University Bound

So, you’ve got into Uni, now what. Well actually there’s quite a lot you need to sort out, this is my checklist so far:

1.       Check your place is confirmed, your uni should email you with a conformation email which will be followed up by a welcome pack.
2.       Complete Enrolment. For some unis this is done online before you arrive, for mine we even have to upload a photo for our ID cards.
3.       Your Accommodation. If you had a conditional offer (which you have reached so creds to you!) then it is likely that now is the time you will find whether you have got into university owned accommodation if you chose to apply. Check if there is a deposit you need to pay, and keep an eye out for a confirmation/accept button, otherwise you may lose your spot
4.       Log into Gov.UK to double check how much maintenance loan you are entitled to. It is also super important to log into here as this is where you will find how much money is getting put into your bank account and when. This will be mega useful when it comes to paying for accommodation.
5.       Find out how much your accommodation is going to cost, and when you have to make payments. Some unis do it all by direct debit, others can be made over the phone so this is worth checking now, well before the payment will be due.
6.       Start looking on Facebook for flatmate groups. For example, if you know you’re in P block, floor 3, search for a group called Your University P Block 2016-2017.
7.       Check out the score on WiFi. At some places it is free, but others it may cost you so remember to factor that in when thinking where your money is going.
8.       Start to think about what to take with you, some places offer bedding packs which saves the hassle of transporting duvets and pillows in the car so look into that. This is my list of essentials so far:

·        Cooking Kit (Big pan, small frying pan, spatula, colander, spoon, knife, fork, cup, mug, wooden spoon etc.)

·        Toiletries (Shampoo, Conditioner, Shower Gel, Face Wash etc.)

·        First Aid Kit (Plasters, pain killers, cough medicine) – when you’re ill or bleeding, you don’t want to have to catch a bus to go get such things

·        School Clothes – almost every uni will have a back to school themed evening at some point in the first term

·        Comfy Clothes – you are at uni to learn, yes to have fun but no one wants to be sat in a 2-hour lecture feeling super uncomfortable just because they’re wearing something fashionable, that said, onesies might not be a great idea!

·        Mementos – maybe a photo frame or collage, or just a teddy. Everyone ends up missing home after a while and you’re going to want some kind of comfort

I hope this helps a little if you’re feeling a bit lost in it all, and if you didn’t get in this year, it really isn’t the end of the world. I know so many of my parent’s friends with impressive careers with no degrees so don’t ever think it will limit your success.

All the best,

Bea x

Bea is back

I have now returned from the land of revision! I am a human once more!
I hope that everyones exams went as well as they could, and that everyone gets the results they have worked so hard for!
Leaving college feels really weird, it's been a very fast two years but I've some of the best times of my life there, and met some amazing people. Leaving secondary school I felt kind of happy, but leaving college is sad and scary. Sad I won't see everyone, and scary that we're all going to be so far from each other. Oh, and the food is amazing and I will really miss the chicken, bacon and lettuce baguettes.
Waking up this morning and knowing I have no more revision is glorious. My wall has been relieved of formulae, equations and diagrams and looks like a wall again.
Top Tip: Be careful when taking blu-tack off of wall paper. lesson learnt
But now the question is, what do I do?
Getting home yesterday and going for a family hike was perfect and I can strongly recommend it. Even if it's just yourself or a few friends, pick a spot on the map and go explore. Getting away from wifi and the constant fear of what the world is going to do next is very refreshing.
I can't really not mention it, but I am strongly Pro-Europe. That's all I'm saying.
Today is my last big orchestra do, and will again be very emotional. I'm going to buy a notebook to make a written diary of this summer, in theory, I'll be starting uni exactly 3 months today.
That's seriously scary.
Along with documenting my time for these 3 months on here, it will be nice to have a solid copy of my thoughts to look back on. I'm also going to carry on my work on my holiday book, so will do a post with a photo in due course.

All the best for the future, onwards and upwards as they say!

