I have just graduated from University this week, which is crazy, and although I am going back, I always enjoy reading tips to get me through the toughest part of the year, at the beginning, I thought that I had enough information over the past three years to share my tips with people just beginning or starting their education journey.
Being Organised
My number one tip for beginning University or college is to try to be organised, I know this can mean different things for everyone. For me at the start of the year it helps me become more motivated to buy new stationary and planners to keep myself organised and on time to every thing. Taking notes is one of the most important things for me, whether I read back over them or not is not so important, writing them down helps me remember and learn things. I'm a very visual learner too so I really like having my notes neat and different notebooks and folders for each class. I know that will not be for everyone as there are many different ways to be organised.
Keeping On Top of Your Work
This is something that I don't always follow but it's very important so that things don't pile up and that stress doesn't build. I always make sure that I try to have my assignments done at least three days ahead just so I'm not leaving everything last minute and it also means I have enough time to fix it if I need to and in case a printer has a melt down, there's a lot of things that can go wrong. As I studied English I had a really big reading list, as a lot of other subjects do, and a lot of time it's almost impossible to get it all done but the best option is to pick the ones you think you need the most and skim read others. Also keeping on top of readings means that you can get the most done out of a huge pile.
Pick Things That Challenge and Interest
Sticking to the point of reading the most important texts, always pick the classes and texts that interest you the most, if you have a choice, as the more interested you are in the topic and text, the more you will be interested in working on the essay or assignment. If you also have a choice in essay/assignment topics I would always say pick the one that you think is the best originally as I think your gut instinct is always right and it does help.
Campus Activities
Depending on where you attend there is going to be different activities and things to do when you're not in class or studying. I personally don't take part in a lot of clubs and societies on campus as they are often on quite late and I don't live near campus but I know a lot of people that make really good friends and have a really good time partaking in these activities. One of my favourite things is to go to guest speakers talks and go for lunch and exploring the town during breaks from class. Having a good balance from studying and taking a break is the best thing to do.
Exams
I know it's a bit early for exam advice but during the year there is always hints as to what might be on an exam and to write these things down and look out for them throughout the year and not just at exam time will really help when preparing to study and studying. Some classes may have exams all year round and not just at end of term so getting enough sleep is one of the best things that you can do before hand and is relevant all year too.
I'm sure I have missed out on a lot of things that I can talk about but if you need any specific advice or tips on anything just leave me a question in the comments and I'll try to answer as best I can!
