Category Archives: Preparing for Study

Great tips for adjusting back to in-person study

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By Joey (Student Blogger: BSc Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics (MORSE))

How has life been for the first few weeks of the semester? Have you adjusted yourself back to in-person study? For me, not really! I am still struggling with the mode of having face-to-face lectures, workshops, and seminars. I am missing the days when there were only four to five online sessions a week. I just needed to get out of my bed, turn on my computer and attend. No make-up, no proper dress code required. On the other hand, I missed the university so much – course mates, the relaxing and comforting environment, the amazing library…

Here are some tips for you to adjust yourself back to in-person study.

Firstly, get yourself prepared both physically and mentally. After a year of blended or online learning mode, and months of summer break, you should now get yourself prepared for getting back into the “learning mode”. Think about what you want to gain and experience when back to the university physically – establishing new social networks, learning a new language, or trying new types of sports. Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new, you can surely benefit from it. You may learn more about yourself, grow personally or even find a dream!  For international students, pay attention to the difference in weather and environment to avoid getting sick.

Secondly, don’t push yourself too hard and bear in mind to maintain a work-life balance. Usually, you cannot get back into the right mode immediately. Do give yourself some time to accommodate and adjust your pace. You don’t need to force yourself to be “perfect”. It’s alright to be imperfect. Just focus on yourself! On the other hand, do consider the balance between social and academic. Do not make your schedule packed. Remember to leave some time for yourself to think – understand your emotions and the reasons behind them and figure out what approaches you should take to deal with the situations or problems.

Thirdly, grab a daily planner if necessary. When returning to the university physically, I thought I would not need a daily planner at first, but my thought was a mistake! I used to mark all my schedule, things to do on my mobile, and it worked. Unfortunately, I overestimated myself and underestimated the tasks that I was now required to accommodate. If you are an absent-minded person like me, I highly recommend you have a daily planner or a to-do list (daily, weekly and monthly). It helps you not to miss deadlines and make yourself deal with matters more systematically.

If you have come across any issues which are out of your control, remember there is always somebody you can get help from and chat with.  If you need advice on friendships, relationships, where to get information on housing, finances, or academic issues, you can contact the College Advisory Teams (CAT Teams). You can also book a one-off appointment to talk through any issues you have come across through the Let’s Talk service. The service is booked by phone. No self-referral is required.

Top 4 decisions that helped me enjoy my first 40 days on campus

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By Femi Falodun (Student Blogger: MSc Advanced Marketing Management)

The last 40 days have been the most intellectually stimulating period of my life! It has also been the longest period I have spent away from my country and family, but it’s been a wonderful experience overall.

The most interesting thing for me is how surprisingly ‘easy’ and comfortable settling down has been, considering how much I worried before arriving.

I came to Lancaster University with considerable work experience having served as a senior executive at one of Nigeria’s leading communications consultancies. So, I was quite confident about my abilities to cope with the rigorous schedule and workload that one would expect from studying Advanced Marketing Management at one of the UK’s top schools. This notwithstanding, I was a bit worried about the unknown.

While reflecting on my experience so far over the past few weeks, I identified 4 simple decisions I made which have really helped to make my experience so far very pleasant:

1) Being sure that I really wanted this: I have been obsessed with marketing for over a decade and really wanted to study at Lancaster because of the marketing department’s pedigree and reputation. One of contemporary marketing’s leading thinkers, Prof. Mark Ritson speaks often about Lancaster’s marketing department and this got me really interested and to study where he got his undergraduate and doctorate degrees. With the love for the course and school in my heart, waking up everyday to face my tasks never felt like a burden or pain.

2) Planning well to start well: I spent several weeks packing for my trip to Lancaster. I had a spreadsheet with a list of things to buy and what to pack, ensuring that I wouldn’t have any need to go shopping in the first 2 weeks after my arrival, especially considering that I needed to self-isolate for 10 days due to covid-19 travel restrictions. I also chose to live on campus because I wanted the simplicity of not having to commute, plus unlimited round-the-clock access to facilities like the library. I also chose to arrive on campus at least 2 weeks before the start of the term. These decisions enabled me to settle down quickly, comfortably and with confidence.

3) Developing healthy routines: Humans are creatures of habits and developing good habits generally increases productivity. I had learned this from my work experience, so I consciously developed some routines around sleeping, waking up, preparing for class, taking notes, doing readings, eating, cooking, shopping, writing, staying connected to family back home, and so on. The routines have made life quite easy.

