This week I thought I would take the opportunity to write a blog post about the Sports Centre and other sporting facilities available to the students of Lancaster University. For most students it is important to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle alongside academic life and at Lancaster the University is well equipped to cater to the needs of all fitness enthusiasts.

Lancaster University boasts a state of the art Sports Centre which opened in 2011 and was the result of twenty million pounds of investment. As would be expected, the centre has very many facilities and houses a swimming pool, squash courts, climbing wall, bouldering cave, sauna, steam room, badminton courts and 100 station gym. The centre also runs a series of classes, including aerobics, fitness classes and personal training sessions which all students are allowed to attend (with an additional fee).

The University offers four membership types which vary according to the requirements of students. The bronze student membership, costing £99 for 12 months allows the membership holder full access to the gym, swimming pool and cardio and weights room during off peak hours (Monday to Friday 7:00am to 12:00pm and 2:00pm until 4:00pm on weekends). The silver student membership, costing £199 per annum, entitles the user unlimited access to the gym, swimming pool and cardio and weights room, during both peak and off peak hours. The gold student membership, at a yearly rate of £242, pays for all the services of a silver membership plus the use of the sauna and steam room, climbing wall, badminton courts, squash, tennis, short tennis, table tennis and racquets. The platinum student membership, for the real keen beans in the exercising world entitles the user to all benefits of the gold membership as well as free classes. All memberships are accompanied with a free, and in fact compulsory, induction of the main gym rooms and equipment.

The use of lockers is also free and the centre is easily accessible to both on campus and off campus students. Whilst the Sports Centre is located a five minute walk from the main Alexandra Square, it is also on the main bus route from the town centre towards the University (approximately twenty minute bus ride away). For a further and visual insight into the centre, the following link will take you to a 360˚ tour of the inner building. (http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sport/sports-centre/360-tour/).

The Sports Centre is open between the hours of 7:00am and 10:00pm during the week, from 8:30am until 6:00 on Saturdays and 9:30am until 6:00pm on Sundays. However, outside of these hours, other exercising opportunities are available.

In addition to the Sports Centre, Lancaster University is located amidst acres of countryside which is ideal for the more frugal jogger. There are also numerous trails and routes for those wanting to go for lengthy walks in the scenic surrounds of the University.

This week life is pretty much continuing as normal. Essay results are slowly dripping back in and I’m beginning to prepare presentations which make up the coursework for my modules this term. As someone who is absolutely terrified of presenting, this week I will talk a little about confidence and anxiety at university and how I am dealing with it.

It’s easy to fall into the background at university; there are so many talented people with the confidence to show it off it really is a skill worth investing some time in. Think of this as an opportunity of a life time, yes you could cruise through it in your comfort zone and be fine but with confidence it could be so much more. I suffer from quite bad anxiety, I struggle to walk into rooms if I think people will notice, I get anxious at having to make any phone calls and if I’m slightly uncomfortable with something I retreat back into my shell and may point blank refuse to do it. First year I was so over whelmed that I barely did anything aside my work and missed out on a lot of experiences and friends because of it, whilst I watched others setting up businesses and getting out there. If there’s any advice I would give my first year self it would be to just do it.

Not only does confidence affect the social experience you will have but the academic one too. I would never have taken modules that involved presentations as coursework and so would have missed out on the topics I wanted to do. Neither would I have had the confidence in myself to learn the necessary mathematics or asked for feedback to improve my work.

The only way I found to get out of my first year box was to force myself into situations where I was accountable for certain tasks that I knew I would be scared of when they came about, but that gave me time to prepare for them. For example by running for treasurer I could start off lurking in the periphery of a dark room at RocSoc and slowly build up to being on the doors taking money or booking coaches. By taking modules you know there will be presentations for in the future weeks you can start early and practise so that by the time you get to it you do the best job you can. If there is an option not to do it then it won’t happen but forcing yourself through it will eventually build up that confidence until you have a choice and still do it. It may still be terrifying but I no longer feel angry at myself for being the person holding me back.

I realise this doesn’t apply to everyone, possibly no one but me, but I felt that if it encourages anyone to step out of their comfort zone then it is in some way beneficial. Lancaster University offers classes to help you, for example through the Lancaster Award I attended workshops on confidence and interview success which gave me that extra support in doing things which other people see as every day and easy. There are also plenty of people you can talk to such as academic tutors, the nightline or college representatives depending on what you need to help you feel more able, either academically or socially. Being at university is a chance to take all of your best assets and really develop them so don’t miss out, I know it’s easier said than done but it is doable and completely worth it.

This week I thought I’d write a quick blog about Lancaster University’s collegiate system. For those applying to Lancaster, you may be unaware that Lancaster University has colleges and may be uncertain as to what implications this holds. The purpose of this blog shall be to provide a brief overview of the function and mechanics of the college system at Lancaster.

