A Week into Easter...

Hi everyone...

So its already been a week into my three week Easter break :-(! I'm not going to lie little university work has been done this week, however the plan is to get motivated for next week.

I have realised I only have FIVE assignments left of the year which was so exciting to find out, the best part is only two of those are essays, the rest are presentations and poster presentations which are my favourite type of assignments to do.

The two essays I have left are long ones too, the worst kind. I find long assignments so draining which is a bit worrying for my dissertation, ha! I also have a 7,000 word essay due for one of my modules next year so I've nearly got two dissertations to do next year, one due for November!

The majority of this week was spent down in Cheltenham where my boyfriend goes to university, catching up with friends and having a relaxing break before driving back home (which is a two hour journey) with him for Easter, he only gets two weeks for his Easter break!

I've had a bit more of a think about work experience and I'm hoping to do it in a local school which only caters for students who have social and behavioural problems, I think this will link quite nicely to my psychology route I've got in my head at the moment and will hopefully be an eye opening and decision making experience. I've also got a few links to some professionals and have been told it might be an idea to get in touch with them and see if I can have some sort of mentoring a it's tricky to get experience within certain job roles as they are often confidential.

It's going to be a work filled couple of months but soon enough summer will be here and I'll be getting ready for my holidays. I can't remember if I have mentioned but I'm off to Turkey in June, Spain in July and Rome in August, so it's not all that bad being a student you know haha, but no seriously, the only way I can afford this is due to commuting and having a part time job.

Here's a few snaps of my summer, also will include my 20th birthday and at the end of April a trip to London to watch the marathon.














So I think it's safe to say summer is looking brill, Easter always makes me think about and get excited for summer holidays because they're just weeks away from our Easter breaks at university, the semesters tend to always finish earlier than predicted so university finishes so early compared to school summers.

It is certainly one of the many perks of being a university student, there are quite a few actually.



Until next week..

M

Third Term!

Ok, so I guess it's time to start thinking about my 3rd and final term as a first year at the University of Bedfordshire. It's not much of a term to be honest for me because we have one final week of revision lectures and that's it. Most people will probably stay in Bedford until their exams are finished but I've made the decision to go home after the last teaching week and then drive to Bedford for my two exams.
As for preparation, I think I am as prepared as I can be at this stage, I feel a little skeptical about my exams at this point but I think after I have attended the revision lectures I will feel a lot more comfortable and ready to sit my exams in May.

My Easter break has been jam-packed! I have actually managed to bag myself a job back home which is great as I have a lot planned over the summer and therefore need money! I feel like I have been at home for absolutely ages so goodness knows what I'm going to do with myself all summer. Work , work and work I suppose..oh and go on holiday..

I have been asked to talk about when I applied for university in this blog post which has actually proved quite interesting for me because it snow feels like a lifetime ago! My decision was pretty easy when it came to narrowing down to my firm and insurance choices. I knew I wanted to stay close to home and all of my university choices were within an hour away from where my family and I live. I picked all of the same courses 'Education Studies' for each university and therefore all I had to decide on was the university and halls of residence. I chose Bedford for a few reasons, 1: the halls are so nice and clean, 2: the university is also very nice and small which I liked, 3: the lecturers I met where all so friendly and welcoming and 4: it was my all round favourite university that I had visited. I wasn't fussed whether I got my firm or insurance choice purely because they were both as good as each other and meant I would be doing the exact course that I wanted to do.

The inside of my accommodation in Bedford, and yes it actually does look like this! 

The entrance to Liberty Park. 

I want to stress that it's not all about the stats and figures(it is partly) but you have to like the university you are looking at, one thing I think every applicant should remember is to not settle for second best. Aim high and do not be afraid to come out with your insurance choice, so choose wisely everyone!

Good luck with your UCAS applications and Happy Easter to you all!

It's Easter!

Hi everyone, well the first week of the Easter break is over and it's safe to say I have enjoyed being home! There has been lots of catching up with friends and family but also a lot of revision for my exams that are at the end of May!

