One week down, just eleven more to go til the year is over! 😱
A new semester means new classes. This semester I’m taking another four classes: French 204, Stats 108, Business 102 and Economics 151. The latter three are compulsory ‘core’ classes for a BCom.
New classes also means new books (ouch goes my bank account)
Stats and Economics both have traditional lectures then (optional) tutorials, which works out as 3-4 hours of contact time per week. The lectures are in the largest lecture theatres, which can be pretty intimidating as there are upwards of 500 other people in the class, so I’ve been glad to have friends who are in the same streams. If you live in halls, it’s practically guaranteed that there will be someone you know taking the same class, but even if that’s not the case, people are pretty outgoing and ready to make new friends at the start of the semester. Also, tutorials are far smaller than lectures so that’s an even better way to meet people 😊
Business 102 is the sequel to Business 101 and is delivered via a weekly two-hour group-based workshop. Both cover topics in marketing, management and international business. In Business 102 the expectations are higher, though, and the content slightly more challenging. 102 has the same assessment structure as 101, with 20% of your mark coming from your team performance – so picking a good team is almost vital. I had a really good team last semester, but it is too early to tell this semester, my fingers are crossed though.
So far, French 204 is my favourite class. There are less than 20 people in the course so even though our 4 x 1-hour classes are timetabled as ‘lectures’ they are very hands-on, giving you a proper opportunity to practice and improve your spoken French. My course last semester (French 269) was centred around French film and culture, however, 204 is more focused on the language itself (including grammar 😒) which may be a bit challenging, but it’ll be good to keep making progress.
Uni really doesn’t ease you back into the workload like high school, so this week has completely worn me out. I was so exhausted that when I fell asleep on Friday I didn’t wake up again for 12 hours (oops). But when I did wake up it was time to go look at accommodation for next year!
Walking back up Grafton Road everyday after a month break probably contributed to my exhaustion…
Applications for accommodation in 2019 open on 1 August for both incoming and returning students – so if you’re looking at living in a Hall during your first year, get thinking! It’s best to get your application in sooner rather than forget about it and leave it to the last minute, especially as your high school exams start creeping up on you! (You need to apply by 30 September to be considered for a first offer.)
Later in August I’ll do a post centred on accommodation, but until then – good luck!