4) Staying connected to people: Being isolated and not connected enough to the ‘community’ of students in the class will be one of the quickest ways to fall into struggle-mode. By quickly making friends, helping others and regularly asking for help when I need it, I have been able to stay in tune and in touch with happenings within the department. Things can become overwhelming and confusing at times, however staying in touch with others via group chats, emails, Teams and face-to-face chats will go a long way in ensuring you don’t miss out on important information, updates and even opportunities. This has really helped me, and the idea of connecting with people applies to classmates, flat mates, students from your country, academics, porters, the student union and the programme team.

These are some of the key factors that have helped me settle down and enjoy my first 40 days at Lancaster University.

Adapting to the new world!

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By Aditi (Student Blogger: BSc Marketing)

Higher education, as we all know, is an integral part of our lives. After our school is over, we all try our best to get into great universities and colleges. Some of you, like me, might have dreams to go and study in a different country, make new experiences and get exposed to new environments, cultures and ideas. Just like many others, I wanted to go and study in England.

I had these big hopes, big desires, and bigger dreams, and I just wanted to bring them to reality by gaining world-class knowledge and experiences at a good university.

So, my research got me to Lancaster university, the name of which I had never even heard about. Funny enough, but little did I know it was going to be one of the places I dreamt of. It’s not easy to shift to a completely different country, where you hardly know anyone and anything. But, my dreams and hopes got me here to Lancaster.

Initially, it was hard. I am extremely close to my family and living far away from them was a great challenge. In the beginning, everything seems very new and unseen. I’m sure most of you might have felt the same in the initial week but I hope things might have become a little better now.

I read somewhere, “It is so so important to leave your home at your 20s or else you’ll never be able to fully succeed in life”. Profound enough. I think it is so important to finally step out of your comfort zone and move out. This is the only way to reach great heights and become fully independent.

It’s been more than 15 days now in Lancaster, and I’ve already learned so much. Adapting to a different environment and life isn’t easy but it is not impossible either. Here are some ways that helped me adapt better. Making my daily TO-DO lists. I think if you define the tasks for your day, you won’t think about any unwanted thoughts and just focus on those tasks the entire day. It’s the trick to stay busy, because when you stay busy, you think less about being away from your family. This has helped me the most, trust me. Secondly, listening to some motivational podcasts by great speakers or reading a good book helps. It can literally change your entire mood. Thirdly, try to interact with new people around and build friendships. Go out and explore the new city you are in, cook some amazing food that you’ve never cooked, attend your lectures on time and research as much as you can and lastly just remember your ultimate goal for this new life that you’ve chosen. Study and gain as much as you can, make the most out of this golden opportunity, be the best version of yourself and make your parents proud.

Structuring your Academic Life

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Structure Blog Picture

By Azizan (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics)

After a long period of lockdown full of restrictive measures, most of us are excited to finally have in-person classes and activities as we enter the new 2021/22 Academic Year. Other than your classes, you might be inclined to join some of the societies and public events scheduled over the academic year. This is a great time to finally reconnect and make new connections within the University’s population. However as more and more activities are being introduced each day, it is normal for us to struggle to balance our limited time given the various attractive activities being offered, on top of our classes and given assignments/coursework. Here are some tips that might be useful in structuring your academic life.

Make full use of a Calendar/Planner

Most of us find the Timetable feature on the iLancaster App to be convenient as it allows us to check when our classes are and where the venue is. Consider using your phone’s inbuilt calendar/planner App to write down all your leisure/meetings/meet-up/social plans along with their time and venue. Some Apps allow you to synchronise all your calendars, allowing you to have a better overview of your classes and your recreational plans through a ‘centralised’ calendar. Through this way, you will be able to plan out your day more efficiently and, hopefully, you won’t miss out on your classes or meet-ups!

Break your day into ‘time blocs’

Once in a while, it is tempting for us to overwork ourselves until late at night. This however restricts us from enjoying our leisure time, which can affect our productivity and performance in the near future if done repeatedly. Consider dividing your days into time blocs, let say 8.05 – 8.30 am, 9.35 – 11 am and so on. For each time bloc, assign it to categories: academic, leisure, personal, etc. By doing so, you have set up a boundary for what and when you will be doing your work or when is your rest. It is also a good way to track whether you’re meeting your personal needs or not.

