Daisy is a second-year English Literature student
I was so anxious about the thought of university before I went yet this quickly changed when I started at Kent. Even though I’m a naturally quiet/shy person Kent has really been a supportive environment for me.
Why did you choose to come to Kent?
I’m from Whitstable anyway so I’m already very familiar with the Kent/ Canterbury areas already. Throughout my schooling, I’d also had opportunities to visit the university which I always really enjoyed. I loved the atmosphere of the campus. I originally was not going to stay at home for university; however, the University of Kent was one of the universities I looked at that I liked the most. Therefore, I thought I’d make up for staying at home for university by doing a year abroad. The year abroad experience at Kent really drew me to the university. I was excited about Kent’s established partnerships with such great universities abroad.
Why did you choose to study your subject?
I have always absolutely adored English Literature. I particularly fell in love with the subject at A level, though it was always the subject I gravitated to the most. When applying for courses I was not entirely sure what I wanted to do as a career; however, English at Kent seemed to give such a broad range of skills to be utilized in many different careers. I wanted to go to university but the most important thing for me personally was to do something that excited me, and I enjoyed which was English Literature. The variety of modules at Kent is really what finally drew me to do English at Kent.
How is your course going/how has it been?
I love the module options and how you can tailor them to what you like the most or likewise what you excel at. A lot of the lecturers are incredibly supportive of your studies, and I felt like I could always ask them questions about the course/modules. The scope of what you can do during your English Literature degree is broad. There’s a wide range of literary periods, themes, topics, genres and forms you can choose to delve into. You really have the ability to get really creative with your work and learn so many new things. Also, I loved how the history of Canterbury was tied into a lot on our course (particularly in the first year) so you could also learn about the area you are studying in.
How have you found the facilities on campus/your course?
The library facilities are fantastic. The Templeman is huge and has a lot of books available to help you with your studies. I really enjoyed how there was an online library search as well. The university has access to a lot of useful resources for finding useful books and excellent research papers online. The Templeman also has archives which we visited in first year which is a really interesting facility offered by Kent. The archives I found really exciting to look at.
Favourite Module?
This is such a tricky question, but one does stand out the most. This module was Other Worlds Dystopias and Futures from the first year of my degree. I previously assumed I did not like ‘dystopian fiction’ or ‘science fiction’; however, this course quickly made me realise that this assumption was very much incorrect. We read such a wide selection of books studying this module which made it fun. I found novels which I had never heard of which I absolutely love and fell back in love with novels I’d read before. The seminars I found an incredibly interactive welcoming space where we could freely share our ideas. The module was also incredibly creative. For instance, with the research project, we had a lot of freedom to explore different creative forms not just the typical essay.
Biggest Highlight?
I met one of my best friends at Kent and have met so many wonderful people from all over the world so I would say that has been my biggest highlight from this experience.
Are you involved in any societies?
There are so many societies to choose from. I’ve been to events for the Kent Uni Boob team which is great and represents CoppaFeel at Uni of Kent. Societies also do taster sessions which is great so you can try lots of things out. For example, me and my friend tried pole dancing which is so much harder than it looks!
What advice would you give to someone thinking of coming to Kent?
I was so anxious about the thought of university before I went yet this quickly changed when I started at Kent. Even though I’m a naturally quiet/shy person Kent has really been a supportive environment for me. Also, it’s totally okay to apply to Kent if you live locally. I would also recommend you start the reading slightly before you come and look over your modules so you can become familiar with everything. I also explored the campus and found where my seminars would vaguely be so I wouldn’t be so anxious about that on my first day. You also don’t have to buy all the books! You can borrow them from the library or there are also lots of ebooks so you don’t have to buy everything if you don’t want to. Although, the Blackwell’s bookshop on campus will also be able to help you with buying the books on your course.