Hey there! My post today covers my experience transitioning into Uni life and also how it is transitioning back to studies after not being in school for 2 years. Stay tuned as I share my experience and some tips that might be helpful for you in your transition into university!

Settling into University

So… what was the transition like? It was overwhelming, initially. The first few weeks felt like a whirlwind. It was my first time ever at University, there was so much to do! Getting oriented with campus, attending orientations, meeting tons of new people in club events and classes, assignments, the list is endless! I was often exhausted – in most aspects. I was so eager to put myself out there in many ways to maximize my chances of making friends but also had to get used to attending classes on such a big campus, working on assignments, studying for tests and meeting deadlines. Boy, that was alot.

One thing I learnt from my first semester and want to share with you is that you don’t have to rush it. If you’re just coming into your first semester at university, take your time. You’re going to have plenty of opportunities in the coming years to get involved and social. It’s important for you to assess your priorities – it could be that the priority for you at the start is to just give yourself that space and time to get used to the university system. Then once you’ve gotten the hang of things, you can put yourself out there and explore more opportunities!

In-person classes…?

Furthermore, having not been in a school environment for 2 years, it definitely took some adjustment to get back into attending classes in person again. My last experience of being in a classroom was way back in 2019 due to Covid-19. I was used to attending lectures and tutorials online and I’m sure many of you might be experiencing the same thing too! Now that Uni is back with in-person sessions, I would strongly recommend you attend all your classes including lectures. Some reasons why that will be helpful:

1) To make friends in lectures and tutorials/labs – yes! As opposed to what everyone has said, I made friends in lectures and we would often eat lunch together and go to our other classes together. Tutorials and labs also present an easier opportunity to make friends if you find lectures daunting. Just say a friendly “Hello” to the person sitting beside you – chances are, they’re also looking to make friends!

2) To ensure you don’t miss out on anything important – Lecturers often engage the class by asking questions during the lecture. If you were watching it online, you may not be able to catch some of the good questions asked or answers given by students because they won’t be picked up by the microphone.

3) To make use of the fees you pay – Why do classes online when you’re paying Uni fees for classes in-person?

4) To be more engaged – Getting the real-life Uni experience is not quite the same as watching it from a computer. I found myself being able to focus better because seeing everyone else paying attention motivated me to focus too.

A Digital Schedule/To-Do List

Taking an Arts degree also meant that my classes required a lot of reading before and after the lectures which I was not used to because I had a background in Biomedical Science. It wasn’t easy getting back into the grind of things especially writing essays! One tip I have for everyone reading is to: Make a digital schedule/to-do list

This was so helpful for me to keep track of my assignment due dates and to plan my time. Here’s a look at my timetable which helped me to keep track of my deadlines: I didn’t miss a single deadline by doing this!

After getting through a full semester here at university, I can definitely say I feel less overwhelmed and more settled. It takes time and it’s important that you give yourself that time to transition. There’s no rush to make friends immediately, no rush to get on top of your classes instantly. There’s simply no rush to have everything all figured out. Just be you and the things that are meant for you will come your way in time 🙂

So that’s my take. If you’ve made it this far into my blog, thanks for sticking around! I hope this helped you gain insight into what transitioning into University looks like! Cheers!