A Guide to University Life: Step 1: All Beginnings are Difficult

Imagine! I have been a student for more than three years now. Studying is my main ‘job’ and thus very important to me. Starting out at university introduced a new chapter in my life. It was a completely new experience compared to school and therefore caused some difficulties. I can remember exactly my first impressions of university. At first, I felt kind of lost and then confused. So many things were different from school. The building, for example, was much more impressive than a school building (maybe because the campus is so old that it seems like an ancient ruin). Since I had never been on campus before, the building was completely unfamiliar to me. I did not know which direction to go.

In the beginning you have no clue how anything at university works, not even the architecture. You feel lost, and not just because the building is so large, but because university is a completely new experience after your school years. So don’t let yourself get worked up in case you’ll soon be encountering the same set of difficulties. It’s something that everybody who attends university goes through. My impression is that in school your life is much more organized for you than at university. School subjects are rather personal as you know the teachers and your classmates very well. University lectures seem largely more impersonal: partly because many courses have more students in them than at school; partly because your success is an issue that concerns only you. I know, in school it is your duty to learn on your own as well, but at university you are fully responsible for every aspect of your studies.

This responsibility can be seen in university procedures like course registration. Back then there was no online registration and everyone had to fill out special forms. On these forms you had to tick the courses you wanted to do and then hand it in to the secretary’s office. And at university you have to plan your class schedules totally on your own. You have to do much more organizational work on your own compared to school. In school you have a fixed timetable designed by the administration. You don’t have to register for courses let alone for exams. There is no need to single out courses to take because you don’t have a choice. At university you can design your individual class schedule according to your needs and interests. You can choose between courses with differing topics. Let’s take for example an English literary course. Two different lessons may be offered – one dealing with poetry, another one with drama. And you can decide upon one of them. You are spoilt for choices. On the one hand it allows you much more freedom. On the other hand selecting the appropriate courses can be confusing. You need to ensure that lessons don’t overlap or that they fit your plan of study. The problem is that procedures like course registration are very important at university. If you are too late, most courses will be full and you won’t be admitted. So remember to be on time! Otherwise you won’t be able to take the courses you wish to do.

This is the impression I got when starting out at university. The differences to school – namely the full responsibility and the individual planning of my studies – were a totally new experience. Luckily, I met a lot of nice people who were facing the same uncertainties and confusions. Remember this: it is much easier to get used to university life with friends.