How to Survive University
Written By - The Young Vision Ambassador, Yashwita Reddy, S P Jain School of Management - Singapore
University might seem daunting to many of you high school students out there, but with necessary preparations in place, university life will surely become a piece of cake. So, what prep does one have to do to survive the difficult phase of university? Listed below are some important points to remember before boarding your flights to your most awaited university destinations.
1) Sort out your finances and documents:
Make sure you have done your research on the documentation process for the respective country your university is located at. Keep all your documents filed and labelled to enable easy access once you reach your university; this eliminates any fuss that would obstruct you from receiving your student ID, followed by your RFID which enables access to many facilities within your university. Sorting out your finances may not seem like the most exciting task, but it is indeed the most important to be completed before the start of freshers’ week. Finance is all that involves the payment of tuition fees, creation of a student bank account and key budgeting areas that a student needs to pay the most attention to. Payment of tuition fees should be done back in your home country and the issue of a student bank account at your university residence. Budgeting depends upon the student’s daily allowance and affordability status of the family.
2) Go for a complete body health checkup
Before leaving to your study destination, I’d recommend you get a complete body check-up as it is necessary for your healthy and peace of mind once you’re living at your university residence. It will also lower medical costs and burden for family members. Besides getting an entire body check-up, one must also consider getting their medical expenses covered under insurance for further security and safety of a student studying abroad.
3) Familiarise yourself with the new place:
Now that the serious and important tasks at hand have been taken care of, let’s move on to talking about the fun and exciting things that students love to explore. I know you’re already very excited about flying to your study destination and being painted with a new sense of freedom you’ve never experienced before. So, take out those devices and get researching about all the information Google can provide you with about your university and the country it is located in. Make sure you acquaint yourself with all the legal rules and regulations to keep in mind before enjoying your time there.
4) Learn some basic cooking skills:
Trust me on this, you will need these basic skills when it comes to surviving uni. If you don’t, you’ll probably sleep hungry every night and we for sure know that this isn’t healthy. Some basic skills like using the microwave, making ramen, chopping veggies, etc. will come in handy when you cannot go out or you’re feeling too lazy to buy food. Some hostels do not have the provision for cooking so in those cases, a microwave would surely become your rescue option.
5) Spend some quality time with friends and family:
Spend some quality time with people who mean the most to you. You will be introduced to new people and given some exciting things to do, so you need not worry about being overwhelmed or feeling left out. Homesickness would kick in once you’ve settled and that’s a completely normal thing to experience. Try packing in a family photograph or something that reminds you of home and puts a smile on your face every time you glance at it. Remember you’ve already made your family proud by making it so far.
I do sincerely hope that these points will help you in making your university experience a tad bit easier for you. This is truly an amazing phase in anyone’s life; do not forget to balance both your academics as well as leisure times and once you do that, you’re all set to roll! I wish you Gen Zs the best of luck for your future.