I've been getting some emails regarding how I managed to survive university. OK who am I kidding, no one emailed me. But I'm just going to share with you some of my quick tips to survive university. 

Starting university especially for me; in a different country miles and miles away from home with no familiar faces was quite nerve wrecking. The thought of entering the lecture room alone scared me, not being able to make any friends scared me. I was just afraid of everything but I didn't let that stop me. I knew that if I let all those doubts take control, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy my time in university especially in one situated in a big, buzzing and cultural metropolis which I now call my home - London. Three-four years in university will pass in a blink of an eye. University years are said to be one of the best years of your life. You meet new people, experience new things, explore new ideas and discover new places. 

Get to know your campus

Firstly, you gotta know your way around university regardless whether you think that your university is big or small. take some time off and explore the place. This is when you're able to find cool "hidden" places in the library to study at without any disturbances and the coolest hangout spots in uni.  Make sure you know which buildings are which so that when you receive your timetable you don't have to waste time finding which building and lecture hall you're in. Usually, you can ask for a university map from the reception. If its your first year, usually in the first week of the start of term, "buddies" would be scattered around the university ground and help direct you to your classes. Not only that, some of them would give out university ground maps. I found those very useful in my first year. Heck, I even used it in my second year! When I was unpacking my belongings at the start of term in my new room, I realised that I had lost my university map and I kinda had trouble directing myself to my lecture halls. Bad... I know. 

Activities and Societies 

All universities would have this thing at the start of the year called Freshers Fair. In England, a fresher is a new undergraduate student at university a.k.a fresh meat. I guess in America, americans would use the term freshman. Freshers fair or freshers week is sort of like a welcome week in university. Freshers fair is when all the societies, clubs, sports come together an recruit members. You'll be able to talk to the members where they would give you further insight to their goals and objectives. Freshers week is a Monday to Friday affair on the university grounds. Alumni and some existing students would be around university to make the week less intimidating for you. They are here to help you so don't be shy and just ask questions. 

I think in university or anywhere may it be a new college or high school, it is important to engage yourself in different societies and sports and clubs. In my opinion, it does not only make your CV or resumé look interesting for future job applications, you are somewhat forced to mingle within the club and meet new people. It a good opportunity to make friends especially when you have none. 

In my first year of university, I decided to join the cheerleading team. I was intimidated by the girls at try outs. None of them wanted to talk to me or to anybody. Everyone was sort of to themselves. I guess its normal because everyones shy and scared to make the first move. Once I was accepted onto the team, we were put into different stunt groups. We were forced to learn each others names as well as work together despite our differences in strength and .... coordination ( for some -.-" ). By the second week of training I managed to learn the names of my team mates. I even found people who were doing a similar courses as me. We got close and I am happy to call them my close friends.

We've travelled around Europe together as well as Asia. 

Asking for help

Being asian and coming from a government school in Asia, we asians don't really ask many questions in class. Ever since I was in primary school, when a teacher would ask the class at the end of teaching a subject on whether everyone understands and whether anyone has any questions, the students in the class would remain silent and give the teacher a poker face.

*insert cricket sounds here*

 It was as if we weren't allowed to speak and that if we do ask questions, it would seem as if we don't understand and that we're slow. I noticed that back in school, the you ask questions, the other students in class would give you this death stare --- they would get annoyed when teacher has to explain things over and over again. So in order to prevent the high school death stare, we'd keep the questions to ourselves or simple ask the closest person sitting next to you.

This has gone on till the end of college (for me at least). When I started university I was sort of shocked that people would ask questions in the lecture hall. We aren't talking about the normal classroom like in high school with 30 + students. Here we are talking about more than 80 people in the lecture hall. Thats a lot of people... just saying.

 They weren't shy and they didn't ask silly questions. AND they didn't ask the person next to them to explain. Straight up, hand raised, questions asked, question answered. DONE. Needing some help or guidance isn't wrong and it doesn't make you any less smart. Whatever questions you're thinking in your head, the next person might think the same. Theres no harm in raising your hand and asking a question. Knowledge is important and you should grab it whilst you can. You'll find the answer if you ask. If you are that shy to ask questions during the lecture, you can always go up to the lecture during the 5/10 minutes break or at the end of class.

Managing Money

Lets be serious - we want to spend the least amount of money. haha! Being completely broke (as I have been before) can be avoided with good budgeting. Every month, I write down all the essential payments that would be taken out of my allowance i.e. gym membership, phone bill etc. From that I wold be able to estimate how much money can be used for leisure, food or savings. Bringing food from home instead of buying food from the canteen and eating out helps. But if you actually don't have the time to make your own meals, I guess lunch in university is fine. In my university, a normal big lunch meal excluding a drink will cost £5. For example a £5 lunch deal could get you a chicken thigh, rice and vegetables. Not bad I'd say for a £5.To be honest, I really enjoyed canteen food in university. I've had my fair share of uni lunches.. or two. 

