Jamie Barker

BSc Business and Information Technology

Welshpool

"My favourite thing about being here at Aberystwyth is living in a student town. It has such a friendly-community feel and you can walk outside and always see someone you know. It's not like living in a city where it's so big and open that you never meet anyone – here is where you want to be if you're a student.

When I'm not swamped down with my lectures and work (because I'm an old third year!), I go out, meet friends, and go out to restaurants and cafes in the town – we want to try them all before we leave!

I love the Arts Centre, there's such a lot going on there. They've got a brilliant 3D cinema, there's the theatre, a dance performance room, and the Great Hall where we saw Jimmy Carr last year. Everything you need is here on campus. You don't even have to leave the campus to get great entertainment.

The Department of Computer Science is really friendly and flexible. The lecturers operate an open-door policy, so anytime I have a problem I can just knock on their door and they'll make time to help me, so there's always a source of support there when you need it.

If you're thinking about working in the business or IT sector, I would definitely recommend my course as it has a bit of everything. You can choose between modules and focus on the areas that you want to focus on; they pretty much tailor the degree to you. We're also lucky to have two specialist computer rooms just for our department, with the equipment we need for the course. We also have our own physical sciences' library with all the books you could ever think of needing for your studies.

In my second year, I was lucky enough to gain part-time employment. The University offers a job-link service which lists a lot of jobs in the area, but I found mine through the weekly email that the University sends out. I applied along with everyone else. My course had taught me how to do CVs and fill in application forms, so I was quite lucky in that respect.

Having gained 360 UCAS points, I was eligible for the Excellence Bursary, which gave me £2,000 over the duration of my course– it works out around £20 per week which covers my weekly food shop. I didn't even have to apply for it they just gave it to me!

Aberystwyth is a very student-friendly town – I love it. There are plenty of clothes shops, there are so many cafes and restaurants, you could probably spend three years here and not even try them all! There are a lot of bars and a couple of night clubs, so it makes for a really good night out. You can live on a budget, it's not an expensive place to live.

The University also has a student support office which gives extra help to those who need it. I think that their best feature is the Money Doctor, who gives help and advice to people that are having trouble with money matters. They'll sit down with you to work out a budget, and help you to find inventive ways of saving money."