Bea x

The Ultimate Stressbuster

Remember those crazy tunes from the year 6 disco, put them on and have a dance, just dance around the kitchen or your room or wherever. For 15 minutes or so just put the stress of everything else on hold and have a good dance! It's great fun, you'll get into the music so your brain gets a rest, AND it's exercise - literally couldn't be better!

Song Recommendations:
Crazy Frog - Axel F
Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
Single Ladies - Beyonce
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Toxic - Britney Spears
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
Party In The USA - Miley Cyrus
TiK ToK - Ke$ha
Run The World (Girls) - Beyonce

Here's a bit of inspiration for your crazy dance moves...

All the best,

Bea x

17 Days to go...

As the title suggests, I have 17 days until my first exam, resitting Statistics 1. This post is all about
how I prepare for an exam...

Past Papers: doing whole papers gives you a good representation of your final grade in that paper, by looking up the grade boundaries you can get even more clarification. Also by doing past papers you can learn how the examiner will be reading your work and what points they will be looking for, using this knowledge you can learn how to set out your work in the easiest way for them to see you have done the work for each mark.

Posters: any formulae you need to learn that are struggling with, write the formulae on a piece of paper, clearly and large, and put it in an obvious place in the house, every time you go past, read it and gradually it will sink into your brain.

Flash Cards: Again with tricky formulae, writing them onto flash cards means you can carry them with you to revise on the go, such as the bus to school or college. Key facts or grammar points also fit nicely onto flash cards, try not to make them too full though or it becomes a chore to read them through.

Write it out: This is kinda included in the points above but writing out the key phrases over and over really cements them into your brain. It's just like learning spellings in primary school, the muscle memory in your hand will know what to put as soon as you see that awful question that comes up in every paper.

Eat: Many people forget to eat properly and regularly when they are concentrating on revision. Without proper nutrition, your body is gonna have to work overtime to function. Feed your brain, a great revision snack is a chopped up carrot, or a pot of raisins. Both are full of vitamins to help you power through.

Water: Your brain is 75% water! The average person doing light exercise should be drinking about 2.5L a day. Keeping yourself hydrated makes you feel better and focus better.

But most importantly of all...
Relax: Find your way of unwinding, sudoku, jigsaw, read a book, colouring, working out, minesweeper, or going for a walk. A way away from Wifi is the best, think about why you're really scrolling through Facebook, getting away from notifications is not only good for your eyes from staring at screens but I find it also reduces my stress levels.

Take a deep breath, and smash that exam!

All the best,

Bea x

Choosing a University

There are many factors when it comes down to choosing a university, but here are my top 6 factors to look at for finding the perfect place:

1.       Distance – Does living far away from your family bother you? If you are more of a home bod, draw up a circle on a map to look at universities within that distance. The same method works for if you know that you want to go somewhere further than a certain distance from home, or not within London for example.

2.       Family Ties – Going to university in a city where you have family members can be nice. It means you have someone to reach out to in an emergency but it could also become a tie. Falling into a habit of seeing them a certain time a week with no flexibility, or being called in as baby sitter every week could get tiring. In my opinion, I was biased towards places my family don’t know so well, as to make it my place and my adventure.

3.       The Course Content – this is VITAL! You do not want to get stuck in a course that you find boring, just because you went for a university your friend is going to, or because they have good sports. Yes, university is where you’re likely to meet your lifelong friends, but you also want to learn something – preferably something you like.

4.       Facilities – if your course is very lab based, such as Biochemistry, you don’t want to go to a university where the labs are a long way off campus, or old, small or forlorn. Equally, if you were doing a subject such as English, you don’t want to go somewhere where the poetry section of the library is equal to your bedroom shelf.

5.       Hobbies – do they offer a good Orchestra, Football Team, Harry Potter Society or whatever it is that is your passion. As I said above, uni is a very social place and so you’re going to want the opportunity to meet like-minded people. Don’t choose a uni just because of this, but if it came down to two and one had the opportunity for you to express yourself, it’s a done deal.

