BEDA #17: Final year – expectations vs reality, and what I wish I could’ve know at the start

Okay, I’m currently writing this in a sleep deprived, caffeine and adrenaline high state, so I apologise if this makes no sense, and if any advice I give is not relevant to anyone other than myself.

Expectation

When I’d pictured my final year at University, it was always a stressful year. This is the year that really counted towards everything, and it was obviously going to be harder material than previous years, as we would have to use all the knowledge and information we’d gained during the course of our degree. It was also the year with much more freedom in picking how you wanted to focus your studies, and a chance to apply what we’d learnt to useful situations.

I’ve struggled at lot being at University. I never really suffered from homesickness, but university sickness as I would call it. I didn’t feel able to plant roots at uni, as it’s such a temporary part of my life. I longed for stability, routine and normality the whole of the first two years of my degree and it was something that I was never going to achieve whilst studying. The way my course works means that I can be set work with only a weeks’ notice to be handed in, which is okay if your lecturers plan ahead and communicate with each other, but in reality, I often ended up with four pieces of work due in a two day period. I was expecting third year to be more of the same, or to be even harder.

All this being said, I thought final year wouldn’t be so bad, for one reason, which was I would be done soon enough, and I could stick it. I wouldn’t miss University at all, and I’d barely miss the people because I hadn’t really made any close friends, just lots of people I didn’t mind spending time with. It was all going to be okay, because I would get an okay degree, live at home whilst studying for my postgrad, and get the routine and structure in my life that I wanted.

Reality

Whenever I’d heard people talk about what it was like to be a third year maths student, everyone said how hard it was academically. So I was rather surprised when actually, it wasn’t much of a step up in difficulty from my previous two years. It wasn’t a walk in a park, don’t get me wrong, but it no way was it to a point I couldn’t function as a normal human being as many third students seem to struggle to do. Whilst I had more choices this year, it wasn’t like I expected. I found that a lot of subjects that I’d previously enjoyed such as probability, were now so theoretical all the joy had been sucked out of them, and subjects that I’d found dull suddenly got interesting. If I could choose my modules again, I’d of picked almost completely different ones.

Life at university has still just been just as chaotic and unstructured, but I’ve definitely coped better. I was in good accommodation this year, and it made a world of difference, knowing that I could come back to a clean kitchen, and a well furbished room, and get an uninterrupted night of sleep. Although I was anxious that most of our continual assessment this year was going to be mini tests, and I’m not one for tests at all, they actually weren’t too bad, and when I came to the big exams, I was so much more prepared. For the coursework I had to hand in, our lecturers actually communicated, so that we didn’t have multiples due at the same time, and if we did, we were told further in advance.

One thing which I hadn’t put too much thought into was how much time sorting out my plans for next year would take. I mean I’d known for a very long time exactly what I wanted to do, where I wanted to study, and got all of the necessary work experience. Writing my application was stressful enough – trying to sum up everything about yourself in 47 lines of text, particularly when you’ve got as much experience and extra-curriculars as I do is a challenge. What I really hadn’t factored in was how much time it would take to prepare for an interview. There was so much I had to prepare to bring on the day, and so much research and reading I had to do, to make sure I didn’t look like an idiot, but also to impress.  Mixing weeks worth of preparation, whilst also trying to maintain a good degree average has to be one of my best accomplishments to date.

With regards to finishing, by the end, it wasn’t something I looked forward to as much as I thought as I would. I finally made a really good friend this year, and I know that I’m going to miss her a lot. When we got to our final few weeks, I think I realised how weird leaving was going to be. Whilst I was at school, there were all sorts of celebrations, and special things to prepare you for leaving, and to say your goodbyes. At University, it all just sort of fizzles out towards the end, and people just leave as and when there exams finish. I know we’ve got graduation to celebrate with, but it’ll be different as everyone will be busy with their families.

There’s a really odd feeling at university right now. I feel lucky that I’ve something to go on and do next year, when so many of my friends’ and course mates’ futures are so uncertain. It’s not however quite the security I imagined though. Although I’m going to be going to a local University, I could have placements an hour and a half plus away from home, meaning I’m going to have to move out again. It’s going to long hours, and lots of pressure, but I know it’s going to be worth it.

I’ll be honest; this year has been completely different from what I imagined it would be. I’m glad though. I’m getting to the point now, where I know all my hard week is going to be worth it, and it’s a relief.

Things I wished I’d known or done:

·         People who are good friends are not necessarily good housemates

·         Although first year doesn’t count towards your degree, it’s worth putting in the effort. You’re going to use the skills you learn for the rest of your degree, and it’s important to get into a good work routine.

·        Do not underestimate how important it is to keep your notes organised, or how much you’ll hate past you when you get to exam time and you haven’t.

·        Do not make friends with only one group of likeminded people, otherwise you might find yourself needing advice and support with no one able to help you.

·         Socialize and enjoy things outside of lectures as much as possible in your first two years, as there isn’t much time for doing that come third year.

·        Just because accommodation is cheap, does not mean it’s best. Sacrificing your happiness and health to save a few hundred pounds is not worth it.

·         Lecturers want you to do well, so ask them if you get stuck and they’ll be sure to help as much as they can.

·         Interview preparation is more important than the interview itself.

·         There is nothing wrong with going to see a counsellor if you need it – sometimes problems are too big for one person to deal with alone.

·         Never say no to free food/stuff.

·        It’s only three years of your life, so enjoy the freedom you have now, as you’ll look back in the future enviously at the opportunities you had.

For those of you in final year (I’m not sure if there are any others) – good luck. For those of you who’ll still be going next year, I hope something that I’ve written can be helpful to you :)

DFTBA