The move from school or college to university can feel a little overwhelming. Perhaps for the first time, you’re going to have to take responsibility for many aspects of your life – your education, your wellbeing, your finances.
Although it can seem intimidating at first, there’s so much support available to you to make sure you’ve got the help you need every step of the way. But you’ll need to reach out and access this support for yourself.
Switch your mindset now and start thinking about the ways you are going to need to be more independent. This new attitude will help you develop and grow, and ultimately allow you to have the best possible start to uni life!
- You will be responsible for your own time – get organised. You’re likely to have competing demands on your time. You’ll have lectures to attend, projects to finish, friends to message and social plans to arrange. Add to that paid work, exercise, food and sleep, and it all starts to look a bit busy. Nobody is going to tell you how to stay on top of all this, time management needs to be your priority! If you think you need extra support with this, you might want to book an appointment with one of our Student Experience Coaches.
- Things won’t get done if you don’t do them. Putting off an assessment, ignoring that looming deadline, forgetting to reply to that email from your lecturer. The only person that can do the things that you need to get done as part of your course is you. Bite the bullet, eat the frog – however you want to phrase it – stop procrastinating and tick off that To Do list to stay on top of your studies. Why not brush up on your study skills if this is something you struggle with.
- You get out what you put in. There is SO much to love about university life and so many opportunities out there for you to make the most of. But these things aren’t just handed to you on a plate. If you want good marks in your assessments, you need to attend lectures and do the work. If you want to set yourself up for successful career when you graduate, then you need to go out and find internships and work placements so your CV is polished. If you want to travel abroad as part of your studies, then you need to do the research and work out how to make it happen.
- Get to know who you are and what makes you happy. University is an opportunity to meet new people, take up new hobbies and learn new skills. While this is incredibly exciting and exhilarating, it’s also important that you know when to say no. Getting the balance right between pushing yourself out of your comfort zone while still knowing and enforcing your boundaries, is a tricky thing to learn.
- Look after yourself. It sounds so basic, but nobody is going to remind you to drink enough water, eat nutritious meals, get an early night every now and again. But they are so vital if you want to stay healthy. You are now responsible for your own health and wellbeing so give it the attention it deserves.
- Don’t be afraid to lean on old support systems and create new ones. Just because you’re here at uni doesn’t mean all your friends and family back home disappear. Make sure you keep in contact with them, especially if you’re finding things difficult. Also, work on building those support systems here at university as well, so that you feel like you have people to turn to when you need to.
- Ask for help if you need it. Remember, although it’s down to you to manage your own university experience, you can access so much support here at UWE Bristol. Academic staff are available to answer your questions, the Student Money Service can help with budgeting, our Wellbeing services can support you when times feel tough. But you need to be the one to reach out and access all these services. If you’re going through a tricky patch, find the help that you need and make the most of it.