Starting the first year of university can surely be a nerve-racking experience; at times the first-year jitters and nervousness does not fade away and might accompany some students into the second year. In order to avoid being drawn into an extending loop a daunting first-year experience here are some tips you can follow to make the anxiousness fade away.
Track deadlines
At the start of university, you will have a lot of things to manage and organize since everything around you will be new; from discovering the campus, meeting classmates, and getting to know the professors. All of this, in addition to studying, attending conferences, and remembering events can be a bit overwhelming – it is important to find a way that works for you to help manage your time.
This can be done in any manner that you find feasible; setting up a to-do list, a physical or digital agenda, or even a white board. These are handy when it comes to visualizing when your deadlines are and whether you have lots of work due in one day. Staying organized is key to planning and staying on top of your work, and that would elevate some of this first-year stress.
Understand priorities
From the very first session you attend during that first year, everything you study is important and putting in the effort from the start will make the rest of your degree easier; you’ll develop good study habits and the content you learn in subsequent years will be built on what you learnt in your first year.
If you plan to impress your teachers and potential employees later on, your grades from the first year should be your priority. However, keep in mind that in order to perform better during university, you should include activities that release stress and help you remain focused.
Ask for help
You may have heard that when you go to university, you’ll have to do much more independent learning. While this indeed is true, it is still not wrong to ask for help from time to time especially during that first year – just up until you learn and develop your own tips and tricks to get by and around.
You can seek academic support through your peers, personal tutor, or lecturers. You can ask your lecturers questions during and after their lecturers, or even email them.
Help comes in many forms, not just academic; you can access mental and wellbeing support if you’re feeling stressed or anxious about university life.
At the end of the day just remember to take everything easily and enjoy every second of your university life, not just the first year, but all of it up until graduation.
