Uni Advice: The Serious Stuff

Uni Advice: The Serious Stuff

So, you've sorted out your money management and met some great people but you can't forget why you're at uni: to get a degree. Here are some things I wish I did in first year.

Firstly, "first year doesn't count" is a lie. While for many degrees the grade you get in first year doesn't count towards your final grade it's still important. So, first you need to check if this is the case for your course of not. For some courses you need to get a minimum grade in a particular module or you'll be forced to retake the year. Let's say for your course first year doesn't count and all you have to do is pass (get 40%) each module, you still need ideally a minimum of a 2:1 to get a good internship. Internships are a good way to get a fast track to a graduate programme and a graduate job after you leave uni. So ideally you need to show a consistent good academic record to impress recruiters especially if you were disappointed in you A-Level results.

Secondly, use all the resources that your uni provide for you. This means going to lectures, seminars, tutorials, the vle and any extra resources. For example if you have some maths-based modules and you didn't do maths at A-Level it would be very useful to take any extra maths help that your uni give you, similarly, any essay based help is useful. Expectations for essays are uni are very different compared to A-Level and GCSE. While uni essays also involve you collecting information from various resources and answering a question, the word count is on average 2,000 words which is a lot higher compared to lower levels of education. Also the referencing system is different, you need to make sure you use the referencing system that your lecturer specified e.g. Harvard because using the wrong one can lead to you losing marks. However, you usually have a lot of time to complete the essay e.g. I had an essay set in November that was due in March. For maths modules your likely to have regular tests, one of my economics modules had a weekly online test so you're forced to keep on top of revision. The only issue is time management.

Now, at uni you will have multiple modules that are all equally demanding, so you need to be organised with your time. I know it seems obvious but do you assignments as you get them, I'm telling you this because I didn't do this and I regret this. Remember the assignment that was set in November and due in March I started it 2 days before it was due and that was the most stressful 48 hours ever. This is because I put it off for so long postponing it until it was too late. So, don't be like me, I'm a strong believer in learning from others' mistakes so learn from mine and do your assignments on time it'll save you stressing.

Finally, go to your lectures. I mentioned earlier that you should use all of your uni's resources and in my option lectures are the most important one. While for some degrees that are based in the creative arts will have more practical time and less lectures, most degrees are mainly taught via lectures. Stereotypically lectures are boring but if you like the module they can actually be quite interesting. Nowadays most universities record lectures and put them on their online vle, but if yours doesn't then try recording them yourself. Honestly as my lectures are recorded for me by my uni I don't know how effective this is but try it out for the first few weeks and see how it goes. Another good reason to go to lectures is this is where you meet you course mates as a mention in a previous post (read here) they're essential to getting a good grade. Now, this may seem a bit hypocritical as I definitely didn't go to all my lectures instead I thought it would be a good idea to just watch the recordings, this was a mistake. When you go to lectures you are forced to only note down the key information and then you can fill in the blanks later from the recordings. Whereas, when I watched it online I would be constantly pausing the video so my notes were too long and to be honest very ineffective. So go to your lectures!!

Can you get a 2:1 or above without doing all of the above? Yes you can, I did.

Will it be easier if you listen to my advice? Definitely.

To be honest, this post is more to remind myself of the mistakes I can't make this year. So, hopefully, I won't be re-writing this next year so wish me luck and good luck to you too.

DM me on twitter @heyheyitsjadee for help and let me know if you want any other uni advice posts.