6.       Accommodation – Do you want the opportunity to cook for yourself? Carefully look at some universities accommodation, some such as Cambridge do not have places with the facilities for their students to cook. It’s definitely worth looking into if you’re a keen cook like me. 

All the best,

Bea x

(ps. I'm loving the variety of countries I'm getting views from, so amazing to see how the internet reaches people from so far and wide!)

Open Days

Out of the 5 universities I applied to, I only ended up going to a true open day for one. Originally I was planning to apply for both Biology and Natural Sciences at Bath as I was not sure which of the two I wanted to study, both of the courses looked great. Before I actually submitted my UCAS, we did a road trip one weekend, going to the Birmingham Open Day, then onto Bath, and through to Exeter. Birmingham was beautiful, I was truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! Amazing sports facilities and music society, with friendly people and a lovely campus. They were so coordinated sorting transport and parking for everyone, as well as easy registration and sign in areas to receive all of the relevant information about the day.

We went on to Bath, and although it was a Saturday afternoon, we were still surprised at how quiet it was. It was one of those places for me where you get there and instantly know there’s something you don’t quite like. The people were friendly enough however as a prospective Biology student, I didn’t like how the Biology department was this separate, small group of buildings away from the main centre of the campus. Until I visited, I hadn’t realised how small the university was, probably brilliant for some people, but just not for me. We stayed with a family in the city and went out for dinner in the centre, having visited several times before, it felt very familiar.

The next morning, we drove on to Exeter. Visiting on a Sunday morning, we expected it to have even fewer people around than at Bath, but we found the exact opposite!! People were everywhere, going to their sports activities or even just seeing friends. The sports centre staff were so friendly, letting us look around and see the gym, we went out for a Sunday lunch in the city, it was a much smaller city than I had realised, but charming all the same. After this road trip, I chose to apply for Warwick in my spare option which I had been saving for Bath Biology in case I liked it, however I have never visited the Warwick campus as due to the structure of the course I’ve never had a real enthusiasm to go.

For my final university, York, I was invited up to an Offer Holders day. It took 6 hours of trains and a bus each way but it was really worth it. Their Biology department is like no other, the campus is beautifully structured, and decently close to the main city. They split students from parents, giving a chance to meet people you would be sharing a course with, I in fact met a girl who lives just 10 minutes from me! All of the staff and students were welcoming and helpful, going into one of the colleges (their version of halls of residence) was so useful, meeting the student who lives there and seeing what the facilities are truly like. Walking back through the city (bearing in mind it was mid-December) it was stunning. I’m not going to lie, I fell in love with it, and from that one day, I was made up. That was where I wanted to go.

Going to at least visit the universities (and the cities) is very important, and often eye-opening!

All the best,

Bea x

Cornish Fudge...and Orangutans

Cornwall is well known for it's high quality fudge.

Many take pride in showing how they are home made and home ingredients, however so often when you actually check the ingredients label; Palm Oil.

In Padstow this week I was so pleased to see people making fudge by hand in Roly's using no palm oil, and milk from happy cows. There is no excuse for "Cornish" fudge companies to be using palm oil and yet they do. In fact I received a bag a while ago which claimed to be all organic and locally sourced ingredients, so I emailed asking where their local Palm Oil Plantation is - they weren't very happy.

Palm Oil Plantations are responsible for massive habitat loss as well as loss of species, including the Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger and Rhinoceros, and Asian Elephant. The percentage of palm oil which is "Certified" is increasing, however for these plantations to have been created in the first place was habitat destruction. Palm Oil has crept into so many of our every day products, from Rich Tea biscuits, to lipsticks and soaps. Thankfully companies have been being pushed into listing it in ingredients as Palm Oil rather than the ambiguous Vegetable Oil.

Please check the label next time you buy a product, 10p more is worth it when it comes to species becoming extinct. Buy Roly's Fudge here: https://rolysfudge.co.uk/
Help save the world, one bit at a time :)

All the best,

Bea x