Adam Barter-Jones

What are your top 3 favourite things about Swansea (the city/area)?
The indoor market in Swansea is amazing, offering a great variety of food. I always find myself going back for the Yorkshire pudding wraps. I love how Swansea has a nice mix of urban areas with lots of independent shops but also has plenty of green spaces. In my first year, I often walked around Singleton Park, and now in my third year, I enjoy trips with friends to the Gower. Swansea is very walkable, with most places being within a 30-minute walk. Despite being a smaller city, there's always plenty to do, and the many cycle paths make trips into the city even more convenient and enjoyable.

Why did you choose to study your degree at Swansea?
I originally applied to study medicine straight out of A-levels and chose Swansea as my 5th non-medicine option as I had heard lots of great things about the university and its medical school. Whilst I was originally disheartened to not have achieved a place to study medicine out of A-levels, I was incredibly fortunate to have received my place at Swansea. The advantage of being able to go to Swansea instead of straight into medicine was it allowed me to properly experience medical sciences at a degree level and support my application for graduate entry medicine if I was still interested after my degree through their pathway to medicine.

What is your favourite thing about your course?
I love how Applied Medical Science lets me explore lots of different areas of medicine to find out what really interests me. The course has lots of optional modules in 2nd and 3rd year that allow for lots of customisation, it makes the course feel more personalised and allows me to focus on areas of keen interest, such as medical psychology and biostatistics.

What are you planning to do after you graduate?
I have been really fortunate to have been offered a place to study medicine here at Swansea! I can’t be happier to be studying at a uni like Swansea.

Would you recommend Swansea University to other students?
At A-levels, many people, like me, focus so much on which medical schools to apply to that they overlook non-medical options. If medicine is your passion, Swansea is an excellent alternative route. It offers exposure to various medical fields and career options, including research, which some of my friends found more appealing than practicing medicine.

Do you participate in a Swansea University sports team, club and/or society?
I'm actively involved in the Baking Society. Additionally, I dedicate time to Make a Smile society, a charity dressing volunteers as children's characters for events supporting Swansea children facing adversity, a group of us helped revive the Swansea chapter, enabling us to attend local charity and hospital events.

Have you lived in halls/student housing or at home during your studies?
I lived in halls and student housing. There are positives and negatives to both, student housing gives you a great opportunity to be more integrated with the community, I love getting to know a neighbourhood and get involved with community events such as the local markets and community fairs.

Have you worked part-time during your degree?
I undertook a lot of volunteering opportunities during my degree. For example, the Swansea Council Volunteering Service offer lots of great opportunities to get involved with the community. A concern for me was trying to balance part-time work and my degree. However, it isn’t uncommon among students and many of my friends were able to balance the two. I think it definitely takes some skill, but jobs within the university make balancing the two easier as they tend to be more accommodating to the needs of your degree and time off during Winter, Easter and Summer break.