.

10)Do you feel ready for the real world?

Abigail: Definitely not! As much as I’m ready for university to be over I am nowhere near ready for the responsibilities that comes with. Leaving means I have to get a job and find somewhere to live and figure out how to do things like taxes. Taxes! Does anyone know how to do those?!

Paris: Nope, nope and defiantly nope. I am so terrified, I just keep telling myself as long as you are moving forward you are doing fine.

11)What do you want to do when you leave?

Abigail: I am hoping to go into media journalism and academic writing. Doing the course I did helped me to decide I definitely didn’t want to do practical filmmaking, it’s way too stressful for me. But for now, I am going home to Derbyshire to work for a while and then hopefully going travelling for six months.

Paris: The only plans myself and Jacob (boyfriend) have made so far is to try and relocate to Bristol around september time. We have friends closer and my family would be closer as well as there being more work opportunities.

12) where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Abigail: In a dream world, New York City doing my Masters degree or more simply with a job I love in a place I love. Fingers crossed!

Paris: Hopefully working a job that I enjoy going to every day, whatever that may be. There is a lot of things that I still have to figure out but I am trying not to put to much pressure on myself to know what I want right away.