I almost didn’t write this post this year, but when my girl, Niki, questioned it’s absence, I knew I had to post it. Better late than never, right? My third year of university was definitely my best one so far. I learned from the majority of the mistakes I made in first and second year and tried extra hard. Hopefully my fourth year will be just as good! It’s still so weird calling myself a fourth year student. I definitely don’t feel old enough, but I guess it’s really happening!Here are some of my favorite tips I have accumulated over the three years!
-It’s okay to keep changing faculties because once you find the one you belong in, it will all be worth it. After trying out three faculties, I couldn’t be more happy to be in Business. Read my post over on the YouAlberta blog all about this and why I don’t regret ANYTHING AT ALLhere!
-Your mark all depends on the curve (if the class is curved): my favorite story to tell is how I failed both my midterm and final in an intro Bio course (I’m REALLY bad at biology), but managed to get 100% in my lab and still somehow ended up with a B+ in the course. See, I really am bad at multiple choice tests, but that curve really saved me.
–Group projects are the absolute worst: They will never get better. You will always curse your group and feel destined for failure when you get put in a group with absolute idiots (That’s harsh but I’ve had some pretty bad group members over the months.) You might have to pick up the slack, but at least you’ll rest easy at night knowing that you did all you could to save your project. There’s no way to get out of group projects, so just try to make the best of them. This is practice for the real world; you don’t get to choose who you work with.
-Multiple Choice tests will always be the bane of my existence: I feel like I’ve ranted about how much I hate multiple choice way too many times here on the blog. But regardless of how well I know the material, I will neverdo good on a multiple choice exam. And by never, I really mean never. So make sure to keep this in mind when you are scoping out classes to take. If you know you are bad at a certain type of exam, maybe steer clear of classes that only offer that one type.
–Libraries aren’t always the best study places: I grew up imagining myself as the typical university student. I would stay up all night with coffee and energy drinks studying in a quiet library. But I quickly learned that doesn’t work for everyone. You need to find the perfect study zone for you. In my case, that turned out to be an empty classroom where there wasn’t a single person around to distract me and I could take up all the space I needed.
–It never hurts to ask your prof: as much as I hate asking for favours, sometimes it can really benefit you. I had a midterm for both my BUEC course and my Finance course on the same day, right after another. 3 hours of straight exam writing in two totally different subjects would have definitely been a hinderance. So, I decided to ask my profs if I could write them on a different day and to my surprise, he agreed. I ended up getting 95%, which I doubt I could have done if they had of been on the same day.
–Don’t be afraid to confront your prof: I had to deal with a first timer prof this year, meaning we were the first class he had ever taught. This proved to be a great struggle and my grades suffered because of it. Literally it was the only thing holding me back from a 4.0. It’s fine, I’m not bitter. After a disastrous midterm, I went to a meeting with him and told him exactly how I felt and what was on my mind. I’m not sure if it helped to improve my grade at all but it did ease my mind a little.
-Step out of your comfort zone: I applied to a Business Conference, planning to go with my friend. When she didn’t get in, I just automatically decided I wouldn’t go either. But, I took a risk and went to the conference alone, not knowing anyone, and it turned out to be incredibly rewarding.
-Don’t stress yourself out before the course even starts: It’s so funny. The two classes I was most worried about during the first couple of weeks- Management Sciences and Accounting- were the two I did the best in. Funny how that works. I stressed myself out for absolutely nothing and ended up with a surprising 98% and a 97% average in them.
I hope you all have a wonderful school year no matter what year you are in! Study hard, work hard and play hard. Live your twenties and don’t get too stressed out. As I have said before, university is such a great and rewarding time in your life and don’t get overwhelmed by it all. Just focus on the end goal and don’t let anything get in your way. You got this!