Rachel Bateman

Rachel Bateman

Graduated 2009, Chemistry
(Choral Scholar)

I have wanted to be at Oxford since I started secondary school and although being at a state school I was bit scared about applying it was worth going through the tough interview process to get a place. University College is known as one of the friendliest colleges in Oxford and this is definitely true. Within a week of starting I knew most of my year and the year above me, every time I walked across college I saw somebody I knew who always stopped and said hello. This friendly atmosphere is what makes Univ different.

I chose to do Chemistry because I found it a fascinating subject at school with applications in several parts of today’s society. It is also a broad based course with elements of Physics and Biology. In particular, I chose Univ for Chemistry because of its reputation for first class teaching and the large number of Chemistry undergraduates.

The course is split into three areas, Inorganic, Organic and Physical. In your first year there is also a Maths course that everybody has to take to ensure that everyone is at the same level. There are lectures and college based tutors for each area; the tutors set you work for their tutorials and the aim of this work is to test the understanding of the material given in the lecture course. Tutorials are in small groups with two, four or six people and really give you a chance to ask questions about and understand the material being covered in lectures.

At the end of the first year there are exams in all three areas plus a Maths exam, the second year then has exams in the three areas and no Maths exam but the exams are worth 25% of your degree. In the third year everybody sits three general papers in Inorganic, Organic and Physical plus three option papers. Being able to specialise in the third year really allows you to choose your strongest subjects and learn about these areas in a lot more detail, these final exams are worth 50% and the final 25% comes from the mini thesis project that is completed in the fourth and final year. There is also an option in the second year to take a supplementary course in Hilary Term, these options including certain languages, history and philosophy of science and various specialist chemistry topics.

Chemists are notoriously busy students with at least ten lectures, two days of labs and up to four tutorials in a week. This may sound like a lot but having this structure in my week means that it is in fact easier to organise your time.

Even with a busy study schedule I have managed to be involved in three musicals since being here as well as being a Soprano Choral Scholar in the College Chapel Choir. It is important to stay on top of work and being well prepared for tutorials means that you can get the best out of them. However, there is always time for extra activities; Univ offers everything in terms of sport, drama, music and any club that doesn’t seem to be running can always be started by any undergraduate. This means that you can get involved in almost anything here and balance your work with extracurricular activities to get the best university experience.