Student Tips: Here's how I rose above the challenges of my disastrous final undergraduate year

As some of you may already know my final undergraduate year was tumultuous. If you haven't already read all about it visit: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/truth-my-final-undergraduate-year-onyinye-udokporo/. Alternatively you can watch me tell the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyw8VoVuJ8

Please see below tips I picked up along the way that helped me rise above the challenges I faced in my final undergraduate year.

Student Tips

Put yourself and your health first.

In order for you to have achieve the best grades possible and have an enjoyable student experience, you need to be healthy. Sometimes that means taking time out to focus on you. What is meant by 'time out' looks different for different people. It might be in the form of withdrawal/pausing your studies for a period of time. It's not a race to complete your degree, if you need a gap year - take it. Taking time out can be expressed in the form of holiday. I took myself away to resort for seven days and did no work despite having three essays deadlines. It was one of the best decisions I made in my final year. Universities have mitigating circumstances forms for a reason; there is no shame in using them to delay submission of coursework/exams.

There is no such thing as over planning.

Plan, plan, plan and plan some more. Plan everything. Make a realistic plan of how much work you need to complete in a day and build on that to create your weekly plan. Plan your essays, assignments and projects. Ensure that your plan includes a period of rest. If you're applying for graduate jobs, make a plan of where you will apply to and think about the reasons why you're submitting an application. Create meal plans/use services that can help you meal prep efficiently.

Do not let rejection or failure derail you.

No matter how much you plan, you can never predict what will happen next. My undergraduate experience taught me that failure and rejection is inevitable; it is an important part of growing. Receiving a grade 42 in one of my third year essays taught me the eminence of time management...do not write your essay the night before the deadline. Being rejected 39 times from graduate scheme job applications humbled me. Both events were excruciatingly painful but I bounced back from them and I'm now stronger than ever. I did not allow myself to become paralysed in my darkest moments where all I felt was an everlasting deep sense of failure. I acknowledged my feelings but I did not allow my emotions to consume me and neither should you. You may have to alter the routes of your journey to get to where you want to be and that's okay.

Ask for help - there are people that will support you.

There is more support in universities than you think. Of course, services could always be increased and improved but it's important that you know where to go for help. Each university has it's own way of doing things so my advice here will be general. Please take the time to explore your universitiy's website/intranet to find more information. Get in touch with your personal tutor and let them know what it going on. It is likely that they will be able to direct you to the right place/s for additional support. Speak to your doctor if you feel that you need medical assistance. Keep in touch with your friends and family, sometimes a good old rant about the challenges you're facing can make you feel better.

Whilst, I never want to experience anything like my final year again, I did learn some significant life lessons. I hope by sharing these student tips someone else is able to push through like me. Remember the strength of one's character is in their response to adversity. Having this thought in my mind was a great motivator.