My University Advice
1. Leave your door open when you're moving in
This is a great way to meet your new flatmates when you're moving in. These are the people you're going to be living with for the year so you may as well meet them. Don't spend the first day locked in your room unpacking, you have plenty of time to sort your room out and be unsociable. The moving day is a great time to meet people and make first impressions. Also people may think you're approachable if you leave your door open and it makes it less awkward if the door is closed because nobody on the first day will knock on your door so leave your door open on the first day.
2. Put your key on a lanyard
It can be very easy to forget your key or remember you need it to get into your building and get back into your room. I would recommend getting a lanyard for your key so you can keep it around your neck. That way you have it on you especially on the moving day where you are most likely going to forget it when going back and forth to the car so get yourself a lanyard for your key.
3. Have a box in your room for your valuable snacks and food
It's very tempting for students to steal food from other students. It will be even more tempting for them if you have nice snacks and you obviously don't want your snacks stolen so keep them in your room.
4. Wash up!
Now one common thing that will happen whether you like it or not is arguments about the kitchen and more specifically the washing up. Unfortunately you're gonna meet some people who don't wash up and end up leaving their plates and bowls all over the kitchen which is obviously not good. My biggest advice is don't be that person who does that because you're living in a shared accommodation and it's not nice for other people to have to put up with your dirty dishes. They won't do it for you and neither will the cleaners. I remember when I was living in halls in my first year, the sink was gross and I didn't trust washing or leaving my dishes to dry around. Instead I would wash up my pots and pans when I had finished using them and put them away so I knew they were safe. I would then take my food to my room and when I was done eating wash my dishes in the sink in my bedroom. It was much easier than doing it in the gross shared kitchen sink. So wash your dishes, it's not difficult and is something that needs to be done several times everyday. That's the adult way. Also your flatmates will love you if you're someone who washes and cleans up after themselves.
5. You will get homesick
There will come a time where things will become overwhelming and you're missing home. It's normal. Every student will get homesick whether they like it or not. It's hard living away from home for the first time and sometimes all you want to do is hug your mum. Luckily home is just a phone call away and you can even facetime too so it feels like you're in the same room together. If you're really struggling then do talk to someone about it or even take a weekend visit home. I found having a photo album really helped me because if I was feeling down I could look through it at all the happy memories I've had and that made me feel a whole lot better.
6. Talk to your lecturers
Many people may think lecturers are scary people but they really aren't. Lecturers care about you and do want you to succeed but at the same time you do have to put in the effort. If you're struggling with an assignment, talk to your lecturers. They will help you. Email them your work. Asking for help and showing them your work is not weak, it shows you actually care about your degree and want to succeed. The lecturers I spoke to and asked for help while I was at university, I got along with and they really helped me out. My dissertation supervisor was like my best friend the amount of times I met up with her and she even came up to me before my exam to congratulate me on my dissertation result which meant a lot. Also remember your lecturers could potentially be your references for your future career so it's a good idea to build a positive relationship with your lecturers. Also do attend your lectures, I know sometimes they can be boring but you will look good if your attendance is good plus your lecturers will give you extra info that you can use over the lecture slides.
7. Start your assignments as early as you can
Honestly if you get a head start on your assignments then it will make life less stressful. Even if you do a little bit of work everyday. Also the sooner you do it then sooner you can figure out what you don't understand and talk to your lecturers about it so they can help you out. Your lecturers will not help you if you ask for help the night before the assignment is due so it's better to get it done as early as you can. You will have a few assignments to do and it's not a good idea to leave them all to the last minute.
8. Create a schedule for yourself
Sometimes it's good to have a plan for the day. To do lists are a great way to do this as you can focus on each thing you need to get done that day. Of course you can have the odd day off from your work but honestly you're not going to get the degree if you don't put the work in. A great tip from one of my lecturers was to treat university like a 9 to 5 job. So you start working at 9am for a few hours, taking regular breaks as you don't want to wear yourself out. This method can also work with lectures in between as the earliest most lectures start is 9am and the latest they finish is usually around 5pm. You may find this method will help you get the work done early and the sooner you get the work done then the sooner you can relax.
9. Make the most of the Careers Office
If I could go back and do my three years of university again, one thing I would force myself to do is go to the Careers office. Unfortunately I never went there during my time at university which I think was a big mistake. I did attend the compulsory lectures and got some information sheets but I never actually visited them. I feel like they can help you work out what you want to do after university, help you with your CV and cover letters. Even find you an internship. I regret not ever going there so I would definitely pay them a visit to get some career advice. That is something I'm definitely going to do when I'm studying my masters as my degree includes an internship so I will have to go and see them because I know it will be a big help for my future career.
10. It will fly by
Honestly three years go by in a flash. One moment you're a nervous fresher meeting new people and the next moment you're a third year stressing over your dissertation. You think you have a lot of time on your hands but you don't so you have to make the most of your time in university as it is only three years which isn't a very long time so go have fun and be the best you can be.
11. Be yourself
There's no point in pretending to be someone you're not. University is a very diverse place because there's people from lots of different places with different cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles. This isn't like school where there's cool kids and losers. In university everyone is essentially in the same boat. You're all there to get a degree, have fun and get into debt. People will love you for you. You will make friends because people will want to be friends with you. Just be yourself and your university journey will be a great one.
Anyway, that's all my university advice I have you. I hope it was helpful to any of you starting at university in September. Let me know if you have any advice for university that I might not have mentioned. I would love to hear it as it would be a big help.
Thank you for reading my blog and I'll be back tomorrow with another university related post.
See you then.
Megan x
*This is not a sponsored post*
For business enquiries or just a chat email: megantimeblog@gmail.com
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