Now my student days are behind me I thought I’d give you some university tips and a survival guide. Leftunders started out as my student blog for people who were studying stuff such as maths or biology. It lost its way to beer and woman like many a man’s journey does.
Using this advice you’ll learn how to live independently and get through your college or university education in one piece, these are the secrets to having a wonderful student experience.
Fresher Year at University
Without a doubt your first year at university is the most difficult and the most exciting. It’s like University Challenge with lots of questions you don’t have the answers to but you’re still glad to be on the show.
I thought I’d help you Fresher’s out by providing some helpful university tips and advice to get you prepared for university and get the you through the first year intact. Here are a list of tips and articles to help you be ready for university life:
- Once you have the grades you need to get into the university of your choice, you’ve applied and got in the first thing you need to do is start packing for university (I may have gone overboard here but I was young).
- It’s important you get settled into your new surroundings and socialise. Attend local student events, the joys of Fresher week and get your scary face on for Halloween – Settling into Student Life and Advice for Homesick Students.
- The campus is a big place full of different departments so. Make sure you know where your lecture halls are and keep the your timetable handy.
- Get your student finances and student banking in order, start by finding a good Student Bank Account.
- It helps to be a fast, good note taker and the ability to summary key points. Keep your scribble organised and in order so you so you can understand them later.
- Make sure you do your reading up and understand the topic concepts. The reading lists and research are vital to learning the material.
- If your degree course isn’t what you expect or want anymore – Changing University Degrees.
- Managing Long Distance Relationships (and Fading Love) when you move to university.
The Second Year at University
You’ve passed the first year, enjoyed the summer holidays and now it’s back to the studying. In your university second year it feels a bit more serious and your education and student lectures take more focus over booze.
This year you need to be more organised or the workload will catch you out. Do the work first, beer/wine and games later. It’s important you work to those assignment timelines, hand your essays, projects and coursework in on time. Submitting late work is often downgraded.
Your essays need to hit the mark and writing them an hour before the deadline won’t help. It will be more fun and less stress providing you don’t leaving things until the last minute. True me, get things done early.
You may decide to move off campus and find new shared student accommodation with a group of uni friends. Living with your housemates will be like living in the Big Brother house so lay down some clear rules on tasks around the house. With a group of people it will be noisy and get messy very soon. With the odd argument over money and paying the bills.
In the second year you may want to live and eat more healthy food instead of takeout and beer. Student Food for the Cooking and Financial Challenged will help and my Student Cooking Class will build up your cooking skills.
You might not think about financial management while at college or university. It would be wise to get a grip on your money and budgeting if you spent wildly in the first year. It’s so easy to get silly with money so here are some Money Saving Student Money Tips to help with student budgeting.
The downside to student life is the student debt that’s builds up and the fact your usually penny less means you need cash fast to fund your student lifestyle of drinking beer, night clubbing and meeting nice ladies every night.
We’d all like a get rich quick scheme but that’s not possible so the next best thing is to try working for money. The first option to make money is for you to find paid part time work or a summer job. With student finances feeling the squeeze many students decide to find a job to help cover their monthly outgoings and bring in some extra money. The student life is a poor but fun life. So while your studying go job hunting for a student part time job and develop ways you can earn extra money. A great way to help fund your student life, make new friends, have a good time is to start a blog. You can generate very good money and profits from blogging.
Before taking the first bar job you can get try and find relevant work in the career sector you eventually want to work in. Finding relevant work will look good on your graduate CV and boost your interview chances.
I would recommend getting a job in the first year and not leaving it too late because the second/third year are a harder study wise.
The Third Year and Graduation
At this stage your hopefully wiser, have your university street-smarts and the fresher’s worship the ground you walk on. You have realised that your time management is an important and a vital skill you can add to your CV. You are disciplined enough to finish a task on time by fostering your learning environment and your personal development to aid the educational process.
You may feel burnt out with your job, revision pressures, study stress and exam hell but you and your liver knows how to party hard. You can cook better and make more than beans on toast. Have debates over why the human race is suffering and which alcoholic drinks make you puke up.
Graduating is close and you are ready to pour out all that theory into your final dissertation. As you hand in your final essay, finish the last exam the relief is amazing. Your friends, your liver and you can have a final blowout.
When at school, college or university keep in mind learning is for life not just for passing exams and getting pissed. Other than that soak up the experience, get a good degree and enjoy yourself because life after university gets harder.
After you’ve hacked university survival it’s time to find a career path and what to do with your graduate life, write a top graduate CV and find a job.
Life After University
Now the party’s over and you realise of how wonderful your student days were. You are dropped into the real world of grownups, careers, office politics, bullshit and more money problems.
During and after your university days you need to be thinking about your money. It took me a few years to realise and start planning for my financial future. If you don’t get your student finances right and you keep spending and borrowing when you start work you’ll end up in this situation – Student Personal Finance Gone Wrong and feel like this: Managing Your Student Debt and Student Finances.
It may take a little time to get your career and money situation sorted after you finish your education. Be patient, work towards your goals and remember to live your life by your own rules and do what makes you happy.
There is plenty of student budgeting advice and financial advice on Leftunders to use.
Onsite related links:
Ways to Reduce your Student Heating Bill
Money Saving Student Money Tips
Student Study Stress and Burnout
If you are preparing for or currently enjoying your university life here are some other useful websites and resources: