Advice from the Student Experience Team
Making that move from school to University can be exciting as well as nerve-wracking. Here in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine we have a student experience team who are dedicated to making your university life as stress-free as possible and helping you with your wellbeing. Here are some of their top tips for making the transition to university:
1. Keep focus – with only 24 hours in the day it is easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus. There may be less structure than at School and some students find it difficult to self motivate. This is where you need to use the support structures in place to help you stay on track. Make the most of your Personal Tutor.
2. Be patient – listening and taking notes, watching content and then discussing, independent study or group project work… listening and learning may look different to what you have been used to before. It takes time to adjust and identify how you work best. Engage with academic support, all educational opportunities and stick with it.
3. Be prepared to fail – a great skill of being a successful student is learning from your disappointments, building resilience and personal growth.
4. Build a support network – everyone needs a safety net and someone to turn to for different things. We thrive on a supportive community – meet as many staff and fellow students as you can and keep connected with them. Remotely this will be even easier than usual!
5. Try something new – university is a great opportunity to learn a new language or play a new sport. Do not hesitate to get involved in a variety of new things and engage.
6. Be mindful – of your own feelings, behaviour and actions, but also of others. Opinions and lifestyle preferences will vary throughout the student community – respectful and considerate actions promote a more inclusive and welcoming student environment, which helps everyone integrate. Social dynamics may be very different to your School experiences and on some programmes your conduct will be crucial to your future professional integrity.
7. Avoid burnout – you have 3 or 4 years to enjoy student life. Take it steady – everything does not need to be done in the first 2 weeks.
8. Keep a healthy balance – successful students have a good balance of study, sleep, wellbeing focus (diet and exercise) and fun.
