Student Profiles

Sam Cooper, Fine Art, Telford

Why did you choose to study at Aberystwyth?

I chose to study at Aberystwyth because it’s such a beautiful place and it offers a really unique course in fine art. No where else does that much traditional teaching as Aberystwyth.

Did you come here on an Open Day or a Visit?

I came here on an Open Day the year before I did a foundation year. Once I came here, it was this place or nothing! I didn’t apply to anywhere else.

How easy was it to settle in at Aberystwyth?

It was pretty easy to settle in. All the lecturers are really decent people and we’ve got some characters, which is nice. The place itself is so nice, the town is nice, by the sea, everything’s nice.

What is the department like?

The department offers a huge range from life drawing – I mean wherever I went life drawing was like swearing, you couldn’t do it – but you can do life drawing, portrait painting, to installation work and very modern performance art here. You can do anything you want – whereas everywhere else does modern teaching and leaves the traditional behind.

What are the academic facilities like?

The libraries and computers are fantastic. They seem to be open all the time. You can always guarantee if you need a computer room, you can just stroll into a computer room or the library itself. You can find everything you need. There’s a brilliant system on the computers as well for finding all the books you need. It’s everything you could ask for in that sense.

What do you like best about Aberystwyth?

The place is lovely, the courses are brilliant, they offer a lot of things that other places don’t, the people are great, and it’s just such a nice place to be. You can gel and feel comfortable.

Would you recommend Aberystwyth to others?

I would definitely recommend Aberystwyth to others. It’s such a good place, a nice place. It isn’t your typical student life style, it’s something different. Definitely a breath of fresh air.