Dear Aspect, my timetable is busier than I thought it would be! How am I going to cope with all this work to do?
Hope: The main thing here is to make sure that you have time for yourself. If you delve too deep into university work, a dissertation and part-time work then you are going to lose your mind. Using your university timetable, create your own one for ‘you’ time. Whether it’s meeting your friends for breakfast before an 11 am lecture or making Tuesday nights a pamper night, those moments are essential for your mental health.
Sam: What may seem daunting is easily conquered with a solid plan. Just make sure that free time is scheduled in evenly throughout your week. As silly as it may seem to have to plan your free time, not only does that guarantee the time for it, it’s a good reward system. If you have a class in the morning say 9 till 10, then take yourself for coffee after and read a book that wasn’t on your class reading list until your next lecture or seminar. If you have classes all throughout the day, use dinner time to watch some T.V. with your flatmates for a few hours – don’t let a full days work go without a couple of hours doing something that relaxes you. Once you fall into that planned routine that includes your free time, you’ll breeze through.
Hey Aspect…how do I make the most out of my final year?
Hope: Attend Freshers Week! You are never going to have another week like Freshers again so why not make the most of it in your third year? Or you could join a society, that way you will make loads of new friends and it will give you something to do that is outside of the university, plus they have amazing night outs! However, do not forget that everything you have worked for over the past two/three years comes down to this final year. Making the most out of this year does not just mean letting loose and having fun but also academically performing to the best of your ability.
Sam: Get involved! Use up all the opportunities that university has to offer. It’s never too late to join a society and make new friends even into your third year, meeting new people is such a big part of university life. But also utilise all those free resources that university gives you for your academic studies. You have access to a whole world of online resources, make sure you use them!
How are you guys feeling about your final year?
Hope: Honestly, I am nervous as heck! While I want to get the best grades I can, I know that it is going to be academically challenging and that’s what makes me nervous. At the same time, I don’t want to let go of my final year because once it’s done I am going to have to venture into the real world and I don’t know if I am completely ready for that.
Sam: Nervous for sure, but excited to get stuck into my work. While it will be challenging, I know that everything I have worked for for the past three years will pay off. It’s a scary feeling that you have to conquer the real world after this, but just know that everything you have done has prepared you for this.