Advice for uni students

Hey little college fledglings, 
(I'm not sure how that works outside of the UK) 

As my graduation is fast approaching and the new wave of fresh faced freshers will be descending on to campuses all over the world I decided to give you a little bit of advice about what to expect and some tips that I definitely did not listen to but ones that would have helped me through uni. 

1) Put aside a small amount of your student loan each term (around 5% depending on how much you are getting) for emergencies, I know all you want to do is buy the bare essentials and blow the rest on alcohol and late night pizza, but trust me there is always a unknown cost around the bend, being in a creative field there weren't many 'book' expenses in my uni years but sometimes you just cant find that one tiny (really bloody expensive) book in the library and your deadlines will not wait for you, then if you make it through that term and you haven't needed the fall back money you can treat yourself to something other than Sainsbury's own noodles or something from Lush that smells pretty.  

2) Do not leave your work until two weeks (or in my case, two days..okay, the night before) your due date, your lecturers will outright know that you wont start any work on the day it's been given but they do expect you to start within the week and for bloody good reason.
They know that you are going to have up to four 3-5,000 word essays due within DAYS of each other so they know when to set the work to give you just enough time to do them all, I did not heed this and left two 5,000 word essays until my last week of uni and holy shit, it was hard (I still managed so dont worry if this is you, but I am weirdly good under pressure).
So, listen to your lecturers/tutors because they know exactly what students are like and have given you the right amount of time give or take a few day of procrastination. 

3) My anxiety during uni was hellish and I even almost dropped out during my second year because of deadlines but I then figured something out that really helped me stay super calm during my writing...
Deadlines will come, ready or not. 
Whether you have completely finished your essay/ report/ project or if you have not reached your word count, the deadline waits for no man and I'm sure some of you will be like 'wtf how is that calming that's terrifying' but I honestly was so calmed by the fact that my whole life was not going to be this essay, that once the deadline came my essay would be sent off regardless of what I had written and I could move on to the next thing, It is the BEST feeling to hand in an essay and have your mind be cleared of something you haven't stopped thinking about for weeks and weeks. 

4) Make sure your mental health comes first. 
During this insane time that will be your uni years, you are going to have days that make you question why you even bothered to apply in the first place, you're going to be tired and probably have deadlines coming out of your ears but if ever you feel like your not quite staying afloat, talk to someone, anyone, all of you tutors are there for you no matter what you think of them, they are there to help you through.
Talk to your family, friends, partner, dog, blog, internet friends, therapist, fucking write it in a notebook if you have to, but never keep it all in your head, everything seems worse in there. 

5) Use your time wisely. 
My biggest regret of my uni years is that I didn't network with anyone outside of my little bubble, I do not recommend this at all. 
Your tutors will be pushing you to get out into the world and network as quickly as possible with everyone and anyone that could possibly help you when you are ready to leave and start work, do it. 
Talk to everyone, other students from other courses, people you meet on nights out (not crazies, just other students), professionals in your field of work and pretty much anyone that will give you advice because all of these people might come in handy one day when you need it most, you might meet someone who will give you your first job that leads into your career or you might just meet your best friend/ love of your life/ people that will be your support and in uni, you need as much of that as you can get. 

6) Get sleep. 
That's all I need to say for this one, you need sleep..Netflix can wait.

7) Have your work checked by your tutors before the hand in, I never did and could've got more marks but i'm too awkward and a bit lazy. 

8) Don't be discouraged if you get a 3rd or 2:2 on your work, just pick yourself back up and try harder next time and if you do you'll be in the 2:1/ 1st so don't worry, just work hard. 

9) If you have days off, get someone to collect any papers for you and get them to either send you a photo of their notes or ask the teacher to send you anything you missed, also don't forget to email your lecturers if you aren't going to be in. 

10) Enjoy it. 
Uni was the best fucking time of my life, it goes by in a flash and before you know it you'll be walking across a stage in a cap and gown to'Pomp and Circumstance' and saying goodbye to some of your best friends.

Good Luck, You'll be great.

H

xxx