What I learned from second year of university

Another university year is about to begin and as I'm going into my final year, I thought it would be useful to share my experience of second year. You will find lots of posts about freshers and how 'wild and crazy' it can be, but what no blog posts ever say is that first year is a good time to prepare for second year.

It was tough. That's one thing I found out. There were times when I felt down and whilst I wasn't depressed, I certainly felt lonely. It may have been my course, or it may have been the fact that my first year was amazing! Whatever it was, I'm glad to have survived second year and now i shall embrace third year as the final hurdle before finishing my education!


- Second year gets a lot harder

The first thing my course leader said was that second year is the toughest out of the 3. I couldn't understand this. Surely third year, the year that actually counts, is the hardest?

I found first year really easy and felt like it was one big catch up year so that everyone from a variety of different backgrounds is bought to the same educational level. I found that this is true, by the results of my first year exams! Plus it doesn't count so you only need 40% to pass onto second year.

However, second year isn't so easy. I found is extremely tough! So tough that I have experienced many lows. It has gotten to the point where I have considered on more than one occasion of dropping out of uni. I found that I suffered from anxiety as well, which is a first for me. There were a lot of struggles and it certainly did not live up to how good first year was.
My one bit of advice is to power through, no matter how hard it gets. If it doesn't go to plan, you still have third year to make up the grades.

- You won't want to go out as much

I have to say, I partied hard in first year. I frequently went to lectures hungover and going out 2-3 times a week was the normal thing to do. However, this changed dramatically in second year!

With the amount of work, it is impossible, but I also found that I favoured a night in watching Gossip Girl over a night out in a club. This also coincided with me actually suffering from hangovers, which I never used to get in first year. Now, it takes me a whole day to recover, and when you have mountains of work due in, it isn't the most practical idea.

On the plus side, you save a lot of money and live a healtheir lifestyle!

- You will drift away from friends

Living in halls meant you go to know so many people. You will barely speak to these people in second year! I was close to the girls in my flat, but as I didn't live with them in second year, I hardly saw them and when I did it was on a night out so was very brief.
This is just one of life's things. It is a natural occurrence and you will make so many new friends.

- The library will become your best friend

Towards the end of the year, the coursework will start to build up and you will find that staying in the library all day will become a daily occurence. Especially around exam time. You will also find that the library will get so busy that sometimes there won't be a single computer free (depending on your university).

One piece of advice I will give you is to break up your day by going to the gym/going for a walk. You will go insane staring at a computer for 8-10 hours. If you want to remain sane, make sure you do go home.
Libraries are open 24/7 but that doesn't mean you have to live their whilst exams are on, as some people do and you can smell them. Just so you know, most libraries don't have showers.

I am extremely proud of how I handled second year and my exam results surprised me. I worked hard, probably too hard, but at the same time I learnt so much about my personality and learning styles.

Now to do it one final time to complete my degree. Wish me luck!

Top Tips for Exams/Coursework

So this week has been stressful. My university assignment deadlines seem to have crept up on me and are now due in within the next two weeks. So it's been hard to think about what to write so apologies if this is a random blog post.

I thought I would give some advice about exam stress and coursework deadlines. The end of march is the time when coursework deadlines are due for GCSE'S, A Levels and university degrees. Also, its the time when you need to start revising ready for summer exams. So, having been through GCSE's, A levels and university exams, here are my top tips:

1. Preparation is key 

I realised from AS levels that lack of preparation reflected on my grades. At GCSE's, you can get away with starting later, but my AS grades were appalling. For my A levels, I started revising earlier, writing revision notes, practicing past papers and making sure I knew, in detail, the things I was learning. It paid off! I got into my first choice uni and had good grades at the end of it. The same applies for university assignments, the earlier you start, the more time you have to make it better and get feedback from your tutors. I can tell you that tutors won't read your work and critique it a few days before its due in. I've started revising for exams now even though my first one isn't until the 4th May. It takes away so much last minute stress and allows you to achieve the highest grade. It may be boring, but at the end of the day it could make the difference between a 2:2 or a 2:1, or getting into uni.

2. Find the most effective way of learning for you

One persons idea of revision could be your idea of hell. We all learn differently and knowing the best way that works for you will make revision so much easier. I personally like coloured pens and flash cards as I'm a visual learner, but others prefer bullet point notes, interactive quizzes and many other forms. One thing I will say is that I believe past paper questions helps to perfect your exam technique as well as improving your knowledge, and this is the best form of revision to do a few days before your exam when you (should) know everything for that exam. Also, if your exam/unit has a specification, use this as a checklist and make sure you know everything! That way nothing will come up in your exam that you won't know.

