Starting university this year? While it is an exciting time, it can present challenges around moving out of home, figuring out your course load or adjusting to life on campus. This article shares some tips and tricks to help you kickstart your university journey.
Be organised
In addition to your laptop, it’s a good idea to invest in stationery to prepare for lectures and tutorials. The most common items are:
- notebooks
- folder/s for print-outs
- a water bottle
- a bag to carry things in
- pens
Whether you’re studying from home, on campus or on public transport, it’s important to have a reliable internet connection to access learning resources, your study schedule and upcoming assessments.
Make studying more fun
You might think uni life only revolves around study, but that’s not the case. You’re free to expand your horizons by attending campus events and making new friends, as well as getting involved in societies, sporting teams and leadership programs.
Set goals
Setting goals can help you achieve positive changes in all aspects of life, especially when it comes to studying at uni. It’s important to set short-term and long-term study goals. Setting yourself realistic tasks will keep you motivated and on track to reach your goals and set new ones to work towards.
Manage stress or worry
Stress and worry can often lead you to feel overwhelmed and can reach its peak when big challenges arise. To mitigate those feelings, there are some things you can do to support yourself through these times:
- write down a list of things you enjoy and that help you de-stress.
- notice your unhelpful thoughts and think about trying apps like Worry Time, which help to control your stress and anxiety.
- ReachOut and headspace both have a range of resources to support your mental and emotional health.
- reach out to your university on the services available to support you.
- be kind to yourself to help you push through challenges.
Test yourself
Getting someone to quiz you, or quizzing yourself, is great practice for uni-related activities. This learning technique will help you store information in your long-term memory and easily retrieve it when you need it. Recalling an answer to a question or writing down the answer improves your learning.
Flash cards are another great technique to learn a new topic. They prompt triggers for you to be able to recall information.
These are just some of the useful study tips to help improve your university experience. For more, read James Cook University’s ’s article on 10 study tips to help you succeed.