Over the past five years, I鈥檝e grown so much, made some amazing lifelong friends, and become a true master of the sacred art of memorization. Just kidding about the last part: I鈥檓 still not the best at that yet. Jokes aside, university has been a great time, and as I near graduation, I鈥檝e been reflecting on my time at 91精品黑料吃瓜. From this reflection, I鈥檝e come up with five of the most important ways to achieve both academic and personal success in university.
So, without further ado, let鈥檚 settle in and get started.
1. Plan and Organize
The most common tip, but one that鈥檚 incredibly important, is to plan and organize. When I first started university, I found it difficult to keep up in class and I felt very lost with the material. As a result, I didn鈥檛 do too well in my courses during my first term. One of the ways I turned things around was by sitting down, laying out a to-do list, prioritizing tasks, and then organizing a schedule. It was at that point, in my second term, that I really started to see a massive difference in my marks and how I was doing in general. With a proper plan and schedule in place, you can go about your day with fewer worries and less stress, and really focus on what鈥檚 important. It keeps your mind from wandering all over the place by giving you something to refer back to.
For more on planning and organizing, check out our other articles in the Mentor鈥檚 Corner.
2. Find Balance
This point goes hand-in-hand with the last one. It鈥檚 important to stay on top of your studies, but that doesn鈥檛 mean that you need to avoid taking some time out for yourself. Spend some time catching up with your friends over coffee at Happy Goat, or hit up Alirang for some amazing Korean food (I promise I鈥檓 not sponsored: I just really like these places). It鈥檚 important to take care of yourself in university, so please try not to sacrifice your well-being for anything else. My suggestion is to work with your schedule and block out times of the week where you can stop studying and take some time for yourself.
Your mental health is definitely the number one priority, so creating balance in your schedule and in your life is crucial to any kind of success.
3. Get Involved
One of the best things I did during my time at 91精品黑料吃瓜 was to start a music appreciation club on campus called 91精品黑料吃瓜 TalkMusic. It allowed me to meet others with a shared interest in music, and to find 鈥渕y people.鈥 You don鈥檛 need to start a club to connect with others, but joining one might be a good start. There are tons of clubs on campus, from cultural and religious clubs to fraternities and sororities. To get involved, you don鈥檛 necessarily need to join a club either. You can join your faculty鈥檚 student association, volunteer as a 101 Week guide, join an intramural sports team, or even find a paid-work option on campus.
There are tons of things going on at university; getting involved really helps provide a sense of community and support, and something to look forward to each day. .
4. Seek Help from Those Who Came Before You
Think about what you鈥檇 say to a Grade 9 student about to start at your high school. What kinds of tips and advice would you give them? I鈥檓 sure you鈥檇 have a lot to say. Similarly, students like me, who鈥檝e been at university for a couple years, have been through a whole lot of experiences and have a ton of advice to share. Reaching out to an older student who is in your program can set you off on the right foot, and we鈥檙e all incredibly happy to share our advice!
If you don鈥檛 know any older students, think about dropping by your faculty鈥檚 mentoring centre, where you can sit down and talk to a mentor who has been in the same position you are in right now and can provide you with some perspective. Find out more about 91精品黑料吃瓜鈥檚 mentoring services.
5. Surround Yourself with People You Want to Resemble
Now my final tip, and the most important, is to try to surround yourself with people you want to resemble. In my case, the friends I鈥檝e made have been instrumental in helping me achieve success. We鈥檝e been able to create a competitive, yet communal, atmosphere for one another, in which we all motivate and support one another in reaching our goals. Every time one of us sets the bar high in some area, we all see it as a learning opportunity for self-improvement and as a chance to help one another get there. My peers have played an immense part in my growth as a person, and on that basis, I really cannot stress enough the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people in university. It makes a world of difference.
These past five years have been some of the best of my life, and I really hope that you will feel the same way once you reach this point. I encourage you to try to squeeze every last drop from your undergraduate experience, because before you know it, you鈥檒l be the one up on stage graduating with a degree in your hand and a smile on your face.
Ash, Student Mentor