Pro-tips pre-arrival: WBS edition
Before coming to university, you’re undoubtedly filled with a variety of questions – What will living on my own be like? Will I make friends? Will I really be able to survive on pasta every night?
Although realising the answers to those questions are a wait and watch game, there is a question I can help answer today, at least in part (provided you do a WBS course). And that question is- What can I do to excel at my course?
As far as I am aware, most WBS courses do not have a pre-reading list that you have to complete during the summer, unlike some other Warwick degrees. This means that technically, there’s absolutely nothing you really need to do course-wise before coming to university.
But here’s the thing –
“It’s never crowded along the extra mile”
So, if you want to be a step ahead of the game, here are a couple of things you can do-
Resource accumulation: Each module will typically recommend a core textbook which you can find on the respective module’s page on my.wbs. These books can be extremely expensive so I definitley would not recommend buying them first-hand. What I would recommend instead would be to scour the internet for pdf copies floating online and arrange them into module-wise folders on your laptop. Else, once you have access to the Warwick library, find the e-book version. If you have enough time on your hands during the summer, you can always begin reading them in advance as well. It’s much easier to understand concepts during lectures when you’ve already read about them beforehand.
Previous year recordings: If you really want to get ahead or feel like you might struggle with a particular module, a useful thing to do would be to watch the lectures of that module which were recorded the previous year. To access these recordings, simply sign in to https://moodle.warwick.ac.uk/ with your student ID and password and search for the module code on the search bar. However, remember that this is definitely not a substitute to your own lectures since it is possible that the module leader has changed or just the content has been updated since. Your tests and assignments will be based on the lectures you receive during your year.
Smart timetable: Once you are able to see your timetable on my.wbs, decide how you want to allocate your time during the week in order to:
- Complete the pre-readings for each lecture and;
- Attempt the seminar questions after the lecture but before the seminar
This is a foolproof method to ensure that you have a routine you can stick to for your coursework while leaving enough time for non-academia related activities. It will definitely take the stress off your shoulder.
Assesments: List all the tests, group assignments and essay submissions you have in Term 1 along with their dates/deadlines as well as their weightage. A common mistake most people make is that they work towards tests and assignments chronologically, meaning you start working on the assignment with the earliest submission date first. But typically, assigments towards the end of term have the highest weights and require the most effort. So, make sure you begin working on those from the get go.
Course group and societies: Finally, always remember to network with people on your course, in your year or above, through the Whatsapp groups for your course or the societies. It especially helps to connect with seniors to get specific feedback of modules if you want to do them in the next year.
I hope these tips help you to feel more prepared for your course and more motivated to excel at it. As always, If you have any further doubts, please feel free to shoot me a message and I will get back to you!
Until then,
Best of luck 🙂
