Valerie Cai, 1st Year Medicine
Hi all! My name is Valerie and I am a first year medical student here to tell you a little more about my experience with student support and facilities at King’s College London. One of the benefits of joining us here at King’s is the access to resources and support that are provided for all students. Whether you’re a school leaver, mature student, student carer, international student, King’s is here to support you. In this article I will touch on some of the main facilities provided by KCL (including nap pods!), support services, and top tips on managing workload.
Facilities at King’s
One of my favorite aspects about King’s is that it has multiple campuses situated all over central London. Each campus has a slightly different feel, and whilst the majority of your academic experience may be situated on one campus, you are free to explore and use all the facilities on any of our four campuses. This means that I was able to alternate between libraries on different campuses for study, and different gyms for working out. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) this means I was also able to access libraries 24/7 during exam times, when the pressure was on for me to learn the name of every single aortic branch. Yikes.
On a happier note, this means I also get access to the nap pods currently present on both Waterloo and Strand campuses! These pods are equipped with wireless headphones which can play a soothing tune, and a reclining couch that can give you a mini massage, and are honestly what my dreams are made of. I cannot tell you the amount of times a quick 20 min nap break has helped me reinvigorate my passion for medicine, and I don’t know where I’d be without it.
Speaking of sleep, there are 9 different King’s accommodation options for incoming students, as well as the option of Intercollegiate halls and private accommodation. In my first year at KCL, I chose to stay in Intercollegiate halls, which meant I was able to meet students from different universities in London, including Imperial College London, SOAS, and of course, UCL. Overall, staying in halls was an unparalleled experience, as it made it extremely easy to socialize and make friends, but also taught me that I really preferred my own cooking to the food provided by catered halls.
That being said, I have nothing but praise for the KCL catering service. Not only are meals varied to suit all diets, they are also fairly priced for a student budget. The KCLSU also runs several bars and cafés, namely the Shed on Guy’s Campus, and the Shack on Strand Campus. I am certain that in my 5 years at KCL, I will make my way through the entire café and bar menu at the Shed, which I have no shame in admitting. The Shed’s matcha latte and curly fries are often just the pick-me-up I need in between lectures.
Student Support at King’s
KCL has a wide variety of student support available at all 3 campuses. This includes wellbeing support, health/housing/money advice, chaplaincy, student carer support, disability services, career support, and so on. In addition, the KCLSU offers student to student advice and support, and are able to point you to external resources if needed.
Upon enrolling at KCL, each student is assigned an academic tutor, which may be shared with a small number of other students. Your academic tutor remains the same throughout your time at university except in the case of extenuating circumstances, and is there as an extra source of pastoral and academic support.
Even within my first year at KCL, I have used student support resources a countless number of times. As a graduate student, I thought I would be competent in managing private housing, having done it independently 2 years prior. Unfortunately, this year, my upstairs neighbors happened to be unbearably loud, which does not go well with attending multiple 9 AM lectures, to say the least. King’s housing advice service were incredibly helpful and supportive to me during this process, and were able to help me negotiate a solution with my landlord. As a young adult, it is often difficult to know your rights and the correct steps to take during these situations, and I cannot thank the KCL housing advice service enough for their support.
Top Tips to Manage Workload
- Know your deadlines: it is often easier to plan out a study or work schedule with an end goal in sight
- Have daily targets: list out (in your head or on a piece of paper) different tasks you would like to accomplish each day
- Figure out a study schedule that works for you: every person works differently. If you are someone that enjoys creating a timetable the night before, go for it, but if you are someone that works in the spur of the moment, make sure you are still sticking to your daily targets
- Take frequent breaks throughout high-intensity tasks so you don’t burn out, or alternate low-intensity tasks (i.e. making flashcards), with high-intensity tasks (understanding the Krebs cycle) so that your brain gets a break!
- Don’t let one bad day get you down! Tomorrow is a new day, and there will always be chances to make up for lost time.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, and I hope to see you all at King’s one day!