Student Spotlight: Eleanor Paterson

Hey! I’m Ellie, and I’m just finishing my second year of psychology at the University of Aberdeen. In all honesty, I chose Aberdeen on a whim. And I’m so glad I did, because I made myself a whole new life here. Moving to Aberdeen was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself, hands down!                                                               I chose psychology in particular because, growing up, my mum was a psychiatrist and I always loved hearing her stories about different people she had helped. I knew that I wanted to do the same one day, and here I am! What’s great as well is that in your first two years at uni, you get to choose electives which gives you the chance to try out loads of different courses. I’ve studied anthropology, politics, French, and counselling skills alongside my main courses for psychology. It gives you a lot of flexibility and the chance to try new things.                                                                                                                                                               Coming to university is a great way to expand your interests, too. I was never one for sports, but since coming to uni I’ve found a love for the gym and for swimming. I also joined the Consent Awareness and Sexual Education group, and it’s been such a lovely way to grow my confidence and meet even more amazing people. Joining a society, like the psychology society, is a fantastic way to meet like-minded people and make you feel more at home here. And don’t worry, there are societies for anything you can think of!                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The School of Psychology is full of wonderful lecturers and tutors who are always ready to help. I can’t even count the amount of panicked emails I’ve sent in the days leading up to an exam, but every time I do, I get a kind and warm response from the lecturer. At first, the courses can seem a little intimidating, but they’re well paced and easy to understand. I had never studied psychology before and even I get it! I would definitely recommend Aberdeen to anyone wanting to study psychology.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ellie is currently a Level 2 student studying MA Psychology.