‘Experiencing the university life will be the best 3 to 4 years of your life.’ This rumour is widespread among peers and secondary school students, but is this a myth or a statement?
Undeniably, there is a massive gap between studying at Sixth Form and at University. Independence is the biggest factor that worries people, followed by fluctuating workload and social activities. In my opinion, all of the above would not be too much of a problem as long as you get to know people more and meet the right friends that you are comfortable with. I have enjoyed my university student experience so far and I believe that if you put a sufficient amount of effort in, you will always be able to achieve your goals.
Starting off with independence, most people may find it daunting as they usually live at home and have most of the chores done by family members. When I chose my accommodation for my first year of study, I selected self-catering as I personally prefer cooking instead of getting dishes from restaurants as I can then cater to my own needs with food I fancy. If you think that you are not skillful enough to cook, don’t worry – not everyone’s a chef and most university student ‘struggle’ meals include simply making spaghetti or pasta with ready-made sauces of your choice. Surprisingly, this 15 minute preparation dish is actually very fulfilling and satisfying. The second biggest concern is doing laundry at your accommodation, where the majority of people (from most to all universities in the UK) have encountered the same problems with the washing machines. This consists of occasionally faulty machines, clothes stuck inside and inability to dry clothing with its tumble dryer. With that being said, every student gets used to it and becomes content with it!
Studying a Mechanical Engineering course may seem heavy for some people, but I think that the workload was not as bad as I expected. For my first year of study, there were 7 modules consisting of a combination of Mathematics, Computing, Electrical, Designing and Fluid Mechanics. In my opinion, Mathematics was the easiest and computing was the hardest. However, a lot of my fellow course mates think that computing was really simple, and this may be due to their prior experience to gaming or self-learnt computing knowledge. Good work ethic is an essential factor when it comes to studying at university, you have to be self-motivated and work hard in order to achieve your goals. Apart from this, time management and organisational skills are also important to maintain a balance between work and your social life.
After experiencing first year, I have learnt that extracurricular activities are helpful for advancing skills for future career. Therefore, I volunteered to be a Student Representative, an R2P mentor and a Student Ambassador this year. Hopefully my passion for this course will lead me to a bright future ahead!
Stay tuned for my next blog coming soon! Marie.