Focus only on a Main Task each day

Many times, when we have too many works assigned to us, we tend to try to complete them all at once by multitasking. However, this is not a good practice, as our concentration is not at its optimum as our mind struggles to divide between the various tasks. By setting a main task at one time and sticking to it, you’re more likely to be productive and able to contribute considerable progress rather than splitting it into small progress for various tasks. In a sense, it will help to complete your task much quicker compared to the alternative.

Stay Grounded

As days progress, we tend to lose touch with time and reality – we’re so ‘invested’ in our work/responsibilities that we fail to notice what’s happening around us. It is important for us to step back once in a while and be present in the moment to appreciate the blessings surrounding us. This helps to prevent us from overstretching on our work beyond our allocated time, allowing us to rest and recover both physically and mentally. A good way to stay grounded is to utilise all of our 5 senses – touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste. This will have a positive impact on your wellbeing.

Integrating a well-refined structure into your everyday life has plentiful benefits. It gives you certainty, and restores a sense of order in your life. Most importantly, having a structure allows you to navigate your day with ease!

My exam preparation tips

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By Tsz Yan (Student Blogger: MSc Business Analytics)

Examinations are a difficult issue for us as there are a lot of things to understand and remember before the exam period. So, I am here to suggest a whole set of steps that can be taken during the academic year in order to make the final revision period easier.

  1. Prepare study materials before the lesson

Our lecturers usually upload the teaching material before the lesson. You should read these materials and have a brief understanding of their content. Therefore, you can catch up with what the lecturer says during the lesson.

  1. Take notes and ask questions during the lesson

It is important for all of you to take notes during the lesson. Not only can this help you to pay more attention to the lesson, but also help you to have a better understanding of the teaching material. If you have any questions about your understanding of materials, don’t hesitate. Just ask the lecturer politely and they will be happy to answer your question.

  1. Study after the lesson

The first two steps are just basic steps you should follow. If you want to have better preparation for the exam (i.e. achieve a better result in the exam), you should concentrate on this step.

After the lesson, you should tidy up all the notes you made. If you find that there are some important things missing, just listen to the recording again to catch up on what you missed. If you have any questions on the topic after reading all the notes you made, ask your classmates and ask the lecturer if needed.

Also, in order to have a better and deeper understanding of the specific topic, it is important for you to do further reading using the textbooks and/or articles that the lecturer recommended. These further readings may also answer some of your questions on the topic.

Finally, you should make a complete set of notes for each topic (combining the notes you took during and after the lesson, the additional information and/ or knowledge from textbooks, articles, as well as some explanation you obtained from your friends and/or the lecturer).

If there are any after-class exercises or case studies, you should also complete them at least once to make sure you have fully understood the topic.

  1. Study in the revision period

After you have completed the above steps, life will become easier in the revision period. During this period, all you need to do is just go through the notes you made and the after-class exercises or case studies you have done. Keep asking yourself questions related to the topic during revision. The more questions you can answer, the more confidence you will have for the exam.

The above four steps are my process of preparing for the exam. I hope these steps will help you to achieve a good result. Good Luck!

The ABCs of Year 1

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By Manuella (Student blogger: Economics and International Relations)

 

Honestly, university is a bitter sweet journey but trust me and a few people I have heard it from, its is all worth it. Starting a new journey or better yet ending one is always hard, and sometimes you wish someone could just tap you on the shoulder and say “hey, it’s going to be okay” or “hey, here are the few challenges you should look out for”. I thought long and hard about what I wanted this blog post to be about, and being a newly second year student, I wish the people before me told me a few things before I started the year.

Always be punctual

Be careful with your circle

Calm down

Don’t trust people too much

Enjoy the ride

Find your thing

Get to know people better

Have more fun

It’s made for you

Jurisprudence

Keep it 100

Lecturers are very important

Mind your business

Networking is important

Oh my God (OMG)

Put in effort

Question everything

Read and review ahead

Study groups

Talk to your counselor

Utilize facilities

Viral infections are real

Work smart

X– eXcel

You only live once

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

From the list above, it’s very obvious that first year is a huge roller-coaster ride, and all the extra activities will make it worthwhile. During my first year, I learnt the hard way that punctuality is key, you need to ensure you don’t miss any class or seminars, just so you can stay on top of things. When it comes to being careful with your circle, ensure that you choose the right people to be around. Being calm in year one saves you a whole lot of stress and anxiety.  Being a victim of someone who stole my school work, my best advice would be to never trust anyone. University is hard on its own, but you have to just learn to go through it, sit back and enjoy the ride of being a Lancaster student. Find your thing, as funny as that sounds, it simply means you should find what works best for you and master it. Try to see people beyond the surface, get to know them better – it is not always as it seems.

