University Dreams
It may sound cheesy but ever since I was little and my parents drove me past Queen’s University Belfast in the car one day, I knew I wanted to go to university. Then, around the age of 15 when doing my GCSEs this ambition was seriously challenged when I became ill with anxiety, depression and anorexia. I had always been smart, but then again I’d always been a perfectionist and the pressure I was putting myself under got so much that I had to leave school for a few months right before sitting what was considered the most important exams of my life. All hopes of me going to uni seemed to vanish. However, with the support of my family, especially my mum, as well as my doctor and some teachers, but- and this may sound arrogant but I don’t care- mainly due to my determination, I overcame these issues to not only sit my GCSEs, but to achieve top grades in them. I moved schools after that for a new start and to sit my A-levels before finally making it to the university which first made me consider further education, Queen’s.
As someone who was only ever academically engaged in school, that is I was never really interested in extracurricular activities, university was where I really found myself and got involved with as many new things as possible. Now looking back on the 4 years of my bachelor, I can say I tried everything I wanted to and regret nothing, so here are my tips for living student life to the full:
Freshers’ Fair (for anyone unfamiliar with the term “Fresher”, it’s what we, at least in the UK, call first year students at uni)
Oh the infamous Freshers’ Week. Party, party, party, right? Right, but there’s another important event that happens during Freshers’ Week at the beginning of the semester: the Freshers’ Fair. This typically involves different stands for various clubs and societies at the university as well as lots of freebies from pizza and sweets to keyrings and pens- don’t bother stocking up on pens before you arrive, you can get everything you need here! The clubs on offer at the fair vary from uni to uni and sometimes from year to year but there’s normally something for everyone- and if there’s not, you can set your own up! Personally, I went a bit crazy every year and signed up to just about everything from cheerleading, fencing and ultimate frisbee to the History and Afr0-Carribean societies and Sexpression (for sexual health awareness on campus). I tried all the clubs that I joined at least once- and not just because most charge a small joining fee- to see which suited me best. Whilst I don’t recommend following my example of throwing your student loan money at every stand you see, Freshers’ Fair is a great way to get to know what’s on offer at uni and to try something new that you might end up loving! In the end, I only stuck with the societies related to my course but ended up being Vice- and Co-President of the French and Spanish societies respectively which was a lot of fun. Now as a Masters student in Luxembourg, I’m involved in debating and the history society. Remember: extracurricular activities are fun and look great on your CV so it’s a win-win.
Extra tip: I recommend joining your uni’s medical or law associations because they tend to have, in my experience at least, some of the best events sponsored by big companies and, perhaps surprisingly considering the amount of work their degrees entail, tend to be the craziest people you’ll meet at uni, which isn’t a bad thing.
School/Course Rep./Ambassador/Student Council
Call me the big nerd that I am, but I was constantly putting myself forward to be a course representative and to help out promoting the university and my course at Open Days. I ended up not only representing my classmates at meetings- which were more interesting than it sounds- but also by becoming the School Rep. in my final year, I had the chance to represent the department of Modern Languages at Student Council which gave me insight into a whole other side to university and allowed me to contribute to decisions taken by the university affecting students and staff alike. Finally, by helping out on promotional activities, I got to take part in my very own video talking about my experience at Queen’s. Maybe you don’t want to get as involved as I did, because it really does take up time, but I’d still recommend getting involved in your own student experience. If anything, you get to know your professors better and, again, it looks great on your CV.
Link to video: goo.gl/WA6XIQ
Study Tours
Many universities offer a series of study tours and classes. Personally, I took advantage from extra language classes for German and Arabic (with extremely affordable rates for students) and the Brussels Study Tour which took me to the EU institutions in the Belgian capital and was the deciding factor in me wanting to work in the European Commission one day. Other activities on offer were the IntoManagement and coding for girls programme, which just shows that there’s something for everyone!
Erasmus/Exchange
Going abroad is, without a doubt, the one thing I would recommend anyone to do, student or not. Pretty much every university offers the possibility to study or do a work placement abroad. For my course, it was obligatory to spend an academic year in a French- or Spanish-speaking country, and I’m glad it was! Sure, it can seem scary at first to completely leave your comfort zone, but for most people I know, the time they spent living and studying/working abroad was the best of their lives so far. Here are just some of the reasons why: learn/improve a language, meet people from across the world, experience a new culture, gain independence and confidence, see new places, the list goes on… (And of course, AGAIN, it looks amazing on your CV…and on your blog ;))
Extra tip: Even at your home university, I’d recommend joining Erasmus groups on Facebook and go to Erasmus or international events- you’ll get to meet new people, maybe even practise a language, and make friends from all over the world!
Student Job
Whilst having fun is an important part of being a student at university, sometimes Student Finance just isn’t enough to fund all that extra fun and travel in your new life. I recommend having a student job during term time which lets you earn extra cash whilst still having time for studies and a social life. Check out your university job site if it has one. Make sure to make the most of the holidays too with a Christmas or Summer job. In my case, as well as working in a bookstore at Christmas, I spent almost every Summer working abroad so I could both earn enough money to live and improve my French and Spanish. For more information, see my posts on Au Pairing in Madrid and working in Disneyland Paris.
STA Travel Ambassador
Possibly one of my favourite jobs, which I found advertised on the uni job site, was being a student ambassador for the travel agency STA Travel as part of Campus Group jobs in final year. Not only did I get paid to blog about and promote something which I love, travel, but the company also offered amazing incentives and competitions for its workers. In fact, I recently won £250 worth of travel vouchers for having the best social media posts when I had the job! There’s plenty of other student ambassador jobs on offer, as well, and with great pay and flexible working hours, I’d recommend them to any student.
Degree Plus
Not all universities offer extra accreditation for extracurricular activities, but I was lucky enough to get a load of certificates in addition to my degree on graduation day- bonus points!
Having said all that, try not to take on too many commitments, especially during your final year or exam periods- I learnt that the hard way. (And yet, several mental breakdowns later, I have no regrets and continue to multitask to the max.!)
Finally, whilst I have no regrets about going to university, for some people it’s just not for them, and that’s completely fine! Going to university and getting a degree is not a prerequisite for success. In fact, some of the happiest and most successful people I know left school at 16 or 18 and got a job or travelled the world or had families. So, if you’re only considering going to uni because “everyone else is”, please reconsider, because whilst my student days have been the best of my life to date, I am in some serious debt that just wouldn’t be worth it if it hadn’t been something I was 100% sure I wanted to do or was capable of doing.
