A New Year’s Resolution

The title probably seems a bit odd at this time of year, but I think that as a new academic year starts, it’s similar to a new year on the whole. You set yourselves goals you want to achieve.

I’ve always told myself that last year I kind of used to settle into university life etc, but this year is going to be different. Whatever I saw as a disadvantage last year, I am going to try and take it as an advantage. Here are a few pointers:

Workshops and Tutorials: When it got to Term 3 last year, I started panicking really badly as the exams were only around the corner. This made me miss the last couple of workshops and a tutorial I think. However, I also know that these are very important sessions. They not only test your knowledge, but this is an opportunity for everyone to ask further questions. The people that will be teaching this class will be experts within the field themselves.

Study Spaces: Last year I used to walk around the library on the ground and the first floor just looking for space, but there are a lot more floors designed for different purposes. E.g.fifth floor is for silent study. Also, there are many other places we could go. Within the Rootes Learning grid there’s space to study and there’s rooms you can book for group study sessions. University House is my favourite spot though. The building itself is very nice and I just get a lot more work done there. Finding the right place to study at is important, because you probably will have much longer gaps than you’re used to from college/sixth form.

Laboratory classes: Last year I only did the bare minimum when it came to labs, however this year I am going to do my research on that topic before that. I am going to be on top of my work and not allow to get behind. I found the laboratory reports stressful; you have a longer timeframe to work on them. Even though I genuinely do well with deadlines, I believe that the more time I have, the more I will push it away to last minute. Next year, I am going to try and get the laboratory reports done and dusted as early as I can.

Societies: I didn’t actually join any societies last year, so I ended up telling myself that I want to try something. Maybe something I’ve never done before. Warwick is one of the universities with the most societies on offer. I want to be able to make use of that.

Revision: Even though I am starting a new year, what I learnt last year is knowledge that is probably still expected. I am going to go over everything I learnt last year before the term starts, so I have the basic knowledge before term starts. Having a 4 month holiday, away from education, can make you forget a lot of things you learnt.

Research: As far as I know, even though the lecturers teach us what we need to know for the exam, to get the top marks you need to do your own research. This not only shows knowledge beyond the specification, but also shows committment to the subject you chose to study. Last year I didn’t really bother with doing much research unless I was curious myself. This year I’m going to change it. I’ll look into everything we learn much more.

For all the returning students at Warwick, Welcome Back and to the freshers, We can’t wait for you to start.

Enjoy the last weeks of holidays.

Shaumica