Five ways to survive university

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  Five ways to SURVIVE university!✨


The preparation for university can be daunting but don't worry! Here are five ways to survive university and make the most out of your new chapter in life. Firstly, food is a must. It is a priority. But we have to make sure we are also eating healthily. Also budgeting is a necessity because can your savings and student finance loan handle your social life and freshers' week? Joining sports societies is always a good idea too, you exercise and circle every Wednesday (a Warwick special), it is a win-win situation. Most importantly, remember to look after yourself, because self-love is the best love so make sure you stay safe.


Food:


When moving to university, getting an Uber Eats every night or eating what is most convenient can be very tempting but it is important to maintain a balanced diet and well-being. Morris (2016) reported that consumption of a diet high in fat and sugar has a link to memory loss, which is not ideal when studying for a degree! Keeping a balanced diet won't be easy with a student budget but these tips can help. Firstly, you could produce a weekly meal plan, this will make sure that no food will go to waste. Also, batch cooking will be a great help because reheating previously made food requires little effort especially if you're not in the mood to cook. 



Budgeting:


When it comes to university, money will be a big issue. Whether it is to fund your inner party animal or the prices for groceries, budgeting will come in handy. A helpful tip would be to simply set yourself a weekly budget of £80 for example, £50 on going out and £30 for other expenses and try not to exceed the limit. Of course, a social life is important but it wouldn't be wise to spend it all within the first term. Ajzen’s Planned behaviour Theory (1991) and Daft’s Budgeting Habits (2014) found many factors that influence budgeting habits behaviour such as family influence, peer group influence and self-control. Another helpful way is using a spreadsheet on excel to note down your spending on food, going out and laundry. 



Making friends: 



Starting university is an experience many students find daunting, often leading them to feel homesick or lonely (Brewin et al., 1989). Therefore, making new friends is practically essential as they can provide a new support system which helps reduce the distress of homesickness (Wilcox et al., 2005). Some suggestions that can help you make friends include:  

- not turning down an invite 

- joining a club or society

- making the most of fresher's week.  

This will help you feel less isolated and create opportunities for you to meet like-minded people to start this new journey with. Additionally, you’ll likely become fast friends with a few flat mates due to you being at similar life stages. For example, having to navigate food shops and living away from home which many students talk and bond over (Foulkes et al., 2021).

 

Exercise:

Physical activity is often underrated at university, particularly as you get tied up with exciting social events or bogged down with academic work. First year is all for trying out new things you could for example try out a new sport or sign up for gym classes like Pilates and Zumba. Alongside improving mental well-being (Fox 2007), there is research that strongly suggests exercise can also improve your academic performance and overall cognition (Cappelen et al., 2017) (Tomporowski et al., 2007). So head over to the university's gym with a friend and try something new!



Mental health: 


Additionally, mental health can be a difficult hurdle to tackle at university (Storrie et al., 2010), where you're stepping out into the world on your own for the first time. It can be normal to feel lonely and anxious sometimes ((EŞ et al., 2020). Whether it’s about balancing our work with going out, or feeling isolated and withdrawn, we can all experience complications when transitioning to university. Luckily, there are many resources out there that can help us with this, which include:

-Wellbeing services at the university

- Personal tutors

- Residential team

Along with these, it can be important to build a strong network of friends around you, who you can reach out to and lean on when you’re struggling, as well as keeping in touch with friends and family from home (Rubin et al., 2016). But remember, you’re not alone, and we all struggle from time to time, especially in such a new and daunting environment. Trust us, you’ll be fine!




References:  

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). www.maas.edu.mm/Research/Admin/pdf/4.%20Dr%20Nwe%20Ni%20Aung(39-50).pdf 


Brewin, C. R., Furnham, A., & Howes, M. (1989). Demographic and psychological determinants of homesickness and confiding among students. British Journal of Psychology, 80(4), 467–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1989.tb02336.x 


Cappelen, A. W., Charness, G., Ekstrrm, M., Gneezy, U., & Tungodden, B. (2017). Exercise Improves Academic Performance. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3033774 


EŞ, A. Ç., UZUN, G. Ö., & KAN, Ş. G. (2020). Investigation of Loneliness and Anxiety Processes of University Students. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 2(2), 68-74. 

https://doi.org/10.35365/ctjpp.20.02.10  


Foulkes, L., Reddy, A., Westbrook, J., Newbronner, E., & McMillan, D. (2021). Social relationships within university undergraduate accommodation: a qualitative study. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(10), 1469-1482. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2021.1879745 


Frostad, P., & Pijl, S. J. (2007). Does being friendly help in making friends? The relation between the social position and social skills of pupils with special needs in mainstream education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22(1), 15–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250601082224 



Morris, M. J., Le, V., & Maniam, J. (2016). The impact of poor diet and early life stress on memory status. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 9, 144–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.04.002 


Rubin, M., Evans, O., & Wilkinson, R. B. (2016). A Longitudinal Study of the Relations Among University Students' Subjective Social Status, Social Contact with University Friends, and Mental Health and Well-Being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 35(9). https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2016.35.9.722  


Storrie, K., Ahern, K., & Tuckett, A. (2010). A systematic review: Students with mental health problems—A growing problem. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 16(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-172X.2009.01813.x  


Tomporowski, P. D., Davis, C. L., Miller, P. H., & Naglieri, J. A. (2007). Exercise and Children’s Intelligence, Cognition, and Academic Achievement. Educational Psychology Review, 20(2), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-007-9057-0 



Wilcox, P., Winn, S., & Fyvie‐Gauld, M. (2005). ‘It was nothing to do with the university, it was just the people’: the role of social support in the first‐year experience of higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 30(6), 707-722. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070500340036 


https://images.app.goo.gl/euajqBXgfq4pUQqm7


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/the-5-best-exercises-to-build-your-core-muscles/photostory/92101886.cms?from=mdr  

 

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