Lancaster University is among a very small handful of Universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, to have a collegiate system. Lancaster has nine colleges consisting of; Bowland; Cartmel; County; Furness; Fylde; Grizedale; Lonsdale; Pendle and Graduate college. The first eight colleges are for undergraduates and the last college, `Graduate college` is for postgraduate students who have chosen to continue their studies after graduating with their undergraduate degree. Upon receiving a place on a degree course at Lancaster University, you will also be assigned a college.

College assignment is not based on your nationality or subject- it is not the case, for instance that all English Politics students are assigned to Cartmel college. Instead, students of all disciplines are present in all colleges which makes for an extremely diverse body of people within each college. Each college at Lancaster University has its own accommodation, so you will be living in halls of residence alongside your college members. This makes for an interesting environment in which you could be living in a room with a geographer to the room on your right, an engineer to the room on your left and a mathematician in the room opposite you. In my first year, although I was taking PPE, there was a German economist, a Polish law student, a Hungarian biomedical student and a Greek business and management student also living on my corridor. This kind of diversity is really good in that it can spark interesting and varied conversations which do not have to be confined to your subject specific course or your home culture.

Further to this many social events are held within each college. Each college has its own bar, nights out, annual extravaganzas and Fresher’s events. When I was in first year I remember my college, Furness, hosting Casino nights (only gambling with plastic chips, not real money, I’m afraid!), foam party clubbing events and dress up nights. Moreover, those in your college are most likely to become your closest friends. These are the people you will be graduating with when you finish your course.

Sporting activities are often organised within colleges, with different colleges having different sports teams which are often pitted against one another. To add to the fun, academic staff members are also college members which provides a great opportunity for college students versus staff matches.

We’re back in action; it’s the first week back after Christmas and its already full steam ahead to Easter. I’ve started two new modules this term, both in economics, and aside that there is only my dissertation to be done. This term will also be a little emptier as we are soon to have elections for RocSoc and, as this is my final year, I will need to step down. In this way it feels like my time at Lancaster University is moving into the ‘final push’ stage before the end, which is now unnervingly close. Given that most of this term is likely to be filled with my dissertation that is my topic of today, or at least my experiences in finding a topic and getting underway.

 

Picking a Topic

Some people you will meet already know, or think they know, what they want to do for their dissertation from day 1 and that can make you feel behind or lost if you’ve never even thought about it…don’t worry about it. In fact, it’s probably better that you don’t have an idea until you actually have to decide given that you will learn a lot in that time and change your mind many times. What does help is to have an idea of what you like within your subject area and then slowly narrow it as you go until there is a specific area you know you are willing to dedicate most of your spare time to reading about. As you have no lectures or seminars to keep it at the top of your mind you will need to motivate yourself and that is a lot easier if it’s something you think about a lot anyway.

 

Tutors

Every tutor manages their students differently. I know some of my friends have quite strict tutors who set them deadlines to finish drafts and prepare meetings far in advance, others have laid back ones who are happy to have meetings when you feel you need them. Given there is some flexibility in who can be your tutor, as in the PPR department you select a number of tutors you feel are suitable for your topic, make sure to think about more than just expertise but also consider who you will work well with or how enthusiastic they may be about your topic. The other point to remember is that having a single tutor does not mean you cannot get input from elsewhere. As my dissertation is multidisciplinary it’s useful to have more perspectives and so I often ask my tutors from other modules if they think there is a route I should be exploring.

 

Starting

When you start your dissertation it seems gigantic and that blank page in front of you can be intimidating, sometimes to the point where you end up procrastinating as you don’t know where to start. What worked for me was to start somewhere in the middle instead of with the introduction and then working my way out. Once you have a few ideas down on paper it becomes a lot easier, even if you know it’s poorly written and may even be entirely chopped out in the final draft. On top of this have a little paragraph, or even a few lines, that reminds you of your issue and gets you straight back into the zone every time you come back to it. By the 5,000 word mark it’s easy to lose focus so having a reminder of where you’re going or a list of ideas you want to get into helps keep that on track, especially as throughout the process you will keep adding more and more or becoming side tracked with an issue that is not really relevant. Despite all of this it is not as bad as it seems, set yourself a quota of so many words per week and treat it as writing a series of mini essays on the same topic, it makes it a lot more manageable.

 

 

Hello!

We thought we would write about something which you won’t have to think about until the end of your first year (unless you choose to live off campus from the start) – living off campus.

In second year you do have the chance to request to stay on campus, as quite a lot of people do. However, you also have the opportunity to move into town. For us both, deciding to live off campus was a really good decision.

