Reflections on my first year at university

I’m going to start this post off by saying it’s more for me than anyone else. Although I’m sure this may be helpful for some of you who are about to start first year, I really just want to document my progress through university so I can look back on a detailed record of how I was feeling. With that being said, here’s a summary of how first year was for me.

I had a very different first year experience to most people. For a start, I didn’t go into halls; I moved into a flat with my boyfriend instead. We live quite far away from my campus (around 35 minutes on the train) so I commute in every day. A lot of people warned me about missing out on the “full uni experience” but I honestly don’t feel like I have. I do feel a little disconnected from university life but it doesn’t bother me at all, and might actually help me study better. I think I would have struggled with having flatmates, but my current living situation suits me perfectly. Commuting in is a bit draining but I adapted to it very quickly and it gives me 30 minutes of working with no distractions.

My family were concerned with me missing out on the social side of uni life. Admittedly I haven’t gone out clubbing much, but I don’t enjoy it that much so I doubt I would have even if I was living there. I love the friends I’ve made at uni and that’s the most important thing! I’ve always been more introverted so I like having weekends to myself or to spend with my boyfriend.

I managed to get onto the committee of our VegSoc in October. It’s been a really rewarding experience and I’ve met some great people doing it, but it’s been stressful. I kept finding that others weren’t putting in the same amount of effort as I was, and actually ended up doing every single committee member’s job. I have too many assignments to take that responsibility on again, so I’ve decided that if I see others aren’t willing to do their job as a committee member, I won’t step in.

I study Psychology BSc and it’s a lot more intense that I anticipated! The workload itself was fine this year – we had one essay and a few lab report style assignments – but we had classes five days a week, which made it feel like more work than it was. I developed my study habits and realised I definitely work better when I pace myself. I did my last assignment a few days before the deadline and it was my worst grade, so I definitely won’t be doing that again! The content was mainly a slightly more in depth version of my A Level course, which meant it wasn’t very challenging and was actually a bit boring at times.

Our exams this year were all multiple choice. This was nice because it didn’t feel as stressful, but I still studied hard for them. I’m glad I did because I got really good grades! I’ve been transferred to my uni’s Applied Psychology course, which means I’ll have a year in industry before I start third year. Hopefully this will add to the work I’ve done to improve my employability this year; I even took an extra module for it! I am a bit nervous about the timed essay exams next year, but hopefully I can continue to improve my study habits.

Goals for second year

• Get a 2:1 or higher. This is really important because I want to do a postgraduate course eventually, as I’m aiming for a clinical psychology career at the moment.
• Build better habits. I have a tendency to forget about somewhat important things, such as cleaning and exercising. I really need to streamline my routine so that stops happening!
• Don’t overload myself. I am so bad for taking on way more than I can manage, and then getting ill or losing motivation because of the stress. I know my limits, but I need to actually acknowledge them.

Sorry for a slightly unstructured post today, I just really wanted to get these thoughts down before the second year rush starts! I’d love to hear your university experiences, or what you’re expecting if you’re starting in September. I hope you have a wonderful day!

- Bethan