I was attracted to Loughborough University because of the atmosphere on the Open Day. Before going to this, I was unsure if I wanted to go to university. I had looked around some other universities, but I didn’t feel any sort of connection with them. Loughborough was actually the last university I was looking at; it was recommended to me by a Sixth Form teacher.

I went to both the talks for the Art Foundation Course and the Undergraduate Course I was interested in. At both, the lecturers gave very engaging presentations, and both made me want to study with them. From that day, I knew that Loughborough was a university where I could feel comfortable and welcomed.

I found that before coming to university, I didn’t have any particular worries and concerns. I worried more generally about university life because I didn’t know what to expect so there was nothing in particular that I could worry about. I found that during the summer holidays prior to starting, I would come up with strategies in my head so that if anything did come up to worry me then I would know what to do.

A lot of things surprised me when I came to university, both in terms of my course and university life. University is very different to how it is portrayed in some types of media. Some things that surprised me became more normal over time, while others faded away. University life can be tailored to how you want it to be though, so if something surprises you negatively, don’t think that you have to go along with it.