The countdown is on! Your incredible time at King’s is about to begin. We have all been in this exciting and uncertain time in our lives. Starting university is a very big change for a lot of us. I remember sitting in my room in my first accommodation being very scared of starting the week, making friends and really making the most out of my experience.
With the COVID easing you are lucky to be starting the year in (more or less) normal circumstances and having the true fresher experience that you deserve. We are here to give you some final tips to headstart your university journey. A ‘things I wish I knew’ entry if you will before we check out for the summer and await the next academic year!
Organizing your time
Unfortunately for me, I found out about the wonders of good organization only in my second year of university, so don’t be like me!
Magic of planning
Even for things like Freshers Week, online calendars are your best friends. In a place like London, it is extremely easy to let awesome opportunities go by because you haven’t planned for them correctly. I now use a google calendar to log in dates with friends, work meetings, academic commitments and even things like dance parties. Sync your academic ti
me table to your calendar and put a date to your to-do lists. Starting it in your first year would mean way less awkwardness a
bout forgotten lunches, less missed deadlines and generally more exciting events.
Note taking
While the first year is made for you to get accustomed to the university process it is still worth it to organize yourself from the start as it would set pace for your entire year. I strongly advice that you keep your notes digital, even if it is something that you are not used to from school. It simply helps massively with accessing your notes from anywhere and being able quickly locate all the necessary information. But whatever your style is, be consistent and try not to cramp note taking, it si
mply isn’t as effective.
Learning how to cook
While pot noodles and ham sandwiches are always an option, it is certainly not a very good one. Take outs in London are really not affordable and since your adult life will consist of cooking 3 meals a day your entire life you might as well start early! We have found some links to student recipe websites for those of you starting your cooking journey:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/life/food-drink/recipes/
https://www.jamieoliver.com/student-recipes/
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/easy-healthy-college-meals/
From a careers perspective
Take time to explore
From a careers perspective, keep an open mind in your first year of university. The first year academic grade contributes little to your final result so that you can adapt well and explore your options . Take a range of different online and offline courses and take advantage of amazing guest speakers that King’s invites to get inspired. Remember that soft and hard skills are both transferable and even the most unexpected knowledge can give you an advantage in the workplace. Remember, it is absolutely normal for you to not know who exactly you want to be in the future and what your ideal career looks like. These things take time.
Join societies
Societies can be a great way to find people that are interested in the same things as you. This can be consulting, language or jazz band societies. Either way it can allow you to get inspired by people life and career goals and understand yourself better. In addition more academic societies often provide you with great experiences and skills that can be used to boost your CV
If you make a LinkedIn account early and look after it can become a great space to network and grow your connections. Starting it early means that by the time you are applying for placements, internships and Grad jobs you can have a head start!
We wish you good luck with your journey at King’s!
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