Have fun!!!!! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Trust that everything in the system is made for you, your course was specifically designed for you to succeed. Jurisprudence simply means that you are answerable to someone, no matter how popular or how proud you get. Lecturers are very important as they give you the tips and tricks on how best to pass your courses. Minding your own business in uni helps you focus more on yourself than others. Building a strong network in uni helps you shape your career path and the people you surround yourself with. You are going to have a lot of OMG moments so brace yourself. As my lecturers always emphasize, it doesn’t hurt to show you care. When in doubt, ask questions. Read and review ahead of every event, it feels good to know what is being talked about. Study groups are a huge help to the learning process, and they aid your participation in class. Talk to your counselor when you have a problem, mental health is really important.

Utilize all facilities and resources made available to you, that is why they are there!!!!! Viral infections are real, keep yourself safe and be careful. Duh… you are here to work hard and smart, it’s the only way you will get that degree. Funny enough, I couldn’t quite get a word that started with “x” but I decided to wing it and go with the slang, eXCEL, in everything you do, try your very best to excel in Uni. YOLO, these years will have some golden moments in your life, cherish them. And lastly, sleep is very important for a healthy mind and body, so get them ZZZZ’s.

I just want to say that Year One is the start of your uni life, and although you might have a pool of emotions, just know that you can do it and that people that have come before you did great and so will you. And I truly hope that you live by some, if not all of these lessons and experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It really wasn’t that bad

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By Deji (Student blogger: BSc Marketing)

This week, I was hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok, and flat out deceived. See, I was forced to attend a workshop that is by nature, voluntary. A workshop that, only hours before, I had received an alert of, but decided to mentally, politely decline. It was on ‘types of learners and learning strategies’, and apart from just wanting my ‘institutionally allocated’ free time, I thought, “I’ve been learning just fine, thank you very much”. Yet, there I was, course mates in the same sorry boat sat around me; bright-eyed and hardly-tamed first years sat around us. I got out my pen and notepad, and searched for a spot in the wall that might make the next hour go by quicker.

The coordinator handed out copies of one of those scoring charts that swear they know you more than you could possibly know yourself. This one was called VARK – essentially a list of questions with multiple choice answers that, depending on your choices, would determine what type of learner you are. Possibly more useful than finding out which Avenger or Hannah Montana character you are, I know. My chart decided – not to my surprise – that I am “flexible in communication preferences” (in this case, Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, or Kinaesthetic). Woohoo.

Okay, seriously…though it’s true that experience had already shown me what the chart was saying, it was sort of interesting to see it on paper. When we all had our results, the coordinator took us through each of these learning types, as well as the study habits they explain and some strategies that could help us play to our strength(s). You could see in the room, this small sense of being seen and understood. Students who perhaps might have been struggling with traditional study methods/learning strategies and so on. What I felt though, was reassurance. An affirmation that the overly varying, sometimes semi-questionable learning processes that I use, are valid. I hadn’t previously thought to categorise them, because well, if they work, why bother? Yet, there I was, mmm-ing and ahh-ing at the explanations. I actually felt something gratitude-adjacent.

Now I’m no neurologist, but I suppose the lesson here is, we’re probably better off with even a millimetre of our minds open. Bad joke, forget it, thanks. Anyway, I definitely recommend having a quick look at some learning types/strategies, to try to identify a best fit for you. Whatever year/level you’re in, really.

Well, I’ll be at the next workshop and here’s to an even more illuminating session.

Dear Freshers: Make Michaelmas Magical

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By Sean (Student blogger: MSci Hons Computer Science)

“Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats

Everybody here wanted something more,

Searching for a sound we hadn’t heard before”

Taylor Swift – Welcome to New York

The thing is, you don’t really know what to expect. Be it the Big Apple or the much smaller Lancaster University, we tend to look through gold-tinted glasses when we arrive somewhere for the first time. This is especially true during pivotal moments of change within our lives, like our first meal alone as an adult, or our first steps into the first room we will live independently in.

