Since
universities are going to open really soon and for many of you it’s going to be
your first semester in university, so I thought to share some helpful tips and
suggestions that you must keep in mind.
picture credit: Unsplash
So
first things first, since we had dealt with a virus so you must take all the
precautionary measures obviously!
Coming
to the latter part, let's break that in short pointers;
1. Go for trial and error at the start of friendships.
Now, what does that mean? You might have heard that “university friends are fake” and stuff like that. But trust me, there exist good and bad people everywhere. So at the beginning of your university life, try to be friendly with everyone around you. Not that you should be playing fake and mask your personality but you should try to know people. You must interact with others to know their nature and how they react to different things.
2. Don't go for friendships in large groups.
This is very obvious that you can't keep that strong-bond friendship with 6-7 people. At the start, you might feel like ‘wow I’m so blessed to have a large group of friends’ but no you aren’t! Even no one can have 6-7 loyal friends. Remember that all 5 fingers are not the same. Sooner or later there are almost 99% chances that such groups split into subgroups. So it's better to opt for 2 or max 3 friends who would stay by your side no matter what.
3. Participate in co-curricular activities and different societies.
This is one of the most important things to do when in university because it helps in boosting your self-esteem and confidence and also helps in building connections with people from other departments. This also helps you a lot when you don’t have any friends in the beginning because it will help you interact with other people. One of my major mistake in university was that I didn’t take part in any of such activities or societies because I was way too shy and introvert but now whenever I think of that, I think that I had missed a lot of stuff that would otherwise be really fun to do and help me learn and boost my self-esteem.
4. Do not bunk your classes regularly.
Many of us have this impression that the university is a place to have fun and chill. But no! keep in mind that your parents have paid hefty amounts for you to get admitted to that institution and you can’t let that money go in waste. I understand that sometimes you would be tempted to bunk a class and enjoy the weather or go for a hangout. And it’s perfectly okay for “SOMETIMES” but not all the times that you miss out on all the classes and the teacher doesn’t even know that you are the part of a specific class. Because, teachers do remember who comes in the class and who doesn't. it is important for you to build a good reputation with teachers from the very start.
5. Write or take notes of the lectures.
While attending a class is important, it is also essential that you are attending the class both mentally and physically. Not that you are present in the class physically but your mind is wandering outside the window on the group of people passing by. The best you can do to maintain your concentration in the class is to take notes or write important points so that the next time you have to study for that specific lecture you have something of your own to read. Taking your notes is also important because when you write something it also registers in your subconscious mind automatically, so the next time you see what you had written it will also give you a flashback of the things that you learned at that moment.
6. Working for projects and assignments.
When the matter of working on projects and assignments comes forth we all think of our friends; to make a group with them so that it would all go smooth and easy. But trust me; it isn’t that simple as we think in the beginning. What I would suggest you try to work in groups different from your friends’ circle. It might seem hard to do at the start when you barely know anyone but that is the best time and way to know and interact with people. And let me tell you an inside truth, working in group projects and assignments let you learn so many things about people that you might not know otherwise, even if they are your friends. I’m not hinting towards any negative points or anything but you will get to know that who contributes and who is willing to put in the effort and who is just there to take the credit and create a mess of things. I don’t know if you have heard it or not but in my uni life I got to hear from a lot of people that “choose your project partners wisely because it will either make or ruin your grades and efforts.” And I totally uphold this statement!
7. Your dressing sense and spending money on clothes.
Being in university has a charm that now you’ll get to flaunt your clothes and not those boring unifroms and wear a new dress daily. But, one thing you must keep in mind that no one has enough clothes to wear a new one daily for all 4 years of your university life. So there is no shame in repeating clothes. Why is a washing machine for? Nor do you have to buy designer wear for your university. Fashion isn’t something that will make you look good in a dress you bought for 5000 Rupees rather fashion is something that you have the sense to carry a piece of clothing in a flawless way that you make it look like as expesive as 5000, even if it cost you only 1000 Rupees. Try to style a peice of clothing in different ways and make your own fashion statement.
8. Spend money while keeping in mind your expenses, not how much others are expending.
University life makes you compare your life with others. The friends you make play a vital role in the shaping of your adult personality and the habits you adopt. There are going to be times that you might get tempted to spend way too much or buy a branded bag or anything just because you saw someone else in the university have that too. But you must keep in mind to set certain limits for yourself. You must buy things and food for yourself and you must contribute equally if there is a situation you eat out with others. You might be thinking that why it is important? But this is the most significant thing to do so no one ever has the chance to say false things about you regarding money matters. I understand that student life is such a mess where you had to make through with limited pocket money to buy the notes, eat food, and have other stuff. But these small things create a big impact because in my uni life I had seen people who would not give people’s money back or eat with them and never pay, and people used to talk about them with whoever they had interactions with; they used to tell people to not trust them for money matters and stuff.
I hope this was helpful! drop a comment if you need any help :)