There's a huge jump between A-Levels and University, both socially and academically due to the new-found freedom you have (especially if you've moved away for your studies). Managing these effectively and looking after yourself physically and mentally can be challenging. Today I want to go through my top tips for assignments and balancing a work/social life.
Assignments are a key part of any degree programme, whether they're practical or essay-based, preparation work takes up a good chunk of your daily routine. For my course, in my first year, I had between 15-18 contact hours a week. This is a huge difference from the 8 hour days I was used to at sixth form.
Within those 15 or so hours, I would be required to attend lectures, seminars and tutorials. Lectures are driven by the academic presenting you with the content, in some cases, you may have had to do some reading in advance. Lectures are held in large course groups, for example, my course had around 180 people for some of my modules. Seminars work on a much smaller basis, with around 10/15 people and are usually just found in humanities subjects (science strands tend to have lab sessions instead). A seminar is used to consolidate the knowledge learnt within the lecture, there will be pre-reading for this as you will be encouraged to engage in discussion with other students. Tutorials occur on a less frequent basis depending on the course you've applied to and include 5/10 people, these can be personal or departmental and base themselves on the pastoral support you need whilst at university. After a lecture, it is advised to revisit your content and supplement it, it's extremely rare that you'll be able to complete an assignment purely on the lecture content, you have to put in your own research.
Straight away, this educational structure is completely different from what many people would've been used to at sixth form or college. The freedom in your own studies is amazing but you have to have some level of self-discipline to be able to dedicate the time needed for each assignment. Using a study or weekly planner can be a great way to organise your workload. In my room, I've always kept a weekly planner on the desk with tasks I need to get done each day. On the side of this, I'd have a to-do list because moving away from the family home comes with some new responsibilities. This year, I always had Friday's off so I would try and get the majority of my work done in the days before so I could do my to-do list tasks such as food shopping, cleaning and washing on my day off. This also meant that I was keeping my evenings free to enjoy an SU night with my friends.
I've included a printable sample of a weekly planner you could use, there are plenty more free printables that you can find on Pinterest.
One of the hardest things to manage when starting university is the temptation to go out with friends when you know you have work to do. I'm all for a good night out with friends, but I always make sure my work is completed first. Before going out, I would complete a to-do list of the bare minimum that I wanted to get done before going. Buying tickets in advance makes you plan ahead with your work which is always a good thing.
There's always going to be support available from your university because they're aware of the transition and how it affects everyone differently. It's largely a personal preference how everyone chooses to structure their work and how far in advance that they complete things. Usually, you find there are two types of workers, the super prepared ones and the last-minute ones - you have to find a strategy that works for you and stick with it.
Another key factor when managing workload is taking into consideration the feedback process. In order to achieve higher grades, reading and acting upon lecturer feedback is essential. I would always plan specific feedback sessions into my weekly planner, whether this involves going through feedback independently or going to see the lecturer during their office hours.
As you can see in the image on the left, I've taken one of my assignments and gone through and responded to the feedback I received. This allowed me to understand where I needed to make improvements and helped me with future assignments. This is particularly important in first year where your overall grade doesn't count towards your end degree. Use this freedom to experiment with different writing techniques and find the style that works for you and gets you the best grades.
Responding to feedback is a crucial part of the learning process and is a skill you'll develop throughout the course of your degree. clarifying these points with academic staff not only strengthens your relationship with them but shows that you have the initiative and drive to succeed in this new environment.
Responding to feedback is a crucial part of the learning process and is a skill you'll develop throughout the course of your degree. clarifying these points with academic staff not only strengthens your relationship with them but shows that you have the initiative and drive to succeed in this new environment.
If you have any questions about student life at Royal Holloway or university, in general, please leave a comment down below!
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