With A-level and university exams drawing ever closer, it can be difficult to stay motivated, especially when the sun is shining, but you feel you need to be revising. So here are some of my top tips for staying motivated during this exam season:
1) Remember why you are doing this.
When you’re revising it can feel like all you are doing is revising. However, there has to have been a reason why you wanted to do well in the first place: perhaps it’s meeting the offer for your first choice uni; maybe it’s that you would like to secure a particular placement or job following your degree. Whatever the reason is, make sure to fix that in your mind whenever you’re revising, as both a motivation and a goal for you to aim for. I...
Once the university offers start to pour in, thoughts inevitably turn to September and where you will live when you start your course. If you choose to study miles away from home, you can choose from halls of residence or a shared house or flat. However, if you are going to study close to home you could also choose to be a live at home student. According to statistics collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, living at home whilst studying at university is an increasingly popular option.
There is a clear financial advantage and you will be able to maintain regular face-to-face contact with your family. You will get more peace to work than in a shared house and your parents are on hand to keep an eye on your physical and mental health. Nevertheless, is this really a good idea for you and is it a good idea for your parents?
“I was very restless, but finally I found my way” - Emma Bonino
Way back in 2010 I was entering my first year of GCSE's. I was 14, I considered myself pretty clever and, most importantly, I had a plan. 8 years later I've thrown that plan out of the window and I'm starting again.
I was dead-set on going to an Oxbridge university. Then I changed my mind, then I decided not to go to university at all, until I did go. Then left. Then vowed never to go back. Yet...
When starting university, you may be a little apprehensive as to whether or not you will make friends and fit in. It can be daunting leaving your comfort zone and starting somewhere new, regardless of who you are as a person. It can sometimes be difficult for LGBT students when starting somewhere new, as you have to go through the whole process of telling people who you are.
Thankfully, times are changing. It has become less of a taboo to be gay, and rightfully so people don’t treat you differently because of who you like. Yet starting somewhere new always brings in self doubt: what if I’m not accepted? ...
In third year there are a few words which are barely whispered, never mind said aloud- one of which being the dreaded *graduation*. After a nice 16 years of education, the thought of that comfort blanket being ripped away is one that terrifies a good 99.9% of students. I found out my graduation date yesterday and it’s all getting very real. But the more lecturers continue to apply pressure and countdown to that dreaded ‘Independence Day’, the more students simply refuse to acknowledge its existence. Hence this blog post (which will be a struggle for me too. I feel your pain.) ...
Uni is an exciting time, but it also brings lots of new challenges and pressures alongside it. From exams and coursework deadlines to finances and relationships, there is a huge amount to try and balance. Trying to get that balance can inevitably have an impact on your mental health.
Unfortunately, the number of suicides amongst students has risen dramatically over the past few years. However, if you need support, or if someone around you is struggling, there are support systems and help available. Below are just a few different things which you can try to improve your overall mental health.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) CBT involves meeting with a therapist to help you manage your condition, by changing the way you think and behave in different situations. It is an effective method for combatting anxiety and depression, in particular.
If you’re like me, you might be itching to get started on your new course that you’ve enrolled for. I sometimes find myself scrolling through the university course page of my choice, thinking about what the contents of the course may be about, and wondering what type of things I’ll be doing when I start that topic.
Starting university is exciting, but in January there’s a long way to go before September starts and your new course begins. Whilst that does seem like ages away, there is still a few more things to consider doing, and I highly recommend doing them.
For most people University is the next step before attempting full-scale adulthood out in the big, bad world. The summer before is often filled with excitement and anxieties but this is the best time for you to start preparing yourself for your degree and moving away from home. I’ve listed my top five ways to prepare yourself so that you can keep up with your degree and enjoy your time at Uni!
1. Set up a student bank account
As a student from Northern Ireland I had an account with a bank back home which was a problem when I began University in...
Whilst planning to apply to university, I thought it would be very important to visit as many of the universities I was interested in as possible. After having received and looking through dozens of prospectuses, I picked out 5 universities that had courses that I liked the sound of as well as having entry grades that I found to be achievable. The following are tips as to how to get the most out of your university open days.
1.Be sure to make a list of the dates of the open days you want to go to well in advance. Do not forget that many open days start in June and July so you should start to...
Starting to look for a university as well as a course can seem like a very daunting task to begin with however I am going to offer you some advice to help you on your way to finding the course of your dreams!
1. To begin with, I suggest thinking about what interests you – business, maths, science, law? Having a broad subject area is fine to begin with! Once you’ve done this you can start thinking about which areas of these subjects you enjoy the most: for example in business it could be marketing, accounting or human resources. This is the point...