I don’t know about you but there are definitely a few things I wish I knew before joining University.
I’ve compiled this article to help you with a smooth transition from high school to university. You definitely don’t want to experience the rude awakenings that I did so here are a few pointers for you:
Don’t do it. It’s a temporary feeling that comes when you feel like school is getting too overwhelming and things are not as fun as you had imagined.
I will say stick it out till the end of the academic year and sit for your finals. If you get good grades it will definitely give you a confidence boost and motivate you to keep going.
If you still feel like dropping out please talk to your parent or school counsellor for advise. Or reach out to us on www.ramanicareers.com, we offer free advise to University students.
Especially during your first year, you will find yourself saying yes to nearly everything because you don’t want to miss out on all the fun.
Fear of missing out(better known as FOMO) should not make you do things you don’t want to do just because it’s a norm among your peers.
More often than not, you aren’t missing out on anything and those opportunities will come up again.
When joining my first year in University, I bought so many note books thinking they will motivate me to study. Fast forward to years later I still haven’t used all the books I bought.
Buy what is enough for you at the moment. You’ll realise most of your University academic life will be on your laptop. Assignments, notes, essays, projects, research etc
I used to think I can study last minute, cram a few things before going to the exam room. Boy was I wrong.
You need to study as you move through the semester. Otherwise, you’ll find that your lecture notes have piled up and you can’t summarise them fast enough. This will in turn lead to burn out which will lead to you wanting to drop out. It’s really just a cycle that can’t be broken by anyone else but you.
I found that most lecturers like to recycle questions. They only change how the question is framed.
Find those past papers from as far as 5 -7 years back. Use them when prepping for exams or C.A.T.S.
Once you realize this, you will go through the exam period so smoothly.
I’m not suggesting you fail intentionally, your grades need to be up if you want to graduate with honors.
My point is, one bad result won’t end your academic life. Don’t get stuck on it. Move around it and figure out what went wrong so you can improve the grade.
Be sure to stay in touch with your friends in other universities, With your friends from home or from high-school.
This will help in keeping you grounded as well as giving you perspective.
But you definitely need to visit it during the semester. Lecturers give summarized notes most of the time, there is little to no in-depth teaching.
Go to the library and study further. Use different books to carry out your research. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was how big and expensive course work books are. The library will definitely help you save that money you’d have used to buy the course book.
Whenever my finals approached, I would abandon every other responsibility to focus on studying. I would stop eating healthy or working out, all in the name of studying (see what happens when you opt for last minute study) but they should go hand in hand with studying and not one or the other. I found that the better I take care of myself the better my grades get.
That’s all for today. Be sure to share this article with any university student you may know.
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