Genuine University Advice
Go to class and if you can’t go to class watch the lecture online and if you can’t watch the lecture online read all the slides and if you can’t read all the slides get someone’s notes. Do not throw away that lecture and hope for the best. That lecture will inevitably cover half of the exam material.
It is ok to go out sometimes, but it is also ok to say no to going out sometimes. University is not all about drowning yourself in alcohol and partying. Your wallet can’t handle it, your grades can’t handle it, and be honest, you probably can’t handle it. Spend a night in once in a while.
Start your assignments early. Do a little bit every day. Even if that day all you do is find one article in the library database that applies to your assignment. Even if all you do that day is write a title in your notebook. Do something. Your momentum can’t build if you don’t start moving.
Stop overscheduling yourself. I know you think that you’re just beefing up your resume and that it will look great and that you can handle it but it is not worth the stress and the looming mental breakdown. Pick one or two activities (and only take a job/extra hours if it is a financial necessity) and focus on your courses and your mental wellbeing.
If you’re struggling with mental health issues take time off. I promise you it will look better that you took a term off than it would if you failed (or even dipped in grades) for a full year of courses. I know your pride is telling you not to, but take the time to be healthy and to find treatment that works.
Find a good group of friends. Find people who will laugh with you and cry with you and sit silently in your living room in a state of mutual despair over exams with you. Your support system is essential in university. If you don’t have someone who will bring you coffee before your three back-to-back exams you will have to bring yourself coffee, and no one wants to do that.
If you are struggling - tell someone. Be that for grades (don’t listen to your high school teachers, your profs and TAs actually do want to help you), or your physical health (doctors work on campus for a reason), or your mental health (university students are at a high risk for mental health issues and those issues deserve attention and care) - telling someone is the first step to fixing it.
Stop trying to make yourself into the thing you think you’re supposed to be. It is easy to leave high school and start a program because it is what you’re expected to do. But take the time to find your passions and interests and figure out what would really make you happy in life. Find a way to study those things or just join a club - whatever brings you joy, make that a bigger part of you.
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