As for how the exams work in your first year, you have to go to a hall in Bedford to take them rather than at the university itself, I'm not sure why I'm afraid!
The best thing about these exams, and also what makes them so different to school GCSE'S or A-Levels is the fact that I have been given the questions for them, which is so much better than going in without any idea of what could come up... My revision style is completely different to school, which is good because I was quite worried that I'd have to go back to revising like I had to at school, I didn't want to have to do that because let's just say I'm not the best at sticking to revision schedules. It's different and more suited to me because I have to write my essay for the exam and memorise the essay and theorists so that I can go into the exam and write my essay after setting out my plan.
We also got to have a look at the different options we can choose to take next year which was really good for me because I have one main problem and that is that I do not take well to exams and exam conditions, I don't know why but I have never done well in exams(even my A-Levels!). By getting an insight into the options it allowed me to see what topics involve exams and which do not, this is such a bonus... However, I am going to make sure that I do not exclude certain topics just because they have exams! So, deciding time is after Easter I think and I know that I'm going to take digital technology for sure as I'm interested in this more than others, I can't quite remember other topics but I know for definite there are these two; SEN( Special Educational Needs) and lifelong learning, just to give you all a little look into what you could study in your second year of Education Studies.

As well as revision, I went on a trip to London with my family to see a comedy show at the O2! It was hilarious and was a nice break from revising the whole time. I also caught up with some friends from uni last week which was nice!

It is so strange to think that I have nearly finished my first year of uni, I can't quite get my head around the fact that this time last year I was trying to decide where to go! When people tell you time flies when you're at university, they definitely are not lying..trust me! I had no idea it would go this quickly. Uni was definitely the right decision for me, but it isn't for everyone I admit. I'm so glad I have had the opportunity to study for a degree and eventually get to my goal of being a teacher.

That's all for now. I'll update you on my second week of the holidays next week!

Easter Update!

Ok so I thought I would give you all an Easter break update....

Number one, I've realised I'm pretty much moved home forever now...how crazy is that?!

I have one more week after Easter that I have to go back for which I'm pretty sure is just for revision lectures and a top up before we have no more contact with uni until October! I cannot believe that my contact time with university finishes this early!
One benefit of being a student is definitely the time we get after our exams to relax, although mine hopefully wont be spent relaxing as I am going to try my hardest to get a job that gives me lots of hours so I can save up and have fun throughout my summer, I would hate to be bored and money less for the whole of my time off!

As for my Easter holiday plans;

• I suppose it's going to have to involve lots of revision, I'm going to revise until I can no longer stare at my books and notes for.
• I'm going to see Miranda Live Tour. I bought my mum tickets for Christmas so I'm definitely looking forward to that!
• Catching up with friends that I haven't seen since Christmas! 
• Probably a few nights out thrown into the mix...just for good measure! 
• Spending much needed time at home getting settled back into home life and knowing that I'm not moving away again in a few months time. 

I will be sure to give you an update late on into my Easter break to see just how well these plans are going and whether I have managed to stick to each of them or if some of them aren't quite going as well as I had hoped for. 

I expect you are all revising like crazy for your A-Level exams and praying you've done enough to get into university next year!

Happy Easter and Happy Revising (if that even exists)!

Vibe Monday's!

So, I went out this Monday with a group of friends and as usual it ended up with me buying a takeaway...total waste of money but it always seems to happen!
As for student night's out here in Bedford, they are quite good! I've tried a Saturday night here before and it was nowhere near as busy as when all of us student's out on either a Monday or a Wednesday!

The morning after wasn't exactly the best...I have to admit I gave myself quite a headache this week haha! It's all good fun though..
I managed to drag myself out of bed for my lectures and seminars on Tuesday which is always ten times more difficult after I have been out the night before considering I have an extremely busy day on a Tuesday.

Moving on.. I think I have mastered how to make a curry now, I never used to make them before I came to university and now I am such a pro! I am getting quite sick of having them EVERY night though so now I'm living off of easter eggs...




I found out today that I have four weeks left until Easter which has made me really excited because that means I have five term weeks until I move home forever!
I can't remember if I've mentioned before that I am commuting to university next year instead of living here as it's not far from home and I will save a lot of money that way.
I also miss home a lot....that is my main reason! I'm glad I have had the 'uni experience' by living here for one year but I am so glad I have the option to move home now!

Megan.