During Michaelmas, everything is exciting and seems to lure you in. While the second-and-third-year students trudge through their daily routines, you’re dancing through the North Spine at the thought of finally being able to enjoy a Subway footlong every day. Nights out are crazy adventures with your mates instead of long overdue stress relief outlets, and workshop activities tend to be fun rather than headache-inducing.

I think it’s extremely important to play your cards well during Michaelmas.

Not necessarily right, but well.

I do feel many miss out on making the most of the first term. It’s the term where you have the most time and freedom but when you are also the most malleable. If you take advantage of it, you’ll find yourself growing in ways you won’t be able to forget.

Here is a list of, in my opinion, five most important things to do or start making a habit of during the Michaelmas term:

  1. Attend Welcome/Fresher’s week

Welcome week or Fresher’s week is your golden ticket to a well-rounded taste of university life. You get your course introduction, course facilities tour, orientation and initiation events and best of all: hauls of free stuff. The freebie and society fairs are the best targets, with things ranging from amazon prime trials to bicycle seat covers to GLOW nightclub member cards on the table, up for grabs. In fact, if you play it savvy and hop from event to event (especially your college events), you’ll find there isn’t a need to spend any money on food in the first week due to the opportunities to grab meals at events.

Aside from freebies, the other major benefactor of welcome/fresher’s week is how it helps you settle in. From ‘meet your course-mate’ events and course inductions, you’ll find a few buddies, which does make your first lectures feel a little nicer. Within your block or flat, your fresher’s reps join you on nights out while looking after and having fun with you. This is one of the few times everybody in your block is free, so make use of that to have a good time and get to know each other.

  1. Try talking to people

Like many others, I found myself quite intimidated by the looming idea of being tossed into a sea of new people and being expected to talk to them. However, the monsters turned out to be just trees: during welcome/fresher’s week, nobody knows anybody. People tend to be more open and willing to make conversation because everybody wants to meet new people and make friends. I talked to people in queues, in cafes, at events and made quite a few friends; and it wasn’t as scary as I made it out to be. Give it a go – I promise people won’t hiss at you.

  1. Join a society

Honestly, you might end up not attending all of your societies by 2nd or 3rd term. Nevertheless I still think this is a great idea, as you get to connect with like-minded people, and if you find something you really like, you’ll end up meeting a group of people you can vibe with who might end up being good friends. The first few society meetings tend to be free, so if there’s any time to join one, this is it.

  1. Get the ball rolling (academically)

Go to class. You really don’t want to fall behind or miss out on what are the most basic levels of your course, especially if your course requires a strong foundation. I made the mistake of skipping or not paying attention in a lot of my earlier lectures, and felt the effects later on when challenging coursework came in. It’s surprisingly easier if you take it step-by-step and just remember to keep up with your lecture notes every week.

  1. Learn to adult

Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of home-cooked meals or having your laundry magically do itself anymore. You’re an adult now and you have to learn to do things on your own from cleaning your room to sorting out your finances. Given its introductory nature, Michaelmas is undeniably the best time for you to get a grip of “adulting”. Get to know your way around campus. Learn to cook a few meals – some fancy and some fast. Get the hang of the public transport systems so you don’t get stranded in town one night. Show yourself what you can – and can’t do.

I hope this helps you get a vague idea of a game plan for the first term. Don’t fret if you’ve missed out on a few opportunities- you still have plenty of time and many more to come. Just make sure you’re doing whatever you can, whenever you can, and stay as happy as you can be.

Good luck – and welcome to Lancaster University!

Lectures? Seminars? Get ready with university!

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By Jojo (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Economics)

Ever wondering what a lecture is like? You might’ve already tried out some during taster days or other events, but you never really tried it for “real”…

At Lancaster, you should expect your lectures to be about 200 students in size, and depending on your course and year of study, your contact hours vary (so if you’re majoring in engineering, then you will have tons of lectures, seminars and laboratory works… Go suffer! Only kidding).

