I finished university today. Forever. Four years of university education over with a two hour exam. The exam went pretty well, thanks for asking. Right this second? It doesn’t feel real. I feel like I should be doing work instead of writing blog posts like I always do. Isn’t there a dissertation I should be writing? An exam I should be studying for? A deadline looming that I’ve forgotten about?
It just hasn’t sunk in that I am now free of university education forever. I honestly don’t really know what to do with myself if I’m honest. Well tonight, I’m hitting the town as with every Friday night. Followed by Saturday and Sunday… well you don’t finish university every weekend, now do you?
It’s probably going to hit me on Monday when I’m sat with nothing to do. But I am SO excited to be able to get stuck into my blog. You’re going to see more on-schedule content from me, finally! And it will take away from the thoughts of life after graduation and the job searching that I should really be doing.
Anyway, before final year started I would have loved some advice on how to truly make the best of it. Not that I haven’t, because I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have done it better but if you’re approaching final year and feeling nervous, here are some tips to make it the best year!
1. Settle in at your own pace
If you’re coming back from placement, it’s going to be a little bit of a culture shock again. You’ll no longer be working 9-5, you’ll be skint every week with no monthly cash drop and your weeks won’t have much of a structure anymore. But even though it will take time to adjust, you soon will.
Coming back from the summer holidays and thinking about the final year ahead of you can be quite daunting with all of the extra work and pressure but it is doable. Take everything at your own pace and take it one day at a time. Your final year will fly by so don’t rush ahead of yourself.
2. Ask questions
Going into final year is going to be a bit of a leap from first and second year. It’s ok to ask questions that you think might be stupid or that you should already have the answer to. When we came back from placement we had to ask to go over referencing again as most of us had forgotten.
You’ll be quite rusty at the start of the year after having time off, whether that was just summer holidays or a year on placement. Work together with your housemates and coursemates and ask questions if you’re unsure. This is your final year so ask as many questions as you can. That’s what your lecturers are there for and don’t forget you’re paying £9,000 🙂 so ask any and every question you can think of. Get your money’s worth.
3. Let your hair down
Even though it’s final year, that doesn’t mean you have to turn into a recluse. You can still go out, have fun, get drunk and pass the year. As I have (hopefully) proved.
This year it seems that I have went out every single weekend, more so than second year but definitely not as much as first year. I guess I’m making up for the lack of partying that was done during my placement year – there’s no Raz in London after all.
So please don’t think you have to start paying rent to the library and move in there for the year. Keep on top of your university work but have fun! It’s your final year so you need to make the most of it.
4. Make the most of the uni perks
Speaking of making the most of things, you only have one year left of enjoying student discount and no 9-5 working weeks. Don’t take those mid-afternoon naps and 20% ASOS discount for granted. Enjoy them while they last since you won’t be seeing it again any time soon.
For me, coming back to only a few hours a week of class time and so much free time was weird. I actually missed working 9-5 as I was sleeping in late every day and being quite lazy. I missed being busy and always on the go so I made sure to get a part-time office job so I could get back to 9-5 life for at least two days a week.
But there’ll be no more Monday or Wednesday nights out once you graduate so make sure you tick off every student night there is before you leave into the adult world. Order as many clothes as you can and use that student card for all it’s worth.
5. Work hard and enjoy it!
It’s your final year of education so enjoyyyy it!! It will honestly go by so fast – I can’t believe mine’s just ended – so you need to appreciate every day of it. It will be hard work but it will be worth the piece of paper at the end, I promise. Just envision yourself walking across that stage at graduation and then think back to your first day of university – oh how far you’ve come.
University has definitely been the best days of my life and I have so many memories, photos, videos and friends to show for it. And a degree I suppose. I can’t even put into words how hard it will be leaving Liverpool but I’m hoping my four years will be topped off with a Champions League win so that I will never, ever forget the year I left university and the year Liverpool had their best team ever.
Congrats on making it to final year – enjoy every minute of it!
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