School

Friday 29 September 2017

10 THINGS I HAVE LEARNT AT UNIVERSITY


Going to university was very exciting for me, especially as I was a year behind all my friends because I change my A-levels in my second year of college. I started uni in 2015 and am studying Criminology with Social Policy which is a rather difficult subject if I do say so myself. I found university very overwhelming during my first week there as I kept constantly getting lost and felt awkward trying to make plans with people who had already made loads of friends with their new flatmates as I had lived at home and commuted daily, unlike the majority of the students who lived on campus.

1. GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR LECTURERS/TUTORS IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING
This is probably a piece of advice that I wish I followed during my first year as I found it pretty difficult to adjust to my new life as a university student - the coursework was different and a lot more difficult than A-levels.

2. DO RESEARCH BEFORE WRITING ESSAYS
I feel like I should have stuck to my own 'words of wisdom' before preaching them, haha! Always do research on a topic you're thinking about before you start your essay as you might find it halfway through that you would have done better answering a different question.

3.  BE NICE TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
This is definitely something that everyone should follow. I like to think of myself as a genuinely nice person and I'd do anything to make a person feel comfortable and confident. However, I have come across some very vile people who turned out to be a very big waste of my time but I'll save that for another post.

4. APPLY FOR AN OVERDRAFT
I was one of the (un)lucky people who has had a weekend job, so I always had that extra £200 each month, however, a lot of my friends struggled financially. I don't actually have an overdraft as I do not need one, but I would suggest looking into it, especially if you struggle with saving some pennies. The best deals that I found were opening a student account with Santander as you get a free railcard for 4 years and the overdraft limit starts from £150!

5. ALWAYS BE YOURSELF
My biggest pet peeve is when people try to impress others by not being themselves. It's fake and unnecessary, so make sure you're always being yourself as people will appreciate genuineness at this stage of life.


6. TAKE PART IN SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS
I was really scared to speak up and share my opinions on certain subjects, but once my tutor had heard what I had to say he showed gratitude and respect for my answer and never failed to get me involved in future talks.

7. NO QUESTION IS STUPID
You might be wanting to ask a question about something which might seem banal to others or look silly, but the truth is - there's no such thing as a stupid question! So, ask away as it's always better to be sure about something rather than staying quiet and confused.

8. RECORD YOUR LECTURES AND SEMINARS
Recording lectures will be your new best friend, especially on those days when you feel like crap and need lots of caffeine or you spent your night partying away! I always record my lectures and write notes as I go along so then if I made a note which I cannot remember, I'd listen to the recording and remind myself of the topic. - This is also a great revision hack.

9. DON'T LEAVE WORK UNTIL LAST MINUTE
Anyone who had been to school would already know this golden rule. I can't stress enough how important it is to do your coursework and revision on time and never leave anything important til last minute! I did this a few times during my A-levels and it did not help me pass one bit if you know what I mean... :|

10. BE CAREFUL WHO YOU MOVE IN WITH
I'm not saying this to sound like a fussy cow, but you need to consider who you're going to live with especially if you'll be sharing a kitchen and/or bathroom. The people I had lived with were sooo messy and it put me off cooking my own food! I found myself constantly cleaning up after others solely for sanitary reasons.

Are you a student? If so, what do you study?

Lots of love,
Maya xo

Saturday 25 June 2016

How To Stay On Top Of Revision - Top Last Minute Revision Hacks

Hi Everyone!

Today's post is aimed at those who hate revising and usually leave it til last minute only to regret it - aka me.
I'm usually very organised when it comes to revision and create a timetable for it so I can achieve the highest grades possible. Due to lack of revision I actually forced myself to stay a year behind at sixth form as I changed my a levels at the end of the first year as I really did not get on with the teachers and subjects themselves. My original choice of subjects was:
-History
-English Language
-Sociology
-ICT
Which I then substituted History and Sociology for Media Studies and Psychology and I can honestly tell you all that staying on an extra year was one of the best decision I had made for myself. Unfortunately I did have to pick up another subject in my third year, which was Business Studies however it wasn't too bad and the workload was tiny compared to ICT.

My first year at uni was a rollercoaster of ups and downs and at the end it turned out okay and I can't wait to start year 2 in September as I know I'll be more determined to achieve nothing but a 1.0.

But, this post isn't about my experience at school but about tips I can share with you that should help you while revising last minute before the exam.


Clear work space - a very important tip which as you can see above I did not yet master myself. However to my defence I was actually printing some texts out to read and highlight so I didn't need that much space! But if you have a clear desk and lay out your revision materials you'll be more focuses on getting your work done rather than procrastinate by looking or touching the things around you.

Don't panic - you probably have a few days left before your exam so take it easy and try and revise as much as you can. Cramming info doesn't usually work but only if you do it wrong. If I'm running out of time before an exam I tend to read my notes out loud as I find it helps me remember them better. You could also try and teach a family member or a friend the topics you need to learn as this way you'll be talking about it more and it'll be on your mind as well as the family member gaining some wisdom!


Using coloured pens to make notes - I have noticed that this is my favourite thing to do! If you use one colour e.g. Blue to write up an event that occurred such as WW2 then use red to write the cons and green to write the pros of this event. You can do the same with approaches and treatments used in Psychology etc.

Block out noise - I usually listen to classical music while revising as its relaxing and there's no lyrics to distract me or make me sing along! It's best if you also put headphones on rather than listen to the music on full blast on the radio as it will cause chaos in your head and demotivate you to get on with your work.


Flash cards - I think that flash cards are a great way of remembering things. They're really simple to write up too and you can test yourself by asking a family member to ask you questions from them. E.g. Write down on one side saying 'WW2' and then on the other the main events and timeline of the war which you'd have to remember.

Drink lots of water - it's very important that you stay hydrated while revisin as studies have shown that drinking plenty of water keeps your brain going and you actually tend to take in more than you would if you weren't drinking it.


Taking breaks - it's very important that you take breaks in between revision sessions so your brain doesn't go blank. I usually do around 45 minutes of revision in one go and then give myself a 15 minute break to go on my phone and get something to eat etc.

I hope these have helped as that's what I like to do when I don't have much time left before an exam. Good luck for the exams and results day guys!

Lots of love,
Maya xo
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