Undergraduate profile: Mike Cornwell

Mike was a third year BSc student.

What made you choose Sheffield University?
Loads of reasons why. I knew people who´d come here as opposed to other universities. Partly to do with the city, partly to do with the sport, partly to do with the course. I got the impression that you got plenty of chance to take part in activities and team sport and that. There are plenty of things to do. Sheffield as place, you have to liken it to a large village than a city. When you go into town you can always find what you´re looking for, everything´s within walking distance. I visited on an open day and I´ve got some relatives here. The intra-mural league was also one of the main attractions for me, compared to other universities it´s a much better set-up, I play on football teams, it´s not expensive and it´s also a good way to meet other people.

What do you think about the campus?
I like the fact that it´s situated near to, but not in the city centre. So you´re at walking-distance from the shops, from bars, clubs etc. And all the housing is very close, so it´s not so much of a struggle to get-in in the morning. I was in Ranmoor Hall in the first year and that was the best way to get to know people. It was a brilliant year, always events on in the hall and there´s a bar right on-site.

The Union?
We constantly get told it´s the best Union in the country and I see no reason to believe that that´s not true. You can´t go wrong with the Union, there´s something for everyone, so if you want to stay there you can, or you can go to town. During the day, there´s the Union shop, anything you need is always there.

What do you think is good about your course?
The course in Sheffield, compared to others, you definitely get a lot more choice. You can tailor the course to suit the way you want to do maths. So the modules you do you can choose certain directions to go into, if you have a strength in statistics, or applied maths you can go in that direction. You´re not pushed to take modules you don´t want to, and you can even take modules from outside of the dept, so it´s very flexible.

What about career plans, links with industry?
As far as I know, I´ve sorted myself with a job fairly easily. Sheffield is well-renowned for doing a good maths course. From my experience, Sheffield is one of the four that a lot of the big companies look for, along with Oxford, Warwick, and Bristol. So, as regards getting a job, you´re in a good position coming to Sheffield.

How do you know that?
Through the people in the companies that I´ve been looking for jobs in.

Work experience?
I´ve organised that myself in the summers and stuff, but again, being on a Sheffield Maths course gives you an edge getting through applications.

What support do you have in your dept?
There´s a good tutoring system, as soon as you arrive you get assigned one. As time goes on they address any academic issues that you have. Also, the whole of the Maths lecturing staff are very approachable, if you need help you can always find it from someone – I´ve never had any problem that can´t be sorted by someone that´s in the dept. The personal tutor acts as your reference at the end, so it´s good to get to know the, and they do make an effort to get to know you too.

What about facilities in the dept?
There are always enough computers to go round. You´re encouraged to get to know the university network because the programmes on it will help you with your course. Also, if you do need any technical support, there are people on hand and quite often the lecturers have more knowledge than yourself.

How is your work assessed?
The majority of it is exams, so if you´re not into exams then it´s maybe not you. But, on the plus side, it means that you´re not weighed-down all the way through, also going into exams suits a lot of people because coming into university you´re obviously quite good at them. Most of the courses do offer continuous assessment as well, so when you go into an exam you do already have some marks under your belt, so it´s impossible to come out with nothing.

What are your career plans?
I´m going to go and do actuary qualifications. Some people say that it´s like accountancy, but there´s not very much that´s closed to you when you come out with a maths degree. Anything to do with finance, they certainly want to give you an interview, just based upon the fact that you´ve gone to Sheffield. I looked at accountancy and investment banking but I decided I wanted to do actuary work. I got a job offer before the start of the third year.

Did your dept and the uni support you in pursuing your career?
The dept certainly offered to prompt you into looking into careers very early on. A lot of the lecturers have come from an industry background before lecturing, so they have an idea of what you need to do, how you need to apply. Then anything your lecturers or the dept can´t help you with then the careers service are brilliant as well. They have an infinite source of information. I found the interview fairly helpful, I already had an idea of what I wanted to go into, they can´t tell you what you want to do, but they certainly give you very good ideas about how to go about applying, what sort of things to put on a CV and how to get yourself through an interview.