So say myself, an Economics major student. In my first year, I had six hours of economics’ lecture hours in total every week, three for one module, and three for the other. You may enjoy your two hours classes at A-Levels, but trust me, two hour lectures are “not fun”!! Reason is simple – at university, the pace that the content is taught is mind-blowing! It is quite amazing that in the first year of university, we actually learned all of A-Level stuff plus things beyond that within one academic year…So make sure you are prepared to do the work!!

So exactly how are lectures taught? Well, they are just like your ordinary lessons (but a lot bigger in size), except that you may want to listen to the lecturers and make notes of what they said, instead of writing down what’s on the PowerPoint. Firstly, it is a complete waste of time, secondly, you will never have the chance to write everything down on time (you can always look back through the slides and make notes in your own time, or just print them, they will always be on Moodle). Oh! You should also expect that the lecturers will chuck an 85 slides PowerPoint in a two hour lecture 😉

Lancaster is doing something quite interesting with lectures, they actually change lecturers every so often. This is to allow the experts to teach intellectually challenging content to students. For myself, we changed lecturers every six weeks. And the teaching received so far is quite promising, you should expect the lecturers to know “everything”. But also bear in mind, they (university and your department) value your feedback, so if you found their ways of approach are not your favourite, please do tell them and don’t just skive off the lectures, they are very important!

Ok, so we have talked about a 200 student sized lecture, but what about smaller classes, are there any smaller classes? Yes, universities most certainly do…

They are called seminars, a.k.a workshop; tutorial; or sometimes you may see yourself having a clinic (of course, laboratory workshops are slightly different…) I do agree that they are confusing, but they do have the same purposes though — giving you the chance to express your ideas; doing the work required to succeed in your course; giving you the opportunities to ask complex questions to your tutors etc…

It is also the case you may find it easier to make your new “major” friends in seminars (that is, the friends that do the same major as you). These friends can be very helpful, i.e. you may want to study with them, share thoughts, revise together, hanging out etc.

Before you go to the seminars, you are expected to have done all the preparation work, because seminars or workshops are not actually lessons (I thought they were, I was wrong, so I’m telling you right now…), they are a period of time when the tutors assess your understating of the content, as well as helping you when necessary, so they are not teaching you anything new, they are actually discussing the topics with you. So you should see it as opportunities to consolidate your understanding, as well as developing your critical thinking.

That’s it from me! A huge congratulation and welcome for getting into Lancaster. You will not regret of joining this brilliant community, with internationally recognised excellence. And good luck with your future study!!

Bon Courage!! 

Stick at it, it’s worth it in the end

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by Caitlin (Student Blogger: BA Hons English Language)

Starting university away from home is tough. Living away from your family and friends you have grown up with, learning to cook and clean, adapting to managing your money carefully, handling the pressure of academia, making new friends and deciding what you want to do in the future if a massive step – but nothing really prepares you.

I struggled in my first term of first year at university, because I was finding balancing everything very challenging and overwhelming. I loved my flatmates, my accommodation, the city and being away from home, because of the sheer independence it brought me. However, I found balancing a part-time job that was difficult to travel to, maintaining a long-distance relationship, spending lots of money on basic essentials (with a tiny loan from student finance) and trying to get my head around my three different courses, challenging.

The primary challenge was the fact my three courses were so diverse, because at Lancaster University you tend to have a major and two minors in first year, to give you a taster of alternative courses. Readings were also a big problem – I found myself with little to no motivation to sit down, read through and make notes on very bland academic readings set by lecturers, which were required to do well in my English course. I also found the independent study very tough – you can choose not to attend lectures and seminars and you can choose to never do a set reading, with support you can choose to reach out to, but is solely up to you to do that.

My advice?

I would recommend organising to see your seminar tutors if you are struggling with aspects of your course, because they go through details you do not understand one to one. This helped me greatly and over Christmas I was still deciding whether or not I should remain at university, whilst attempting to write out three set essays. After receiving brilliant results in my essays in second term, I realised that I could actually ‘do’ university and it was just the overwhelming introduction to so many new things at once that wobbled me. My other advice would be to talk to your flatmates about your worries because they often feel very similar, talk to your course mates to get extra help and support one another, email your tutors for some clarification on parts you are struggling with and be sure to contact your family and friends from home.

I’m now in third year and very glad I decided to stick at it, because I wouldn’t have had all of the opportunities and met all of the great people I have when at university. It gives you the chance to work out what you want to do in the future, find yourself and face challenges you never thought you’d manage to overcome.