It is good to sort out who you want to live with quite early on (around November / December time) as a lot of houses will be taken up quickly. You might be happier living with your flatmates from campus, or you could choose to live with course mates / society friends. In Lancaster there are lots of agencies to choose from, most of which rent out houses which hold anything from 2-10 people.

When looking for a house, location is obviously key. Make sure you pick somewhere close to a bus stop (within walking distance) and somewhere not too far from town as you don’t really want to be walking home for ages in the cold after a night out!

Living in town is very different to living on campus. Firstly, you probably won’t be living with so many different people surrounding you – this can be quite nice as you do develop really strong friendships. Secondly, on campus everything is a quick walk away (shops and bars) whereas living in town means that you have to venture out a bit more and discover places in the town itself…(such as, pubs and restaurants).

For us both we preferred living in town as it felt like there was a separation between uni and ‘going home’. This is nice because it means that it is easier to relax at home as you aren’t surrounded by uni and the thought that your lecture room is only a 2 minute walk away.

If you do end up living in town, bus services are really regular to get to uni. There are different buses which take different routes to get to uni so wherever you live you will probably be on one of those routes. A return to campus from town is around £2.40, or a bus pass is also a good option for the year if you will be travelling to campus a lot.

If you have a car and drive to uni from town it takes approximately 10 minutes and it is easy to park on campus for £1 a day.

Some people do choose to stay on campus for their whole time of being at uni – this is tempting as it is convenient and makes life a little easier in the mornings. But, if you do choose to live off campus the chances are you will really enjoy it – just pick your housemates wisely and make sure you feel comfortable with them.

Becky and Katie x

As Lent term is the term Freshers are usually beginning to think about next year’s accommodation, I thought I’d write a quick blog with some information, tips and advice on moving out of halls and into a student house. In the first term, those who have just arrived at Lancaster University, fresh out of sixth form, usually only know a couple of people. By term two, however, you have to make a decision about who to live with in the following year. This is not a decision to rush into! It is best to take your time reviewing all of the housing possibilities and carefully deciding who you want your next year’s housemates to be.

There are many different accommodation types for second years and many students choose to move out of their first year University halls on campus and into a rented student house. LUSU Living, is the estate agent firm which is partnered with Lancaster University and has branches both on campus and in the Lancaster town centre. If you are worried about being ripped off by private landlords or unscrupulous estate agents, then LUSU Living is a good first port of call to check out what sort of rents you should be being charged and what kind of properties are out there.

It is often best to rent with an estate agent that has an `all bills included` contract so that you do not have to worry about racking up costly gas and electricity bills. Particularly in the winter time, it is a relief to know that you can stick the heating on whenever you want, instead of huddling under a blanket with about a billion jumpers on because you are worried about your gas bill at the end of the month!

Another top tip, is to ensure that you thoroughly read your rent contract before you sign it. You may have viewed a property that you instantly fell in love with- double bed in a nicely decorated bedroom, large television in the lounge, spacious kitchen and charming garden, but always make sure you give the papers a read before you sign. On the whole, most landlords offer reasonable terms to their tenants, but it is always good to be wary just in case. Make sure you check for clauses in the contract which stipulate the amount of notice that you have to give before you are allowed to leave- if it is three months notice then you want to be clued up on this so that you can notify your landlord three months before the end of Summer term, otherwise you might be looped into staying the whole Summer!

Further to this, make sure that you find out if payments are monthly or termly. Termly payments are quite nice as they generally tie in with student finance payments. That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with paying your rent in monthly instalments- it just means that you have to be good at budgeting! You don’t want to have blown your student loan if you still have rent payments to make!

Hello, hope you had a nice Christmas!

We thought we would write about something that happened before Christmas but is still affecting Lancaster and the surrounding areas – the floods.

As per usual it was raining a lot in Lancaster (the weather is something you will have to get used to – especially if you are not from the north of England). On one Saturday night there was a power cut and everyone thought it would not last long however, from Saturday onwards Lancaster was a bit chaotic. There was no phone signal, nobody had any electricity and no shops were really open. It was a bit scary however, everyone seemed to see the funny side to it and just tried to carry on as normal (as much as they could). People were queuing to use phone boxes and it felt like Lancaster had gone back in time.

It turned out that the electricity box which powers Lancaster had become flooded – leaving nearly every home without electricity. The uni was shut for the last week of term because of the floods and all coursework deadlines / exams were postponed until January. Even though the whole flood saga was not good, it did show good community spirit and everyone clubbed together to help each other out. Everyone was talking to one another and people, whether you knew them or not, we’re making sure everyone was okay and was helping out where they could. The uni handled the whole situation really well and made sure that everyone was safe.

It’s good to know than whenever a problem as large as that one occurs Lancaster uni, and Lancaster as a whole, deals with it well!

Hopefully the flooding will soon stop across the north of England and everything will go back to normal!

Becky and Katie x