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Leiservampir
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08 Jul 2010, 3:28 pm

Calling all you WrongPlanet-goers who have attended uni!
I have a question for you all. It's aimed mainly at people who went to uni in the UK, but I guess anyone who has exp. is welcome :)

At the moment I'm about 20 days away from being 17. I then have 2 years to go on the IB course till I graduate and (hopefully) start uni.

I'm hoping to go into Law, specifically human rights, and I know this in itself is a hard subject, but it's the rest I'm not sure about. I want to move back to England to take my degree, as I don't think I'd be able to handle it here in Sweden in a second language, which means that I'd most likely be leaving my parents behind and be living with my disabled grandad and my nan. (This might seem irrelevant but just hang on)
The fact that my grandad is disabled and my nan is his carer means that I'd be pretty much looking after myself when it came to studies, as my nan would be spending all her time (as she does now) looking after my grandad.

I know no one else has been in this situation (most likely) but I'm wondering how you all coped with Uni, the stress, studies and anything else, especially if you lived away from home, as I guess that would be the closes to my situation you could get :)
Even how you've coped with it generally to make life easier?

I know it sounds a bit silly to be asking so early, but it really worries me that when I'm older and go to uni I'll still be treated like a child by people, be it peers or family, because of my AS, I want to be able to say that I'm mature when I leave school, and not still be dependant on my parents like I am now.

The advice would probably be useful now in the years leading up to it too now that I think about it :lol: As I said, I'm going to be starting IB in August, and I pretty much need to get top grades in as many subjects as possible to even get the requirements to apply.

This is really important to me, as it's a way of me making my lifetime dream come true. I want to work in the EU, and I want to work to help people in Africa in particular, so it wont just benefit me :sunny:


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gassy
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08 Jul 2010, 4:01 pm

Leiservampir wrote:
[b]

I know no one else has been in this situation (most likely) but I'm wondering how you all coped with Uni, the stress, studies and anything else, especially if you lived away from home, as I guess that would be the closes to my situation you could get :)
Even how you've coped with it generally to make life easier?

I know it sounds a bit silly to be asking so early, but it really worries me that when I'm older and go to uni I'll still be treated like a child by people, be it peers or family, because of my AS, I want to be able to say that I'm mature when I leave school, and not still be dependant on my parents like I am now.



Maybe it was just me, but I know of many people, including myself, who were very dependent on their parents before going to uni.

The summer before I went I "practiced" making meals, cleaning etc and just generally looking after myself before going to uni and if you can do that, then that would be brilliant.

Its great that you're thinking about it now, but dont worry to much, you've still got 2 years remember!! :D

Of course it varies from uni to uni, but at mine the disability office provided me with a great mentor who helps/advises/puts me in contact with others if i have a problem.

I have to say your situation is unusual and i havent been in your situation, however i did live on campus in my first year and then moved in with friends after that, so i have been living "independently". Even though Im sure there'll be great benefits with you living with your grandparents eg cost, and i know many many people who lived off campus and have thoroughly enjoyed it, however for me, living on campus was brilliant for me as i had a great opportunity to meet loads of different people. Some who i didn't have much in common with, but also many others who have become great friends with me.

Anyway I hope you make the right and best decision for you!!

But please predomninatly concentrate on your IB for the short term!! !! (which isn't something i did lol) ;)



Jeyradan
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08 Jul 2010, 5:14 pm

To be honest, I found that it was by far the best to be left alone in university, as that was when I got the most done and could schedule things the way I wanted them.
Difficult things about the freedom of being alone might include the fact that you have to be dedicated enough to make yourself a schedule and keep to it. You're going into IB of your own free will (I did IB, too...), so chances are that you already have this sort of skill or that you will by the time you graduate.
Also, learning how to do anything that won't be done for you anymore (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.) might be useful. Cooking may end up being more "microwaving" than actual cooking, but the important thing is to get done what needs to be done. If I were you, I'd put all of those things into a schedule, too (i.e., vacuum on x day of the week, laundry on x day, the week's cooking on x day), because that way it's easier to keep doing it and not accidentally neglect it until it becomes overwhelming. Here, I speak from experience.

If you can schedule or discipline yourself into habits, and learn the rote procedures of some basic skills, then the more independence you have, the better!



Leiservampir
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09 Jul 2010, 3:48 am

Thanks guys!

The thing is with me, if no one reminds me, I usually forget or procrastinate, unless it's something REALLY important, in which case I'm usually alright doing it, so I don't know if there's any way to get over that?


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Jeyradan
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09 Jul 2010, 7:39 am

Ah! Now, this is another issue altogether.

Reminding is easy. I use a calendar program on my computer (which is pretty much always being used for work, school or fun) that pops up reminders so that I can't miss them. Some people use daytimers, but I find them flawed in that you actually have to remember to look at them in order for them to remind you of anything. Nowadays, I reckon other good solutions would be to program everything into calendar software in your cell phone (if you have a phone that is capable; if not, you can always program simple alarm reminders into an ordinary phone), have big whiteboards or bulletin boards or sheets of poster paper up on your walls on which you constantly write things down (so that they're always in front of your eyes), or even entering reminders into things like iPods.

Procrastination is going to be the tough one to beat, because the truth is that you're going to have to overcome that by sheer force of will. Perhaps a schedule, when you don't allow yourself to do anything else during pre-determined "chore" or "homework" times, might work - but then you have to be hard enough on yourself that you actually maintain the idea of not permitting yourself to take a break and go do something fun instead. You could ask someone to keep tabs on you (a friend you talk to online could ask to see your progress every so often, or even your nan, if she'd be willing to take the time to skim over your assignments every so often to make sure she can see you're making progress).

Here is a great source of advice on how to make yourself into what you want to be as a student (Study Hacks), and here especially is the "fighting procrastination" category (Study Hacks: Fighting Procrastination). Some of the procrastination tips are better or more relevant than others (look particularly at the early posts, for which you'll have to scroll down or click through to older pages), but you never know what will work for you, so there at least is a source with plenty of things worth trying. The other advice is great, too, and I'd recommend looking at it every so often if you have a specific issue or just don't know what to try next.



Leiservampir
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09 Jul 2010, 7:48 am

Thanks! I'll take a look at those now :D


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<b>"If something was going to happen, let it happen."</b> - Murakami, <i>The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle</i> pg 66.