Friday 18 October 2013

The beginning of university life..

Hey guys :) It seems like I've been neglecting my blog but I've just been quite busy as I moved into uni three weeks ago. For the first time readers I go to the University of Surrey and I'm studying Economics. This blog post is pretty much about my first three weeks at university and what I've been up to.

The moving in process was quite relaxed. My family and I decided that it would be best for me to move in on a Sunday which I had mixed feelings about because I didn't want to be the last person to move into my flat but then again I get to spend a bit more time with my family before I leave :) Luckily for me I wasn't the last person to move into my flat which was great. The people helping out on the moving in weekend were really helpful and we managed to get help with my bags to my room which made life a lot more easier.

I really like my room, it's much more spacious than my room back home lol. I was allocated a band C room meaning that I have a sink in my room but I share the toilet and showers with my housemates (There are 3 toilets and 3 showers). Now.. I share my flat with 13 other people! At first it seems like a lot but honestly it's quite fun. Before I arrived I had this image in my head that every morning will be quite stressful because people will be fighting for showers but it's totally the opposite. I feel like I'm really blessed because my housemates are really friendly so there's a good vibe around. In terms of the showers situation every since I have arrived there has never been a time where I've struggled to use the shower.

Now on to my course.



On my first day I found out that one of my flatmates does the same course as me which left me at ease. Freshers week was pretty much filled with welcome talks/ registration during the day and parties during the night. I must say I didn't go out much during freshers week but I did attend a few society meet and greets where I made new friends :) One important thing when going to university is to join societies. Even if you get on with your housemates or not it's really good to attend events where you will find like- minded people who enjoy the same things as you do and to meet different people. For the African and Caribbeans out there join your university's ACS (African and Caribbean society) it's a great way to meet people from your country and other countries and just to socialise and make you feel at home. There should be societies out there for other ethnicities too but if there isn't make your own! There are probably people in the university wishing that there was a society for their country and you'll be surprised how many people might be willing to participate.

Week 1:

During the welcome week I was given my timetable and now that week 1 arrived freshers week was over and the real deal began. In my course there are four modules, Contemporary Issues in Economics, Introductory Economics, Quantitative methods and Economic data analysis. In my opinion, at my university it's extremely beneficial if you have done A-Level Maths and Economics because a lot of the content in these modules are very familiar but there are people on my course who haven't done one or the other. This is a Bachelor of Science (Bsc) degree so if you don't enjoy maths do not do this course because already there is one whole module on Maths and Statistics. I advise that you should go for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) as there is less maths content.  The first week lectures were quite boring because it was a lot of introductory content so there wasn't much learning. Lectures for my course are two hours long and each module has one hour long tutorials where we are split into smaller groups to discuss questions set by our lecturers. The good thing is that sometimes lectures do finish early but I think as time goes on this will not be the case :(

Week 2:

As my lecturers had set questions for my tutorials I've spent the week answering these questions and doing a bit of research. There are three books I had to get for this semester and they cost me just over £100 altogether. University books are expensive believe me! One bit of advice I would give is look out for people from the older year groups selling books because they are cheaper but get in there fast because imagine around 200 students wanting the same book. Also check the edition of the book the student is selling because you might need a more recent version. If you don't manage to get books from older students always check Amazon but the used section. There you will find books for cheaper also.

I haven't been set any assignments yet but once I do I will try my best to post on how I am doing but blog posts will be rare for now.

If you have any questions about my course or my university please feel free to ask :)

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