Starting university feels like being thrown into the deep end: socially, academically, and emotionally. When I first arrived at the University of Aberdeen, I was 17, full of nerves and idealistic expectations. I imagined instantly finding “my people,” breezing through lectures, and somehow becoming a perfectly put together adult overnight. Reality of course was a little messier. But across four years of trial and error, I figured out how to make university work for me. Here’s a collection of lessons I’ve learned, habits that helped and the honest truth about what it means to grow into yourself at uni.
My very first tip is to figure out how to make lectures work for you. In my first year, everything was pre-recorded because of the Covid pandemic. It was such a huge learning curve, firstly because there was so much new content to take in but also finding a way to actually engage with what we were being taught. A few of the staff tried to inject more personality into their content but it just wasn’t the same as being sat in a room with everyone. Eventually we moved to in-person lectures at the start of second year and I tried a lot of different things to enhance my learning. I tried writing everything down by hand (with the intention of rewriting into digital notes) and quickly realised this was near impossible with the speed of the lectures as well as the complex diagrams.
I began typing my notes instead which although it was far faster, I ran into a new problem. I found myself getting really distracted and as the lecturer spoke I would dri off. This was especially the case when it was the more complex, biological parts of my degree which is definitely not my strong suit. Making your notes work for you is such an important part of it, I expected other people’s techniques to work for me without remembering that we all retain things differently. The main technique I would recommend that worked for me was turning topics into oral presentations. Usually, I would take a few lectures, condense them and then explain different parts of it from memory. I found this amazing especially for identifying any gaps in my knowledge, then if i remembered everything well I could look back at it as a revision device which was already in my own words.
In my last term at University, I completely overhauled my revision techniques again. All of my assignments were essay based as opposed to MCQs and so I needed to understand the concepts more than I needed to memorise little details. I started attending lectures and treating them more like one-sided conversations rather than just information dumps. My friend Evelyn taught me to crochet and so I decided to keep the inattentive part of my brain busy by crocheting as I listened. Although I got a few looks (and a mature student trying to buy what I made), this really worked for me! If you have enough time to write notes in your own time outside of the lectures then I’d definitely recommend the Crochet Technique TM.
My next big piece of advice is not to put too much pressure on friendships. I began University expecting to click into a big group straight away which in retrospect is pretty unrealistic. I began my time at uni as a 17 year old meaning I was automatically left out of the activity that just about everyone wanted to partake in, drinking and partying. I tried to attend every possible non drinking event and through the “Pizza Meetza” and “Student’s Union Games Night”, I met some of my favourite people. With the predominance of drinking based events, it’s hard to actually get to know people. Any friendships I’ve had that’s only based on going to nightclubs or to pubs have been really shallow: some people can’t socialise any other way though. The really good friends I’ve met are when I haven’t had any expectations. I met one of my best friends on a random train to Glasgow and another in a tutorial when I asked her to help me finish the Wordle.
A huge factor to keep in mind when making University friends is that everyone is still working out who they want to be. Most folk are fresh out of school and either trying to totally reinvent themselves or cling on to any relevance they used to have. I’ve met a lot of people throughout my studies and I’m only close to a handful of them now. I really had to sit with myself a lot of the time and decide if the people I was surrounding myself with were actually all that interesting or kind.
This sort of leads me into a small bonus point which is to never underestimate the connections you can make. For a bit of context, I volunteered at the NUART Festival in Aberdeen during the Summer of 2022, I met a lot of amazing people and through this I heard of another festival to volunteer at called WayWORD. Long story short: I helped out in 2022 and by September 2024 I ran my own events with the festival which was incredibly nerve-wracking but also totally amazing. Through the connections I made there, I heard about a job posting that I applied for, was offered and is now launching me into a super exciting career aer University. Without taking a plunge at the start of my Higher Education I literally couldn’t be where I am now. That also goes for lecturers and tutors! I always made a point to be respectfully friendly to as many members of staff as I could, I always said thank you at the end of lectures and it helped me become memorable to the department. This meant that I could turn to them if I needed references or academic advice, with the huge number of students in a year it’s easy to get lost so you have to make yourself stand out.
I used to get super socially anxious but by challenging myself to meet new people, I managed to break out of it. This leads me into my last point which is that you should try to find a good student society. I would really recommend trying to go to events by yourself, it gives you a good opportunity to meet someone and in the worst case scenario: you don’t! Sometimes I’ve chatted to friends who’ve expressed their regret at not trying more University groups. During my first ever freshers week I was very optimistic about all the clubs I would join. It’s really fun but also overwhelming having loads of new stuff to try. I ended up running a handful of societies throughout University and eventually started my own called In Good Company with the aim of tackling student loneliness. In retrospect, I wish I’d tried more weird, niche societies. If I could do it all again I would’ve begun writing articles and working with student publications far earlier. It’s been so cathartic especially over my last year to get my thoughts out into the world. Leaving does also make me a little sad about what I’ll be missing out on, I meaaan we now have a woodworking society AND one dedicated to cheese tasting?
Looking back, university wasn’t just about getting a degree – it was about connections and becoming myself in high definition. I didn’t always get it right the first time but the small moments: meeting my best friends, drinking milkshakes on Elphinstone Lawn and watching a sunset on the top floor of the library.
If I had to sum it all up, I’d say don’t be afraid to fail. Try the weird society. Talk to random people. Go to the event alone. Because the real hack? It’s not about knowing all the answers, it’s giving yourself the space to grow while you figure them out.