When shopping, don't forget to ask at the till whether they do student discounts. Sometimes if you're lucky they would do a 20% student discount! It might not seem like much but every penny counts when you want to save money. For those studying in London, the first thing you do after registering yourself with the university as well as with a bank, you should definitely apply for an oyster card. This can be done online - just go this website and follow the steps https://tfl.gov.uk. You will be able to receive a cheaper travel fair.

Another thing that helped me manage and budget was by carrying around a little pocket book where I would write down all the expenses that I made in that day. This way, whenever I re-check my bank statement I would be able to identify as fraud. In my previous years, I tried keeping all the receipts of my purchases, but that didnt go so well because I got confused and lost some of the receipts

 L O L .... 

Don't try it.

Make an effort to make friends in lectures

When you're in a course you're bound to see a familiar face. When you've chosen your electives in first or second term. Make an effort to get to know them. Trust me, this helps. Why ? Well..... its pretty hard to find team mates for group coursework when you don't know anyone. You'll never know you might not just make a module "buddy" you might make a friend for life. 

During my first year of university, I was more close to the girls on my cheerleading team and the people I lived with rather than my actual course mates. I knew some of their names but not personally. When we had to choose our streams in second year, my friends opted for the general stream and I, the finance stream. I knew the people who were in my stream but I wasn't close to them.

Not gonna lie, they had already formed cliques which made it hard for me to ease my way into their little clique. I knew that I had to make some friends quick so that when it comes to forming a coursework group, I won't be entirely alone. It also makes studying for exams a whole lot easier once you have a friend you can discuss with. I was also open to fact that I would be able to make new friends from different countries. Im able to learn more about them, where their from and their culture as well.  I think this is the most important tip I can share with you. Make lots of friends. Grow some balls and make the first move. If you're going to wait around for the other person to make the first first move, then you're just wasting time. 

I had this mistake in my first year when I decided to take an elective that none of my friends decided to take. I was alone. I didn't see any familiar faces which made me scared to attend lectures on my own. I even dragged Jamal into one of my lectures once to keep me company. He doesn't even go to my university!

I know I sound pathetic but I just want to share my true experiences with you. Having no friends in that module demotivated me to attend lectures and tutorials. I hated the subject because I didn't understand it. We were supposed to do an individual coursework on the module. I didn't really have a clue what I was supposed to do until I met this other girl in my module. We discussed the questions and helped each other out. Needless to say, sometimes having a friend around can really help you out. 

How to avoid tricky lecture questions

We all have that once lecturer who likes to surprise the whole hall by picking a "lucky" student and asking them a unexpected question. 

Don't make eye contact

Who am I kidding that never works!!!!!!11!!! Whoever said that it works definitely lied to you!!!!!!!!!
 I should know because It happened to me. Here I am, sitting quietly and minding my own business in the lecture. Mind you, that I am sitting in the middle row of the lecture hall, smack in the middle of the row. Along comes the lecturer, and he stands right at the end of my row. For some odd reason, he pointed at me, ME.... ME. I am seated smack in the middle and there are people sitting around me and he chose me?! He didn't specifically say it was me but everyone turned to me. I told him I didn't know the answer to his question and my 5 seconds of fame was up.

Staring somewhere else or even pretending to do somethings else like i don't know, writing notes would not prevent a lecturer form picking you in a crowd to answer his deadly question. You could even be hiding under the table and the lecturer could spot you.. Its like they've got a sixth sense or something. It all draws down to whether you're lucky or not. Unfortunately for me, I am "too" lucky when it comes to spontaneous questions during lectures. 

Peeing (How to calm your bladder)

yes ladies and gents. you read it right - Bladder control. I've had my fair share of embarrassing situations when it comes to my bladder. The trick is to NOT drink so much before a two hour lecture. If you're the sort that knows that you have a bladder problem, don't choose a seat in the middle of the lecture hall. Try sitting at the end, This would make it easier for you to make that toilet dash and at the same time not disturb any of the other students during the lecture. If you're the sort that neeeeeeds to drink during lectures, make sure you don't drink coconut water. Damn, that would make you pee every 5 seconds. For me at least... I'm just speaking from experience. During a break, don't hesitate and just rush to the bathroom. You and probably 50 other people would want to go for a little pee session in the bathroom. Don't worry, your bladder can't be smaller than mine. 

Goodluck!!

SJY