"Don't panic if you haven't made any close friends in your first few weeks; you'll make friends throughout your time at university and there is plenty of time to develop good friendships."
Patrick Jenkinson
Age: 21
Course: Law (third year)
“I looked around different law schools and found that Nottingham had a really good reputation. When I came to visit, I loved the campus, too.
The course here is strong academically but you’re also in an environment where you’re going to enjoy yourself. The thing I like about my degree is that it’s so diverse, and in the second and third years in particular, there’s a huge range of courses to choose from so you can specialise in whatever interests you. For me, that’s international criminal law and finance, but you could do things like family or wildlife law. The lectures are always very engaging because the staff are passionate about their subjects and that really comes across.
You have more core lectures than most courses and so you develop a really good group of friends on the course. There are also law-related student societies including the Law Society, which organises a lot of social and careers events and has different sports teams. The Mooting and Pro Bono societies allow people to practise their advocacy skills or help in the community. They are opportunities to get to know students from all years, and to make contacts at law firms for the future.
In my first year, I was in Hugh Stewart Hall. The atmosphere was very friendly and as it’s one of the biggest halls, it was always very busy and social.
I’d like to go into banking after I graduate, and I think my degree will be really useful. It’s such a good grounding and helps you develop key skills like research, communication, advocacy and picking out the relevant information from long texts.”