3. Whenever possible, ask for help

One thing I realised at university is that if you want extra help/feedback, you have to get it yourself. They don't spoon feed you here like they do at school. Part of growing up is being able to do things for yourself. Your tutors will be more than happy to help you when they can, but it does take an email from you to receive it. Most of my uni assignments have had minimal instructions and guidance, therefore getting help and clarity has improved my work and it means I'm able to get a good grade at the end of it. The same applies for coursework on all levels, there is nothing wrong with asking and if you ask too much, all they'll say is they can't help you with that. Ask for help to clarify anything you don't understand when revising. It will be extremely beneficial to you and there is lots of help out there!

4. Utilise the facilities

In first year uni, I didn't enter the library till a few weeks before my exams, and I regret this so much. There is so much space to just sit down and revise. They have computers, macs, laptops, books, tables, study rooms, anything that can help with work. If you can utilise this, you will get so much more work done. There are too many distractions when I work at home, so go down to your local library, listen to some music and you will easily pass four hours doing work. Our uni library is open 24 hours and around exam time, I was in there till around midnight every night. I went with friends but plugged in to concentrate, but I found that I got a lot of revision done and my exam results reflected that. There is also a cafe, sofas and it was next to the union so if you do get bored, then you could go for a walk before returning to do more work. By doing this, it will motivate you to do work whilst you're there, so give it a go!

5. Get enough sleep

This is so important. Get enough sleep whilst revising and the night before an exam/coursework deadline and it can make so much difference. Your mind will be alert and awake, making it easier to think. Drink plenty of water and eat healthily, and you can get so much more revision done. At university we are lucky to have a consolidation period where we have no lectures apart from revision sessions, so it was easy to get a good nights sleep, then go to the library during the day. If you have a 9am exam, go to bed early. Try not to get anxious as this can prevent you sleeping. Keep calm and if you have prepared effectively, you shouldn't have any stress before an exam/deadline. Remember, for exams, they are usually only an hour to two hours long, which is not long at all and not worth losing sleep over. It will go quickly and be out of the way before you know it so do not stress about it!

I hope these tips help and are useful to you. Whatever level you are at, you are continuously being tested so these can apply to all sorts of things. By following these basic tips, it can make such a big difference and you will feel calm and collected, helping you to achieve your very best.

If you need any advice then feel free to contact me via twitter, mail or comment on here! I've been taking exams and doing coursework for 7 years now so I have a lot of experience. 

Post Holiday Blues

Greetings fellow readers!

As promised and part of my new year resolution, every Friday I vowed to post on this blog.

It was hard to think of something to post about, think I will have to do a weekly plan in the future. For now this post is about getting back into a routine and how to deal with it. 

I've always struggled with post half term/holiday blues. They always seem to whizz by and then your faced with the dreaded first Monday back at school/uni/work. Back in secondary school I used to hate Sunday evenings where you would have to go to bed early and wake up to a (usually) dismal Monday morning. I found it hard to gain the motivation. The only good thing about it is catching up with friends/colleagues but once that part is over then the work mindset must begin!

Going back after Christmas is the worst due to January blues and the constant holiday reminders on TV. One thing that used to help me is to think about summer plans and vacations and to start looking around/booking them. Also there are quite a few deals around at this time as well.

It also helps to be organised for the first week just to it makes it easier to slip back into the usual routine. For instance, being at uni, I've planned my meals for the week as well as planning gym time around lectures. This will definitely not happen after the first week, but it makes it easier to get into the right mind set at the start of term.

Another thing I did was have a detox week. I banned all chocolate and sugar and settled for a healthy, balanced diet. I feel 100x better already after the over indulgence at Christmas and shrugged off all the sluggishness I felt over the holiday.

I came back to university last Sunday and was thrown right into the deep end! Being in second year, it is one of the toughest years coursework and exam wise. I know this term will be the worst due to all the deadlines looming, then after I will have four big fat exams to revise for. But the main thing is to remain positive, don't work too hard and to treat yourself at the end of the week. I am heading out tonight after working hard all week, so treat yourself this weekend to!

Hope this post helped!