Acknowledging that days are getting shorter and the bitter Autumn winds came back to haunt us from the depths of the Arctic glaciers is sad enough. Realizing that a new academic year articulated by essays and exams is about to start is pure anguish.
However, it’s also time for new resolutions and good intentions. We can just hear you think “I vow in front of Conor McGregor almighty that this year will be different. No pulling all nighters, no skipping morning classes and, above everything, no cheap drinks at Dicey’s.” But didn’t you swear the same thing to omnipotent Kim Kardashian last year? If it didn’t work out, it’s because you didn’t have a plan. You can swear to all the deities in the world, but without a clear strategy you can stick to, you’ll end up hammered in Dicey’s again.
With that said, you might be interested in having a quick read at our simple stratagems to keep the new academic year’s resolution you made. We’re not presuming to make a model student out of you, but if you stick up to these few suggestions you’ll be able to get through college without worries and anxieties.
Why Do You Want To Go To College?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Many students take for granted that the University is a mandatory step to enter the job market, or, even worse, not having clear what they want to do when they grow up, they procrastinate their lives and park themselves in a random university.
We all have different reasons for going to college, but we all should have at least one. Possibly good. Why do you want to attend university? What are your expectations regarding this experience? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? If you can’t find any motivation urging you to face this path to reach a specific goal, well ... think carefully before enrolling yourself. Studying is way more difficult than working and if you don’t have a thought you can hold onto in times of hardships, you’ll give up. As Leonardo Da Vinci said it, “just as food eaten without appetite is a tedious nourishment, so does study without zeal damage the memory by not assimilating what it absorbs.”
If you like studying (what an oxymoron!), but you don’t know what, you might want to read our guide on how to pick the right faculty for you.
Prepare Your Exams In Advance
Oh yeah, we’ve reinvented the wheel. The real challenge is discovering how to pass an exam without opening a single book, you fools! As our brain doesn’t absorb knowledge through osmosis, we’re still working on it. For the moment, the only way to be promoted is studying, ideally not only the night before the exam at intervals of intravenous injections of coffee.
To make sure to assimilate the content of your courses in a smooth and painless way you should:
Go to class. Do not underestimate the importance of attending classes. Even just showing up forces you to face the academic path with greater seriousness, and since you are there, turn off your smartphone and interact. Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand or don’t know something, even if talking in front of an audience feels like crossing the Kingdom of Mordor.
Take notes. Being proud for just showing up in class is not the right attitude. When you get back home, revise what you wrote to fix it in your mind.
Recover the complete list of all the textbooks and handouts for each exam as soon as possible and get hold of them.
Once you put your hands on those books, start reading them. You don’t need to act as Hermione Granger and learn everything before the start of the semester, especially if you still want to have friends, but if you begin familiarizing yourself with the lessons’ topics it will be easier to follow.
Take Your Education As A Job
Billions of novelties, no homework and the new acquired freedom is a Bermuda triangle that might distract you from your main objective: studying. However, considering your studies as a profession might help you discipline yourself. If attending university was a job, you’d need to work from 9 to 6 every day, five days a week. Sit at your desk 40 hours a week and you’ll nail all of your exams.
You might argue, but the essay’s deadline is so far away, and the exam seems so distant and cold as a star in the milky way. Oh yeah, but that star is 5,505 °C and 1.390.000 km wide, do you really want to be caught unprepared?
Book A Student Accommodation
Don’t reduce yourself to find a place to stay the day before the start of the lessons. Make sure you settle in your new home at least one week in advance to start exploring the area, identify the nearest supermarkets, how to get to college, the cheapest gym and everything you might need. When you start classes you’ll be busy enough, so it’s better to sort these things out before the beginning of the semester.
In case you stuck for searching a suitable student living in Dublin, read our blog post on how to find an affordable accommodation in town.
New Academic Year’s Eve
For students, the new year doesn’t start on January 1st, but on the first day of college after the summer vacations. Just like on December 31st, you’re pervaded by contrasting feelings of hope and despair, curiosity and fear for what the future has in store for you.
The great news is that your future is entirely in your hands. You can shape it as you want. Do you want to attend college and graduate with a first honor-degree? Strive for it. Are you content with a second honor degree because you want to enjoy yourself to the fullest? Go for it. There’s no right and wrong in life, only choices. And who do you choose to be?