Amie

What do you enjoy most about Surrey?

I feel like I am part of a community here. I chose a campus university to ensure that I felt connected and safe in my environment. The location of Surrey is beautiful and I have greatly enjoyed exploring surrounding areas. Campus offers so many cafes and place to eat - at a really good price too.

What do you like about your course and why?

All of the lecturers are so passionate about what they teach, it's infectious. All of my teachers are more than happy to have a chat about the course content and personal views on it. I feel I'm able to say what I'm thinking, and I am greatly encouraged. Some of my best lessons have come from this course, from how to progress academically to how to trust myself and push my confidence further. I don't have any exams, which allows me to show my full ability as a sociological and political scientist, and work on these skills with detailed feedback provided.

What do you want to do when you graduate?

I would like to do a Masters in Religion and possibly go on to complete a PhD surrounding how religion interacts with politics and the debates surrounding religion and connecting with people. Unfortunately I don't think Surrey offers a masters in Theology, so I will probably be changing universities after my undergraduate degree. I don't know what I would like to do as a job in the future, possibly something surrounding policy and trying to make a difference in the world around me.

What's your advice to new students?

To my fellow women looking to study in politics: learn to be more "arrogant" with your ideas. A professor told me there are no right and wrong answers here, just how well you can convince them with your argument. Learn to be confident with yourself and your ideas.

To all students: read the reading list and try to do the pre-reading before class. It doesn't always make a difference in class, but when it comes to writing your assignments, you'll thank yourself for having cut the reading in half.

Learn to take notes before you start. I did multiple years of theatre production before joining this course, and never learnt to write academic notes and have them be useful later on.