Exams at universities across the UK typically take place from the start of May up until mid-June, where many courses may also have mid-term examinations during January of each year. However, for Mechanical Engineering, all the examinations take place in May. The timetable for first year engineers is usually arranged to sit papers for 5 modules within two weeks, whereas all 5 exams are spread amongst the entire month for second year mechanical engineers.
Focused on relieving students’ stress during this intense period of time, the University offers a range of open-to-all workshops or activities to help with relaxation. For instance, after the Easter break this year – during 29th of April to 7th of May – the School of Engineering organised ‘Revise and Refresh’ events. These few days consist of pet therapy, professional guidance on simple yoga poses, workshops around mindfulness, and recommendations of useful revision skills. Due to limited spaces, it is advised for students to sign up to relieve sessions of their interests as soon as possible, which is easily achieved as the University pass around this information through e-mail.
Most pupils choose to study on campus, with popular study places being the Main Library, Green Heart, OLRC (Orchard Learning Resource Centre), CTL e-Lab and Design Centre (swipe-card access for Mechanical Engineers only) all due to their accessible revision resources, silence and calming atmosphere. Personally, my preference is the CTL e-Lab as there are split screen computers for each person so you can conveniently review your notes and tackle tutorial questions or past exam papers at the same time!
All in all, the best tip for dealing with examinations is to avoid overthinking and remember to take breaks in-between revisions for a healthy mind-set. Most importantly, do not pull all-nighters as much as you think it is helpful – getting insufficient sleep will only cause fatigue and sleepiness during the day and you definitely do not want that to happen while taking your exams. It is recommended for young adults to have a minimum of 7 hours of sleep daily as it helps you retain memory and perform better.
