A Beginner's Crash Course to Starting University
A Beginner's Crash Course to Starting University: Navigating the Unknowns
📚 Academic Life: Conquering the Odyssey of Knowledge. 📚
The academic transition to university is often intimidating because of unknowns about how challenging and how much heavier your workload may be. Here are a few suggestions to help relieve you of your worries, and remember, everyone is in this together!
- Mentor Motivation: McMillan (2013) found many students were worried about the unfamiliarity of academic work at university, not knowing what to expect and their relationships with lecturers. Supporting students with a guide, such as a mentor, helped to ease their anxieties and give them a framework to aid their academic transition. If your current education is offering opportunities for you to talk to mentors and university students, take them!
- Social Support: Mikami et al. (2018) also found students who were more socially active online with friends and family at university, felt more socially supported and had better academic adjustment to the heavier workload.
🫂 Social Life: Mastering the Art of Forming New Connections. 🫂
Starting university and navigating a new environment full of unknown people can be a daunting experience, however it is crucial to live a fulfilling university life. So here are a couple of beginner's tips to enhance your social interactions!
- Unified Uncertainty: It’s important to take a step back and realise that everyone is in the same boat as you and are equally apprehensive about making friends. This means everyone is willing to give new friendships a chance and are unlikely to be socially exclusive.
- Flatmate Friendships: Research by J.Shaw found that making friends with flatmates prior to university has eased the feeling of alienation in students. 16 students from different cities were selected to participate in this qualitative study.
- Freshers Week Fable: J.Shaw’s research blog also states that fresher’s week is not an optimal way to make long-lasting friends, however course-mates can be reliable considering you are likely to share similar values, goals and personalities with people doing the same discipline as you.
☺ Emotional Wellbeing: Nurturing Your Mental Health. ☺
Beginning university is a massive transition in a person’s life - influencing the people you interact with, the environment you live within, and your priorities in life. Therefore, it is unsurprising that this would have an impact on your emotional wellbeing.
- Academic Stress: One factor acting in opposition to wellbeing is academic stress (Yovita and Asih, 2017); the workload of university is much larger than previous stages of academics, and that is accompanied with an increase in stress (Gall et al., 2000).
- Persistent Positivity: However, it is essential to understand that there are a variety of methods you can use to cope with this stress. For example, remaining optimistic in situations of adversity can be greatly beneficial (Santhosh & Appu, 2015) - so try and ‘keep your head up’ and stay positive!
- Seeking Support: If transitioning to university is causing you stress on a severe level, know that support is available through the university: Wellbeing & Student Support
🏠 Accommodation: Navigating Your New Living Space. 🏠
- Satisfactory Stay: A questionnaire by Mogenet and Rioux (2014) has shown that “64.73% of the students were satisfied with their university accommodation” - this was independent of location of residence. Additionally, living with so many new individuals may take some adjustment. Making an effort with your flatmates and utilising communal spaces like common rooms and kitchens can ease the nerves that most students feel.
- Environmental Awareness: A main issue with shared living stems from disrespect (Foulkes, 2022), so it is very important to respect those around you – keeping on top of your washing up and keeping the bathroom clean once you have used it are simple ways to maintain a harmonious environment.
💸 Student Finances: Managing Your Money. 💸
It is crucial to stay informed and aware about budgeting, loans and financial resources throughout the course of university.
- Financial methods: Mangan et al. (2010) found that following the changes to student finances in 2006-07, 42-53% of students were unaware that they were eligible to receive a grant, which would have alleviated either some or all of their university fees. This demonstrates that a considerable proportion of student do not have sufficient financial literacy. Therefore, before coming to university, it is imperative that you take the time to educate yourself, and consider all the financial methods available to help you out throughout your time at university.
- Budgeting: Aung and Mon (2020) found that “significant” portions of students’ budgets are spent on non-essential goods and services such as travelling, eating out and shopping. This therefore leads to young people accruing unnecessary expenses and debts. Therefore, as a new student, it can be a good idea to create budgets for various, individual sectors of your expenditure, so that you have a healthy balance of expenses, leaving you with plenty of money for groceries, amongst other essentials.
Now that you have been armed with these insights, you are ready to experience the academic, social and emotional aspects of this embarkment in high definition. This is your time to embrace the unknowns and make the most of your university journey, good luck!💫
REFERENCES:
Academics: Learner Series. (2021, April 21). Asexual Visibility and Education Network. https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/212424-academics-learner-series/
Aung, N. N., & Mon, H. H. (2020). Budgeting habit behavior of undergraduate students in Yangon University of Economics. Journal of the Myanmar Academy of Arts and Science, 18(8). https://www.maas.edu.mm/Research/Admin/pdf/4.%20Dr%20Nwe%20Ni%20Aung(39-50).pdf
Business People Coporate Team Concept. (2015). Depositphotos. https://depositphotos.com/photo/business-people-coporate-team-concept-95415482.html
Foulkes, L., (2021). Social relationships within university undergraduate accommodation: a qualitative study. Journal of further and higher education (0309-877X), 45 (10), p. 1469. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1879745
Gall, T. L., Evans, D. R., & Bellerose, S. (2000). Transition to First-Year University: Patterns of Change in Adjustment Across Life Domains and Time. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(4), 544–567. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2000.19.4.544
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Kinetic. (2022, May 31). Student Accommodation Management Software | Kinetic. Kinetic. https://kineticsoftware.com/student-accommodation-management-software/
Mangan, J., Hughes, A., & Slack, K. (2010). Student finance, information and decision making. Higher Education, 60(5), 459–472. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40864826
McMillan, W. (2013). Transition to university: the role played by emotion. European Journal of Dental Education, 17(3), 169-176. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12026
Mental and Emotional Health Assessment. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/mental-health-assessment
Mikami, A.Y., Szwedo, D.E., Khalis, A., Jia, M., Na, J.J. (2018). Online Social Interactions Predict Academic and Emotional Adjustment in the Transition to University. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 29 (1), 210-224. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12377
Mogenet, J., and Rioux, L., (2014) Students' satisfaction with their university accommodation, Nordic Psychology, 66:4, 303- 320, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2014.982441
Santhosh, A., & Appu, A. V. (2015). Role of Optimism and Sense of Humor towards Subjective well being among College Students. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(2), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.15614/ijpp/2015/v6i2/73836
Shaw, J. (2020, October 12). The importance of student friendships. HEPI. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2020/10/12/the-importance-of-student-friendships/
Yovita, M., & Asih, SR (2019). The effects of academic stress and optimism on subjective well-being among first-year undergraduates. Diversity in Unity: Perspectives from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 559– 563. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315225302-70
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