Things I've learned while being in university..

As I'm finally coming across my last year of university, there are a couple tips and tricks I've learned throughout the years! I figured I'd share these things, because they may actually be quite helpful if you're in your first year, or entering university soon. Here goes.

GO TO ALL OF YOUR CLASSES
I know a lot of people can succeed without going to all of their classes, but in my experience skipping class is never worth it. It helps keep you on track, and prevents you from having to waste time catching up later. Even if you barely take notes (because lectures may be posted online or something) it's still worth going and taking in information, that way when you're studying it doesn't seem like you're learning everything for the first time.

TALK TO YOUR PROFS OR TAs
Classes are huge. They're not gonna know you unless you introduce yourself. Someone once told me of a rule she had where she came up with 3 questions a week, one for her prof and two for her TA. It helped a lot because it forced her to know the material enough to form questions and she learned things by discussing with profs and TAs. On top of that, she actually go to know them because she was always talking to them. Aside from this, I would recommend talking to them about every assignment, project, paper, to make sure you're on the right track. Remember you're paying these people, they're there to answer your questions.

GET INVOLVED
I found that I learned a lot more about life outside of the classroom than inside. I would recommend only choosing two things to be involved in, especially if you're going to be working as well. I always tended to overload myself..which ended up sometimes negatively affecting school. But if you only choose two things, then you're able to stay organized while still getting involved and not overwhelming yourself. 

USE AN AGENDA
I seriously don't know how people function without one. It's the best way to know exactly what's going on on day. You can organize your due dates, parties, events, daily tasks - and in my opinion it works better than any online program or app. I also recommend colour coding things, so it's easier to differentiate when you're looking at your week overall.

GET PROPER SLEEP
I know I've talked about this in another post before, but it's so important for university. University students never get enough sleep and it's horrible for your brain! It also sucks to stay up late doing work only to miss your morning classes. If you get into the habit of waking up early everyday you're less likely to waste time sleeping in until 2:00PM everyday.

DON'T CRAM!
Don't leave ANYTHING to the last minute..and I mean ANYTHING. Whether it's a paper, making a banner for an event or studying for an exam..THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY! Cramming never helps, and the more you push things to the next week, and the next week - the less time you have to actually get it done! As long as you prioritize you'll always have time to do fun stuff and you won't be stressed out!

STUDY IN GROUPS
Even if you ultimately study better on your own, at least go to some group study sessions before you start studying. You'll always learn new things or maybe reiterate things that you forgot about! I always try to find a group of responsible friends and summarize readings/lectures before the exam, that way it's less work but you have all the info at your fingertips! I find that talking about things really helps you remember them as well. You're all in this together after all! 

MAKE FRIENDS
You are the company that you keep. Don't be one of those people who goes to class and goes home. UNIVERSITY IS AN EXPERIENCE! Have fun! Work hard and party harder! Your friends will enrich your university experience, and it's always nice to have people who are going through the same things as you. Make memories! 

These are things I just thought of off the top of my head but I'm sure I'll think of some more soon. ENJOY! :)

xx,

Shiv