The Cons and Pros of University

University for me is where I begin my future career and adapt my learning in this area. The three major changes for me were settling into university life, working in groups and time and stress management. All of these have impacted my university experience and I am going to talk about how.

Settling into university life was slightly different for me, because I chose not to move into any residency, so I commuted instead. Commuting for me is a lot cheaper than living in halls and because I don’t live to far away, it seemed logical. However there is still a cost incurred with this, such as petrol and servicing your car. You also have the road traffic to contend with and making sure you leave in adequate time to get to your lecture. I think it is now more common for people to commute. “More than a third (34%) took journeys lasting longer than 30 minutes” (Collier, 2013) which doesn’t surprise me due to the rising cost of accommodation. But because I was commuting, I was worried that students would have already made their friendship groups and I would be left out, but I found students who were in the same boat as me and made friends quickly.

There is also a lot of work to do, which shocked me because I didn’t realize just how much there was. There are also a range of way’s to access work e.g. WOLF online and posting in forums. Due to this I think their needs to be commitment involved from the student in order to complete all the work and achieve grades. Also the lectures shocked me because they weren’t as boring as people say they would be. Cottrell says “Usually students listen and take notes while professor speaks or read from notes, write on board, or present using PowerPoint.” (2012, p.8) Which I disagree with, because you do muc...

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..., social activities and university work, so as I still have the rest I need.

Finally, I have also incorporated different time management techniques around my week, including a timetable for everything I do, a diary to keep note of any tasks and arrangements and doing major priority jobs first, then least ones second. Anas (2010) say’s “Use a weekly planner, listing priorities first and including reasonable social and recreational activities.” Which I agree with because this will help you plan out your day and make sure you are aware of what needs to be done, so as you aren’t missing deadlines for university work or for any other arrangement you may have.

Overall my first semester at university has been enjoyable and challenging, at the same time. It has been a huge learning curve for me and has made me realize how much I want to be here and that I want to do well.