Catered Vs. Self Catered University Halls of Residence Vs. Private accommodation

Posted by David | Filed under University Life

It’s about this time of year, you already know which university you want to go to, and they are sending you forms asking where you would like to live. Many universities will guarntee freshers’ a place in a hall of residence and I would strongly recommend you take up the offer as it is a unique experience you are unlikely to ever have again, it also helps you ease into living alone slightly more easily.

Advantages of Halls versus Private accommodation

The advantage of starting out in halls of residence instead of private accommodation are that you will be placed with people who are also new to the university experience, and if set up correctly you will probably be placed with people of similar interests to you (this does not always occur however!). Halls are a great place to meet and make new friends, and find suitable people to live out in private accommodation with in your second and third years.

In most halls you will not have to worry about bills, the gas, electricity and water will all be paid for and in most cases so will the Internet and telephone bills. Even if you do have to pay extra for Internet and telephone it will be made simple and you will likely only be paying a bit extra to the university rather than having to seek out a company and have it installed yourself. 

The 0nly thing you will probably have  to sort out yourself is a TV licence in halls.

One of my favourite things about living in halls was you didn’t have to worry about not being in when a parcel arrived, many halls have porters to collect and sign your post for you meaning you don’t have to worry yourself about it.

Private accommodation

Private accommodation is great when you know the place, and know who you want to live with. I would recommend it only to people in their second year or above. As well as getting to chose who you live with, you get a real taste of what living in the outside world is like, having to deal with setting up bills, cooking for yourself, cleaning for yourself and maintaining a property. With private accommodation you have the freedom to chose the cheapest or best utility or service providers, and can even install luxuries such as Sky or Virgin if you wish*. As a fresher choosing private accommodation would mean having to find out where the studenty renting area is, as well as find people to live with, you are less likely to make new friends this way, and the experience is likely to be significantly more stressful.

Catered vs. Self-Catered

Below is a table with the advantages and disadvantages of being catered or self-catered. While I was catered in my first year, many of my friends were self-catered and enjoyed the experience just as much, it is therefore a personal choice as to which option you wish to take. It is a myth that self-catered halls are less social than catered halls because people are “too busy” cooking.

Catered Self Catered
Don’t have to cook for yourself You are going to have to learn to cook at some point! Why not start with other people in the same position as you.
More expensive than self-catered, but usually not by much. Usually a cheaper option
No choice about what food you eat, but you don’t have to worry about shopping, cooking or washing up! You can choose what you want to eat, well you have to choose and you have to do it every day whether you want to or not!
If you miss a meal you are wasting money You will have to do washing up, something your catered friends will not have to do!
Extra free time can be spent doing something else, joining a club, or other exploits. Slightly less free time, but shouldn’t stop you doing things.

There are likely many more advantages and disadvantages to each! The most important thing is that you are going to a university you feel comfortable at, and get placed with people you will get along with, so make sure you are honest on your accommodation application form when they ask you about your interests!

Tags: , , , , ,

Read more | Comments (0) | Sunday, 21st Jun 2009

Exam Revision Ideas and Tips

Posted by David | Filed under University Life

Revision is something that requires a significant amount of self discipline, and unfortunately is a very unrewarding process. Listed here are a few techniques that could be used to make your revision a bit different to normal, or help you revise more efficiently.

Firstly by university level you should have some idea of how to revise, after all you have done GCSEs and A-Levels most likely. You will know that revising by reading is a poor technique, and that most revision techniques to be effective not to be active.

  • Talking to yourself or testing your self in your mind is a good approach to revision.
  • Carry out any past papers or specimen questions your lecturers have given you, and submit them for marking, especially if they suggest it! If they haven’t given you any questions make some up and submit them anyway.
  • Comparison questions are quite common, especially in science exams, try and work out what a lecturer may exam and prepare brief answers for them.
  • Carry out the background reading in good time, so that you can quickly go back and collect any gems that will help you attain top marks in your exams.
  • Mind maps, flow diagrams are all good methods of revision
  • Practice drawing diagrams, in particular in science exams where drawing diagrams is an excellent way of portraying information quickly.
  • Don’t revise what is easy or gloss over what is hard! If you find something hard persist at it until you understand, ask your lecturer or tutor to help if necessary, or another course mate.
  • If you can revise tactically for your exam, or have been told that certain things won’t be coming up, then don’t waste your time revising them!
  • Understanding is often better than remembering streams of numbers or lists, ensure you know examples but you don’t need to learn tables of facts to perfection.  Exams are often not about recall, more about understanding.
  • Keep yourself hydrated while revising, and ensure a nice supply of chocolate or sweets to keep your energy levels up.
  • Take frequent rests, and take a long time off for lunch and dinner. Don’t revise beyond your usual bed time.
  • Getting someone else to test you is a good way to help you revise, however it is not always everyone’s cup of tea, if you find it is making you more confused then stop, frequently people do have different ways of looking over the same information.
  • Keep your notes organised, spend more time concentrating on what you are finding difficult, but don’t ignore the easy stuff, forgetting easy stuff can lose you easy marks.
  • Look-cover-write-check is a good method for revising, copying your lecture notes while working for some will not always be a great method for others.

