Wednesday 16 July 2014

Top 10 Tips For University


I very recently graduated, exactly 5 days ago in fact and I wanted to share some of my graduate wisdom with all of you heading off to the big U.N.I in September. Living away from home can be a terrifying prospect and a lot of it is on the job kind of learning. I'm here to save you the trouble and share what I found out the hard way. There is an accompanying video to this over on my channel if you are feeling too lazy to read, which you might be if you are a student. 

1. Look after your health - It's one of those things that you don't think about till it's too late. If you are moving away from home, then it's really important that you find out where your local GP, dentist and hospitals are. I'm not saying that Uni is a dangerous place and you're going to get ill, but usually you don't think about it until you get an annoying chest infection, or if you are a lady, have to go for a nurse visit. You don't want to be dealing with that crap when you're ill, so take care of it when you're healthy. 

2. Buy a clothes dryer - One of those wire clothes rack things, they could save you a fortune in dryer costs if you are living in student accommodation. 

3. Don't be shy - I know that if you are a naturally shy person or a happy introvert, this can feel like an impossible prospect, but trust me, you can do it. As I say frequently, I suffer with anxiety and I've never been much of a people person or one to go out and get off my face drunk, in fact I don't drink at all these days. Despite your desperate need to stay locked away in your room you must fight it and talk to everyone and anyone. Yes, there will be people you don't click with, but you may just find one of the greatest friends you'll ever have, I did. 

4. Find a hobby - University can feel like it's taking over your life sometimes so it's really important to get a hobby to handle those stress levels. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have my blog and YouTube channel to take me away from pretentious readings and endless essays. 

5.  Money management - Once it's gone, it's gone and you don't want to be begging for drunk peoples kebabs at 3am (I don't know anyone that actually did that btw). I saw a few people get a bit desperate over my 3 years and even though eating instant noodles sounds amazing right now, it loses its novelty. And Dominos pizza isn't the answer either. 

6. Schedule - Yes, it's boring and nobody wants a reminder of how much work they have got to do, but it is essential to make sure you don't suddenly realize you have an essay to write the night before. A lot of people do the night before thing, but every single one has that added stress and it's just not worth it.  

7. Be prepared - Fashion yourself a DIY medical kit. During your freshers week you WILL get freshers flu. You may think you've escaped it, but it will be there, waiting to rear its ugly snotty head. My key medi kit essentials are nasal spray, plasters, cold & flu tablets, antihistamine tablets, anti-septic cream and menthol rub. 

8. Keep fit - Another boring and un-fun thing to do, but trust me, join a gym and you will not regret it. We all get fat in University, we get carried away with late nights and take aways. I put on 2 stone in my first year and it took a lot of effort to get it off.

9. Get an NUS card - There are some shops like Superdrug, that will only accept NUS extra cards for student discounts. It is definitely worth investing in one and you can get some really awesome discounts.  

10. Don't be afraid to leave the nest - This is the most important one, if you are looking at Universities close to home purely because you are scared to move away, take a deep breath and take the plunge. I'm very close to my family and the thought of not having their support was both hard to think about and eventually hard to deal with. But despite the fact that I didn't think much of my course, or my Uni, moving away was something I will never ever regret doing. Sometimes you need to jump without a safety net to learn how to land. 

If you are off to Uni let me know what your main worries are, I might be able to put your mind at ease. Also, if you are a graduate, let me know some of your tips that you would give to a fresher. 





3 comments:

  1. Love this post. The idea of going to university is constantly drilled into me at school and it makes me more and more afraid. I'm a naturally anxious person and the idea of being in a new place terrifies me. x

    Lizzie's Corner

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    1. The weeks before I moved to Uni I actually refused to talk about it or listen to people talk about it. You literally have to force yourself to do and once you're there and you've met people it's completely fine :)

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  2. Thank you! I'm SO worried about leaving home this year, I'm worried I'll miss my parents, my boyfriend and my cats

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