How To Prepare For Second Year At Uni

Here are some tips for surviving your second year at uni so you can be just as successful as you were in your first year.

The partying of a first year is over and your year now counts to your final grade. Not quite ready to say goodbye to the carefree fresher that first walked through those university doors. Second year is all about preparing for your future as a graduate, first year is too early but third year is too late, here is a simple guide on how to prepare for those second year at uni assignments and stresses.

Second year is probably the most crucial year, you want to make yourself look as good as possible to future employers, while trying to maintain high grades. But it is okay, you can breathe. With the right preparation you’ll glide through.

1. Pick the right people to live with.

This might sound like a basic thing to do and you might think all my friends are right or they wouldn’t be my friends. But you could be so wrong! Living in the wrong environment can ruin your whole year. I know from first-hand experience that a toxic environment can make you want to drop out and forget about your whole degree. It’s not the same as living in halls, the house is yours, if it is a bomb site you have to clean it.

2. Do the reading before you start.

This is the thing I regret not doing most. Most tutors will release a reading list for your year ahead, you may be thinking I don’t want to spend my summer reading but hear me out on this, it’s a Wednesday night, all your friends are going to level Wednesday’s and you have to say no because you’re sat reading the theory behind critical semiotic analysis.

The Typical Day Of A University of Ulster Coleraine Student

3. The dreaded work experience.

Second year is all about preparing to be a graduate in the real world, no future employer is going to hire anyone with no work experience, no volunteering, no extracurricular activities. The best time to get any experience worth putting on your CV is the summer of second year. First year can be too early as most people haven’t decided what they want to do yet and third year is just a little bit too late. Don’t leave looking for experience until you’re in second year, start early. Nobody wants to be a student balancing a social life, assignments, work placement and a job all at the same, whilst trying to keep some sanity in your life.

4. Don’t say goodbye to your social life.

The worst possible thing you can do is to stop going out, now I’m not saying go out five times a week like you’re still a fresher but remember the memories you make at Uni will be the ones you remember for the rest of your life. It’s a good way to let your hair down and forget about your deadlines. Even pretend you still are a fresher for the night, just remember to have fun. Balance is the key to everything during your second year at uni.