When we looked at pictures for it, for us to get a feeling for the place
And I just fell for Aberdeen
and when I read a bit about it just seemed obvious.
And then in my correspondence with them, when I tried to find out what was needed, they were so friendly
and they always replied quickly so it was obvious this would be my first choice.
And I'm really happy that I did choose it.
I wanted a change of scenery and the course had an awful lot of aspects to it that I quite liked the look of
I am also quite a keen scuba diver so there's lots of opportunities to do that around here
I had no idea how to be a scientist but they really trained us to know what to do.
So already now in second year I'm more comfortable with the thought of doing a dissertation project or anything that involves research
When I first started I was a bit like I've never cut anything up in my life
and now I wouldn't think anything of it
It's all part of the course and you take it in your stride, you just learn to deal with it and it's fine
An awful lot of our lab demonstrators are PhD students
They're very keen to talk about their own research with you, so you have someone who is maybe more down to your level that you can talk to about things
It's good because you can see where you are likely to progress when you leave here
The work being done here isn't just like 'we're teaching you this', it's actually being applied
A really good example is Helen Dooley, she's working on antibodies in sharks to fight cancer cells
I'm actually working in a lab with her this summer, so it's quite interesting to be involved and be aware of that and at the same time study it
They're very keen to not only just get you through the degree, but make sure you understand everything you're doing as well
There's a couple of professors that I think I can always turn to and ask
'Could you help me with this application?' or 'Do you think that's a good university to go to for a Masters?'
The university's associated with Oceanlab which is really quite well known leading the way in deep-sea research
which I thought would be something I would be very interested in, and I was right
The Oceanlab is about 30 minutes away, and we do go there quite often to around where the Ythan is
Just being located next to the sea, it's good to get out. I prefer getting out and doing dirty work, I don't want to be sitting in a room with a fish tank
It's just a different experience entirely, from being in the lecture theatre all the time
It's great listening to people telling their tales of their research and what they've done
and it's a completely different thing to experience it yourself
and you get that opportunity here
There is a field course they do at the end of second year, we went to Shetland for a week
and we worked in the fisheries college out there
and you learn so much in that one week that you just take with you for the rest of your degree and then hopefully beyond that
I went to Coastal Biodiversity in Cromarty, spent two days in Oceanlab which is really good, and then spent five days up there with about 20 of us all together
We went out and we saw dolphins, we saw seals, we were monitoring bird populations
You're not sitting with one lecturer to 30 students, there's 20 of us and four of them so it's really hands-on one-to-one research which is cool
You can walk 20 minutes in Aberdeen and get to anywhere you want, so transport's not an issue in the city at all
It's a good student city
I live really close to campus, and I don't go into town unless I have to because most things are here
And there's so many wee nooks and crannies, I'm still finding places and I've been here for three years now
And the student life is really good, so you can get involved in so many things, which is a bit counter-productive for your studies
but I think it's really good for you social life
I think it's just a really friendly place, it is relaxed but, all work hard
Third year stats, all work hard!
It's a good course, and I enjoy it, and I'm glad that I chose it and I'm glad that I came here
And it's definetly changed my life for the better