University, the time in your life when you evolve, change, grow, and develop. You meet new people; you experience new things you learn new concepts and immerse yourself in learning. However, despite all of these wonderful things most people overlook the daunting experience university can be. For many it is the first time moving away from home and being without the comforts of your family and friends. It’s also the first time many people are away from their close friends who may have gone to other universities miles away.
As a recently graduated university student I’m here to talk you through the peaks and troughs of university and give you some advice for surviving them. I began my university experience at Worcester uni in 2019. I was thrilled to be moving away from home even if it was only 1 hour. The thought of being independent and meeting loads of new people filled me with some much joy. The first week of uni is probably the best week of your life, your student loan is all topped up, your meeting new people every day and more importantly you’re going out partying for freshers. Everyone and I mean everyone gets freshers’ flu and this is where you’re going to need to keep the paracetamol topped up. This is probably one of the highest highs you may experience at university, and it certainly was for me.
However, after fresher’s week is over you realise the real hard work starts. You are thrown into lectures and automatically have reading to do. It’s a whirlwind of emotions, you sit at your desk with all your new stationary while you’re trying to keep your eyes open from the busiest week of your life. I experienced a lot of doubt during this time, and I really had to consider if this was something I wanted to do. I spent many hours on the phone to my mum crying about how much I just wanted to be at home and how much I missed her. I sat in my kitchen for a couple of hours waiting for someone to pop in so I could ask them if they wanted to study together. But this never happened, apart from the passing moment and the odd text message into the group chat I barely saw my flat in the first proper week at uni. This made me miss home even more and it made me want to not be there at all. I went home that weekend to refresh myself and remind myself why I was there, but this only made it worse. After 2 weeks of living there and still not seeing much of my flat I decided to come home. I felt weak for doing this and I felt like I had let myself down but when I was sitting in my flat crying myself to sleep from being home sick, I knew I had to leave. Looking back, I do wish I would have given it more time, but I knew deep down I couldn’t stay there much longer. Therefore, my advice to anyone beginning uni and feeling worried and anxious or in a similar situation, regardless of whether your 1 hour away from home or 3 hours, don’t be afraid to do what’s right for you. Trust your gut and don’t put yourself in a position where you feel upset or anxious. Don’t compare yourself to others and most defiantly don’t do what other people tell you is right for you, listen to yourself and do what you want to do.
After leaving uni halls and moving home I started commuting to uni, which was great. I was home every evening to do my work in the comfort of my own home with my lovely dog Charlie. I felt happy once again. I was able to get comfortable within my class and really begin to enjoy the lectures. Those first months or so ran smoothly and I got into a rhythm. That first year flew by and before I knew it, I was onto second year.
Second year isn’t so much fun and games the assignments are cranked right up, and the deadlines get closer and closer together. It gets intense very quickly and it easy to get swamped into the mess of all the work you have to do. But I managed to survive, and I know you will be able to as well, so here is some advice for dealing with assignment burnout and stress.
- First things first create a list at the beginning of the year with each assignment and its title and the word count.
- Next work out the time you have in between each assignment. This is key, as you know which assignments are going to need a lot of work and which are going to be a short amount of time but more focused.
- Get started on that first assignment ASAP!!! I sat around for ages waiting for my lectures to talk about the assignment, but they won’t. They aren’t there to tell you what to do, uni is all your won work so the sooner you start researching and writing the better.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others. You’re going to hear a lot of other people talking about how far they have or haven’t got, and this is where you need to stay focused on your own plan and not rush ahead because of others.
- Set aside time to do your work. its quite easy at uni to get talking to your friends and end up making plans to go out in the evenings when you know you’ve only got 100 words of your 3000-word assignment. Stay focused and ensure that if you are going to go out or see friends that you reschedule time to do your work.
- Do take breaks, and most definitely don’t sit in the library until all hours right up until the deadline writing it. You aren’t going to get a good grade when you’re writing off monster energy drinks and 1 hrs sleep. (TRUST ME).
- And finally reward yourself when you are done, its hard work so be proud and celebrate.
And finally, third year, the final, the end. I enjoyed third year despite having to deal with all the assignments as well as a 6000-word dissertation. It felt great to finally see all my perseverance and hard work come together. There were many times when I doubted myself and I thought I couldn’t do it, where I was completely burnt out where I was ready to hand in my letter to say I was quitting. But I didn’t I got through it. Third year is all about really giving it your best shot, you’ve worked up to a point where you know how to cope with all the different assignments and how you handle the pressure so now its time to put that into practice. Third year is over in a flash and soon you’ll be wondering where those 3 years have gone, I know I am. But look back and be proud of all that you have achieved. Be proud of how far you’ve come and how you’ve have got through it all despite all that you have had thrown at you. There are a lot of emotions in the air as you hand in your last piece of work, you feel proud you’ve finished, sad its all over, overwhelmed by all the support you have received but most of all happy that there’s no more essay writing.
As a recently qualified trainee teacher I have never felt prouder of what I have achieved in the last 3 years and the person I am today. It’s a weird experience with peaks and troughs, not only did I think in those early first 4 weeks that I was going to drop out, but I thought during second year in the middle of assignment burn out I would never make it to third year. I have had a lot of positive memories at uni which I will never forget and the people I’ve met are people who will be in my life for a long time. I hope that by sharing my experience and some advice with you it will support you going forward at uni or if you are planning on going to uni. I hope that you understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and its ok to not finish your course or to not stay away from home, its ok to change your mind because most importantly at the end of the day you need to make sure YOU DO WHATS BEST FOR YOU. You can do anything you put your mind to, follow your heart and don’t be afraid to do what’s in your best interests.
GO SMASH EVERYTHING YOU DO!!
Grace x
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