Lara - Natural Sciences (Biological)

Name: Lara Anderson

Subject: Natural Sciences (biological)

Year: 3rd year

A-levels taken: Biology, Chemistry, Maths

What does your working week entail?

Third year NatSci is very different to
the first two years, which involve a large amount of timetabled practicals
and lectures. In the third year it is all down to how much you want to do!
I have six lectures a week and then if I want a supervision on a particular
topic I approach the lecturer after they have given their course and
arrange a supervision. For each lecture I then do four or five hours of
reading of scientific papers for it, to get a good understanding of the
topic (but how much time you spend on this is totally up to you!) In the
second term I have a project to do, which involves spending approximately
100 hours in the lab over a course of eight weeks, to perform an experiment
designed by you (with the help of the supervisor)

How easy was the transition from A-level to the first year of your degree?

The first one or two lectures for each course are quite simple but it soon
gets onto new material quickly! Having said that I did not find the
transition particuarly hard, everyone is in the same boat, so you all just
adapt together.

How easily can you fit social activities into your working week?

Despite doing a subject with one of the busiest timetables I have still found time
to fit in many social activites in all three years including rowing,
football, tennis, swimming and going to the bar! In some ways having a
highly structured course it makes it easier to fit in activities as you
know exactly when you are free and you can plan your time accordingly

What sort of things did you talk about in your interview?

The science questions asked did not really need a specific answer. They were quite
open, giving me a chance to talk about areas that I knew something about
(and avoid topics that I knew nothing about). They seemed more like a
general talk than an exam.