Adapting to a New World: Top 10 Tips for Survival and Success in University
If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that “college is a huge change from school”, I could retire comfortably. Picture the scene. A first year university student walks into a crowded lecture hall. They are no longer well esteemed and recognised amongst their fellow students as they were in their close-knit secondary school. They have never used online learning facilities. Their lecturer doesn’t know their name. It all seems a bit too much, right?
The simple answer is no. No, it is not too much. At least not for someone who is willing to put their mind to it. Some of the biggest challenges incoming first years face will be surmountable by one means or another. And here’s a few ideas as to how:
1.Don’t be a stranger: Some of the major challenges students experience in college have to do with loneliness and isolation. It feels as though you’re a small fish in a big pond, a perfect stranger to the rest of the campus.
Remember that you don’t have to go through it alone and that there is a good chance that everyone else around you feels the same. So talk about it with someone.
2. Join clubs and societies: I cannot stress the importance of this vital second step! In such a large, sometimes daunting environment, it is vital that you have an outlet. This will help to give you a sense of belonging in what can sometimes feel like a very impersonal setting.
The great thing about most universities nowadays is that they have something to cater for everyone’s interests. From knitting to kayaking, from debating to dancing, the world is really your oyster when it comes to college clubs and societies!
3. Don’t get every recommended textbook: This happens quite a lot to first years when they haven’t had the experience of studying at third level yet. Professors may very well recommend what they deem useful books, but this does not mean that they are mandatory books.
You can easily fish up a lot of useful information from the internet, published articles or journals, or even take out college library books for a short period. You don’t have to break the bank to do well in college!
4. Keep on top of the workload: This can be a struggle for some, especially if you were the kind of student who depended heavily on your teacher to hold you accountable in school. The good news is that many of your assignments will count towards your final grade, so that will be plenty of motivation in and of itself.
Maybe even organize little study groups of 3-4 diligent students who you know will use the session time productively. Flashcards and highlighters work wonders here!
5. Be original! It’s important to realise that college is not school! Professors don’t want you to utilise leaving cert tactics by memorizing facts and phrases word for word. College is all about taking the information that’s given to you and applying it in an original way that is open to interpretation and further research by academic critics.
Sometimes it’s useful to propose a hypothesis at the beginning of an essay, test it throughout the course of your work, and prove or disprove it at the end. Again, the internet is very useful in finding all sorts of weird and wonderful facts in your chosen field of study!
6. Ask for help: From my personal experience of university, each faculty has an authoritative body you can go to if you are concerned about anything from changing your modules to glitches in your timetable.
Utilise these people! I’m pretty sure there’s no concern you could raise to them that they haven’t heard a thousand times before!
7. Talk about your lectures: Research (and a bit of common sense) will tell you that talking to friends or colleagues about a topic will help you to understand and engage with it better.
It might be useful to set aside some time to meet up with some reliable classmates and exchange ideas and opinions on the lecture material. This way you are opening the floor to broader perspective and more effective communication.
8. Take study breaks: It is easy to get bogged down by the intensity of assignments and study material. Something simple like going to a coffee shop with friends or taking a short walk around campus can make all the difference to your mind as well as your body.
Take breaks, even when you feel like you shouldn’t. We are humans, not robots. We thrive off of a sense of temporality and routine. Time for leisure is vital to the proper functioning of our minds inside and outside of the classroom.
9. Trust Yourself: This doesn’t just go for your study routine, this goes for every aspect of your college life. College can be an uncertain and challenging enough time as it is without your own mind playing up on you.
You may be stepping into new territory, but the fundamental sense of who you are has not changed. After all, you are smart and brave enough to have made it to university in the first place. Believe in yourself.
10. Don’t give up: Last, but by no means least on the list. Don’t surrender! You are stronger than you know. It may take a while to get into a rhythm, but eventually we adapt to new conditions. (Anyone studying science will remember that from Evolutionary biology) Everything worth anything takes time, patience and perseverance. You’ve got this!
Ellen Moynihan,
August 2020