Well, ladies and gentleman, this post marks the final of all posts from me.

I have really enjoyed sharing my experiences of being a student of Lancaster with all of you.

Right now it’s week 20, which means final lectures and seminars, and the mad rush to get essays in. I’m sure all of you are up to your neck in revision too, but all of your efforts will be worth it; remember, you reap what you sow. No matter how difficult the work seems at the time, you’ll only be struggling for a short while, so why not try your best?

Once again, thanks to all who got involved at the open days, it was very enjoyable meeting you and your parents, getting to share my experience and meet the future students of Lancaster. I hope you all got out of the day something valuable, if not the decision to come to Lancaster, then at least clarification on the kind of place you are looking to study at.

I would like to leave on a few overarching lessons I’ve learned in my stay here, particularly for those who might not have heard my speech at the open day, and to reemphasise for those who did.

Do things that scare you – University is the perfect place to try new things out: whether this be in doing a completely new subject for your minor in first year, joining the gym, or going along to societies when none of your friends want to; treat things that scare you as opportunities, opportunities to learn and grow into the well rounded person you will become. I can’t stress enough how important it is to take risks in the name of growth. My example was taking English as my minor in first year, despite the fact my teachers told me I shouldn’t, I ended up achieving an A.

Make the most of your time – It will seem as though you have all the time in the world here, you don’t. I know you’re all just starting out on your journeys, and I remember being in the exact same position; it feels like just yesterday. Put your all into studying, making friendships, networking, and so on. If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. You’re not here for a long time at all, so take yourself out of your comfort zone, do all you can do while you have the chance. I don’t mean putting yourself under so much stress that you can’t handle it – but I do mean trying to find the balance in all you do, and doing it well. You will enjoy yourself much more if you get involved and make strong connections.

Finally, put yourself out there – ask for opportunities, be confident in yourself to do things you wouldn’t otherwise do. For me, I wish I had taken a year abroad, but in first year I just wasn’t confident enough in myself to do so; on reflection, this attitude was completely ridiculous, particularly because I ended first year with a strong first!

I hope some of the lessons I’ve learned will reach some of you, so you can make the most of your experience at university.

 

That’s all, folks.

Good luck to everyone revising for final exams, and thanks to all who have been following my journey!

Ellie

Hey guys!

 

Hope everything is going fine for you. It is Week 19 here in Lancaster, and this means that deadlines are just around the corner. I’ve been able to manage well my time and I’m doing quite well, but the workload has undeniably been quite time consuming. I keep myself happy by thinking that it is almost done and that me and my mates will be able to enjoy ourselves very soon after the deadlines. The dissertation is running along quite nicely, but I need to put in a final effort to make sure that it turns out to be as good as I hope it would.

In terms of socials, I am glad to announce that the Philosophy Society is going on stronger than ever! We’re organising talks with a PhD candidate from the department to talk about existentialism, and people are responding really well, with high turnouts and a lot of participation. I’m really glad its working so well, because it opens up the possibility for doing more interesting events in the future. The new exec are really enthusiastic about this as well, so it seems that next year we might be able to offer so much more.

 

We’re having another open day this Saturday, so if you haven’t been able to come before I’d really encourage you to do so. See you guys around!

Guillermo

Hi guys, 

Once again, it was really great getting to meet some of you at our last open day. Amongst all of the very impressive and interesting students I was lucky enough to meet, I met a fellow International Baccalaureate student from Italy. For me that was particularly rewarding, as since we share a common starting point, I was able to give him a perspective really relevant to him. All of my discussions with students and their parents made me slightly envious of all of you just starting your journey at university! I’ve enjoyed my time so much here that I wish I could do it all again. You all have so much awaiting you. 

This will be a brief stop in for me, it’s week 19, meaning that my essays are due in by the start of next week. These are the last three pieces of coursework that I will ever write as an undergraduate, which is quite a sad prospect. Nonetheless, once these are submitted, I can focus on revision for summer exams as well as finishing my dissertation. So, although it’s quite sad, the reduced workload at this point is well welcomed. I have made good progress my essays, having set myself a 500 words a day limit. It doesn’t sound like much, but it takes me quite a long time to write, so I have to take this into account when approaching deadlines. Some of you will be able to write thousands of words a day; I know I can’t, so this requires that I keep rigorous check on what I can accomplish within the time limit set; often meaning that I often start my essays before others. I think that it’s really good practice to find out how much you can [realistically] write in a day, so that you can properly schedule yourself, making sure to complete all of the required set reading for the week at the same time. You’ll find out how you work best through trial and error in first year. 

For most of my modules, we’ve covered all of the material that we will be examined on in the summer term, meaning that week ten is spared for revision and general questions, which is really useful before being set free over easter to revise. Revision sessions are a great opportunity for clarification on topics you aren’t confident with, as well as a chance to delve deeper into subtopics which might’ve been missed. 

What have I been up to? Well, on Wednesday I went to an open mic night at The WaterWitch, which was really enjoyable. There seems to be a lot of support for the arts here in Lancaster, which as a musician I think is a really beautiful thing. I have only been out a few times, since the deadlines have taken priority over socialising for the past few weeks. Nonetheless, I always take time for myself most mornings in the gym, because I find that working out kills two birds with one stone: it is a positive time to focus on yourself with no distractions, and it sets you up for the rest of the day, [ironically] giving you the energy to focus on your studies. 

I’m definitely ready for a break, I must say I am really relieved my essays are almost done with. I’m mostly excited to be able to focus on revising now, as I really enjoy independent study and having the opportunity to read deeper into the material with supplementary texts, without deadlines hanging over my head. This is kind of like the artistic license you are allowed in formulating your own personal responses to queries raised by the topics throughout term; the opportunity to be truly expressive and creative. I think this is what I enjoy most about exams: being ready to respond to the question at hand, having formulated an interesting and personal response; really proving the time and effort you’ve dedicated to synthesising it. 

Easter I’m taking a week for myself before getting heavy into the revision. At the end of week 10 I’m going straight to London to meet one of my closest friends, and from there on to Dublin, where we’re going to visit the Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Factory [on the same day]… we have connoisseur experience tickets… it should definitely be an interesting one [to say the least], and a very well earned break. I’ve promised to put the work away for the week, and I feel ok with doing this having scheduled myself well throughout term with regards to dissertation etc. Also, I’ve just booked flights to LA for the 12th – 19th June, my last exam is on the 6th June, so its definitely something to look forward to! I have a cousin who lives there, and as some of you might know (if you’ve seen mine and Michael’s speech at the open days,) this will be my second time visiting her. Exciting times ahead!

Good luck everyone with your summertime exams and preparation. But most importantly make sure to find time for yourself amongst all the stress. 

Ellie