A Letter To My University Self
I look back on my days at university with a
mixture of joy and thoughtfulness. I don’t want to ever seem regretful, but it
can be hard to sometimes reflect on my time at University as an adult, and not
wish that I had done things a little differently. I had fun whilst I was a
student but I can’t get over how much spare time I actually had, and how much
time was wasted away watching Harry Potter for the 35316412nd time!
I hope that this post is able to provide some
insight into uni-life for those about to attend, some practical advice for
those that are already there, or some comfort to those on the other side that
they are not alone in wishing they could talk to their uni -self and provide a
little adult knowledge.
Studying
There is no point looking back and wishing I
had worked harder, for longer, asked for more help or gone to more study groups
whilst I was at university. However, if there is one piece of advice that I
wish I could tell my younger self, it would be to focus more on time
management. It is so easy to fall into the trap that there is loads of time to
get things done whilst at university, due to the vast amount of ‘spare time’.
The thing is, it isn’t spare time, it is time outside of your lectures and
seminars for you to research, study and get work done.
Looking back, I wish I had treated University
more as a full time job, working at my degree Monday to Friday, nine to five,
giving myself weekends off. I appreciate that this isn’t a realistic approach
to studying as social events etc. don’t always fit the mould, but I would
strongly advise having a routine and study timetable to keep a bit more on
track.
Finance
Financially, I wasn’t too bad when I was a
student. As soon as I turned sixteen I got a Saturday job and so I have been
money conscious from a young age. Going to university and having to manage my
own budget took a little bit of getting used too but I think I managed pretty
well by the end.
I found the best way to keep on track of money
and ensure that I didn’t over spend, was to have a weekly budget. Some of my
friends had monthly budgets or just waiting for their student loans to come
through every couple of months, but this way they were always on the bread
line, living off 10p baked beans for the last week before their next
instalment.
A weekly budget worked best for me as I knew
that the most I would have to wait is seven days before getting my next lot of
money. However, if you’re really struggling there are some great budgeting sites available to provide help and advice such as Earnest, that provides help for student loan refinancing and helping recent grads manage money.
Eating & Socialising
When it comes to eating and socialising at
university, my advice is to look after yourself and be as healthy as you can.
When I first started university I didn’t particularly think about my diet and
food, I just ate what I liked and enjoyed the freedom of shopping and cooking
for myself. Unfortunately, I didn’t make the healthiest of choices at first,
but by the end I felt like I was shopping appropriately and making sure that I
was having a balanced diet rather than pizza and chocolate for breakfast.
In terms of socialising I would really
recommend throwing yourself in at the deep end to try lots of things and meet
lots of people, at first. One thing I would recommend however, which is
something that I again learnt to do through time, is to learn to say no. Sometime
studying, catching up on sleep, saving your money or having a trip to the
library needs to take precedence. I think there is a massive pressure at
university to not miss out and make sure that you’re involved in everything.
Learning to say no can actually be really beneficial as you can prioritise your
university life and enjoy the social events more.
Madolyn
xxx
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