  • Make sure you leave enough time to revise for something, not everyone can cram an exam in 2 days and past with flying colours, don’t feel pressured by your friends to leave things until last minute because they can.
  • The background reading really does help understanding in most cases, don’t just ignore it, especially in your 2nd or 3rd years.
  • Revision should be a process of summarizing, if your revision notes are longer than your lecture notes, something has gone wrong! Try and summarise lectures into a page or less if you can.

There are undoubtedly many many more revision ideas and tips that could be offered, feel free to post your ideas and own personal revision techniques below for others to read! If you find yourself getting in a stress about revision, stop for a while, get some fresh air and come back later when you are able to concentrate again. For more tips on coping with exam stress at university click here.

Tags: , , , ,

Read more | Comments (1) | Sunday, 1st Feb 2009

Dealing with University Exam Stress

Posted by David | Filed under University Life

Exam time can be incredibly stressful even at the best of times, no bet when you’re out on your own. Here are a few tips for dealing with exam stress while out university. 

  • Start revising early, the earlier you start the more time you will have to learn harder things, and you will be less inclined to panic. You can also email or ask your lectures questions about things you don’t understand
  • Plan well in advance, create a REALISTIC revision timetable, at university level it is unlikely you can switch between topics as quickly as at school, dedicate about 2 days to each module at a time, otherwise you’ll find it hard to get into the swing of things.
  • Look up your exam timetable as soon as it becomes available. Don’t spend too long revising exams which have large gaps between them. If you exams are well spaced learn each module well and only that module at a time, so you don’t have to remember unnecessary material.
  • Background reading does help, but only if you’ve done it more than a couple days in advance! If you are struggling to just remember the lecture contents.
  • If you feel your not remembering anything, chances are you probably aren’t! Find another method to revise, or stop revising until you can concentrate properly again – revising for the sake of revision is a waste of time.

  • Reward yourself! Many people feel guilty about going out in exam time, but you can still reward yourself with chocolate, good meals and a trip to the local curry house when you’ve finished a set of exams.
  • Get a good night sleep, and never revise beyond your standard going to bed hour.
  • Always eat well and have good wholesome meals. Pasta is a great choice for exam meals, it will give you lots of energy for your next days work.
  • Cook meals that will last a couple days or more, lasagna is a great choice.
  • Cooking in general is a good way to relax and stop you having to stare at revision notes.
  • At the end of every week have some chill out time with your friends, get outside and do something fun!
  • Alcohol does make you forget, and it will ruin a good days worth of revision, wait until the end of your exams before having a massive night out! It’s a good way to reward yourself when everything is over as well.
  • Energy drinks don’t really help much, they make you hyper and easily distractible, I’d recommend just getting up early, and drinking some squash or water.
  • Make sure to keep yourself hydrated during revision time. Dehydration will cause you to lose concentration
  • Breakfast and Lunch are important parts of the day still, ensure you have both, and take a good hour break for lunch. A big lunch will help you through the afternoon!
  • Don’t waste your mornings in bed! It doesn’t help, you still have to revise stuff!
  • If you find things are getting too stressful try and contact your personal tutor.
  • Get into a routine the night before an exam, and go to bed at your normal time! Trying to go to bed earlier will end up in you sitting up in bed worrying! Try not to look at any material before the exam the next morning, but if you forget something have a quick look just in case it comes up! I always keep my lecture notes by my bed while im sleeping just in case something comes up during the night!
  • Keep your revision area clean and tidy, and ensure that your house or wherever you work is a nice warm working temperature, if it is too cold you are not likely to want to even get out of bed no bet revise efficiently!
  • Stock up with food before exam season starts, so you don’t have to do frequent supermarket trips
  • Make sure there is nothing on your mind, such as job applications or interviews while you are revising.
  • Controversial perhaps, but I always ask my parents to censor any news they tell me during exam period, its a lot less stressful if you don’t have to worry about a relative in hospital, until after the exams are over. Likely it will cause you more stress as you have to repeat the exam during the summer, it may sound like a harsh strategy but that’s because it is.
  • Finally relieve your stress by relaxing after you have finished revision for the day, doing something you enjoy doing, like watch television or playing computer games.

Tags: , , ,

Read more | Comments (2) | Sunday, 1st Feb 2009