Latest from the blogs

• Clothes – there’s no need to pack your entire wardrobe, especially if you’re going to head home at the end of term!
• Bedroom bits and pieces – duvet, sheets, pillows, hangers, and towels. You might want to think about ear plugs if you’re going to be in a lively area, or a mini fridge for your room if you’ll be in shared accommodation. 
• From the bathroom cabinet – toiletries, glasses, contact lenses, medication, and a small first aid kit.
• Laundry – washing products, laundry bag, and drying rack.
• Electronics – laptop, tablet, printer, extension leads, and chargers. You may need an adaptor if you’re coming from outside the UK.
• Kitchen essentials – check what is included at your accommodation. As a minimum, you’ll need enough cutlery, crockery, glasses, pots...

Throughout my time at school, I was unsure about what I would do afterward. I knew that I wanted to go to university but had no idea as to what I would study, where I would study or what career I would take afterwards – it took three personal statements to determine which course I ultimately chose.

After attending a UCAS event in London, I found out about IBM and their ‘Futures’ gap-year scheme. Although, prior to this, I had very little knowledge of IBM, I did a little research on the company and decided to apply. As I had just been rejected by the University of Oxford – my first-choice university – I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to take a short break from academia and gain invaluable experience in a fast-growing industry, before re-applying to university.

Just over a year later, as I am reaching the end of my gap-year, I stand by this decision 100% and wholeheartedly believe that...

I had written and submitted my UCAS application. I had taken an admissions test (and still had no idea how it had gone). Now it was time for the next step – the thing I dreaded most – the interview.

Unlike many other international applicants, I flew to the UK for my two interviews, both at the university I’m headed to this October. I wasn’t very comfortable with skyping, I guess… and I really wanted to visit London. Yep, I wanted to go to London.

Since a month or two before the trip, I’d been doing some light prep. I re-read books I’d

mentioned in my personal statement, such as Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” and Charlotte Bronte’s “The Professor.” I’d read online that they would give me an unseen poem for me to analyse, so I worked on timed analysis with some poems I wasn’t very comfortable with, especially modern ones.

On my flight, I worked on my laptop, on which I had downloaded a bunch of PDF files of research papers and academic...

It might seem somewhat early to cast our minds ahead and think about the (hopefully!) glorious summer which awaits us, especially when assignments are due and upcoming exams occupy our thoughts. Last Easter was a blur of exam revision, countless essay plans and Lindt chocolate (Easter would not be the same without a Lindt bunny!) for me as I prepared for my then-upcoming A-level exams, which began even earlier than for most students because I had to sit my French oral exam at the end of April.

Although the pressure of being a university student is remarkably less than being a prospective student reaching the end of Year 13, coping with the last few weeks and months of the academic year at university is still stressful. OK, I might be slightly procrastinating by writing this post instead of writing another essay, but there is nothing wrong with stepping away from your books and revision notes to dive into a more pleasant subject – your plans for the summer...