Making the Most: A Guide to University for New and Returning Students

Feeling anxious about a new semester? These student tips will help you to confront your fears and find fulfillment in your University experience.

“University is such a rewarding time!” — a sentence you will have heard more times than you can count. When starting a new semester, you might be wondering what to do to achieve this feeling. Here are my tips for the new year that will help you to confidently look back and believe that “University was an amazing experience!”

1. Take a deep breath

You’re here. You’ve made it. It sometimes helps to reflect and think about where you were a year ago and how far you’ve come. Every little step that you’ve taken each day has led to the great place you are in now. This means that you can master everything that’s ahead of you.

Importantly, it’s all going to be fine. If you’re facing a dilemma, it can be easily resolved by talking to the appropriate people. It’s best to be proactive about your challenges and initiate conversations with those who can help you. In the past, if someone couldn’t help me solve a problem, they always knew the person who could. These are contacts I couldn’t have made without asking.

Always remember: there’s no shame to admit you face challenges. It is the first step towards fixing things.

If you need support with your mental health or well-being, there are lots of resources available to you. Find out more via our For Students website or through Leeds University Union’s student advice team.

2. Manage your time

At the beginning of each semester, I do two key things to help manage my time.

• I record every class and assignment in a weekly planner. This doesn’t take long and helps me not to miss anything when planning my week.

However, I’ve had the horrible experience of turning over a page of my weekly planner to see an upcoming assignment due the following week. To avoid this, I also maintain a “semester planner”.

• I compile each month of the year separately and repeat step one. By sticking these pieces of paper up on my wall, I can visualise many months ahead. This means that I don’t only rely on my weekly planner to check for of upcoming assignments.

Another time management tip — put time for social events and self-care into your calendar as if they were study-specific activities. This way, I ensure that I can accommodate time for the social aspects of university — this is essential to the full experience.

3. Make use of the resources available to you

At the beginning of university, I was overwhelmed by all the available resources. To combat this, I made time to explore them. The Careers Centre and their services have come in particularly handy for me — helping to ease my anxiety for my future after university. It is important to remember: there is no shame in asking for help. The university has services designated for your specific needs.

If this is something that you are worried about, access career resources via the student website, LeedsforLife or login into MyCareer.

4. Explore

New places, new people and new activities. There is so much to see and do to make each day different and exciting! Whenever I feel stuck, I like to venture out, try a meal I have never tried, go to a part of town I’ve never been to, look for a fun new hobby or try out a new society. Stepping out of your comfort zone can do wonders for your personal well-being and university experience. Although, try not to put too much pressure on yourself to try everything all at once. Go with your own rhythm and trust your gut instinct.

5. Be patient with yourself

Most importantly: don’t be too harsh on yourself. Making mistakes and struggling is normal; remember that you can always use the university’s services when you cannot overcome certain problems by yourself.

What I have found most useful is to treat myself like I would treat a close friend. Would you be angry with your friend if they did not get the grade they expected on an assignment? Probably not. How would you react instead?

Practise being kind and patient with yourself and always remember that mistakes are an essential part of learning. If you haven’t done so well in an essay, ask for feedback. Learn what you can differently and apply these lessons to future assignments. A mindset like this will help you to grow and make life at university, and life beyond it, much more enjoyable.

Written by Sally Heier, student ambassador for Digital Education