certainly add colour and diversity to your university life As they say, one’s university years form the most memand beyond. orable period of one’s life. Clearly however, this cannot be so unless one chooses to participate! And I certainly On a more practical note, CCAs can also be a real boost hope you do! to your CV. It equips you with the essential marketable soft skills, such as communication and interpersonal skills, leadership abilities and team management skills. It also allows employers to know you better as a person behind your paper qualifications – a valuable dimension to your application! So now that I have (hopefully) convinced you to take up a CCA in university, the remaining question is – how do you choose which CCA to join? The best way to find out is by going to your university’s Freshers’ Fair at the beginning of the academic year. There, expect to be constantly ambushed and hauled to the countless booths set up to brown-nose unsuspecting freshers and claim them as their own. Jokes aside, you will discover a plethora of student-run interest groups to choose from, both academic and non-academic. Be it a small spark of interest that you would like to explore (think quirky societies like the Curry Society in University of Leicester), or a burning passion that you wish to pursue (socio-political interest groups like the Feminist Society or the Marxist Society in SOAS) there is surely something for everyone. If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can even start your own society! Note that, depending on your university, CCA membership may be free or could come with a nominal fee. Therefore, be sure to sign up for the CCA’s taster events and trials at the Freshers’ Fair before you eventually decide to join. To date, I am a member of my university’s Singapore Society (must-join!), Hiking Society, Badminton Society, Law Society and Lawyers Without Borders Society. Personally, the most enjoyable times I have had during my first year in university is, without a doubt, my co-curricular experiences. Trekking 17km through spectacular landscapes to see the White Cliffs of Dover with friends from all over the world (pictured above) was one of my most memorable days in the UK. Indeed, joining the Hiking Society to try out something I would not be able to experience back in Singapore represents a crucial reason for my desire to pursue an overseas education in the UK. 8
Balancing academic and university life by Boya Li University of Durham As the famous saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but all play and no work makes Jack a mere toy, and therefore, it is important to strike a balance between work and play. Many of you would have probably already talked to some of your seniors to get a rough guide on what to prepare yourself for. While Law may seem like a rather intimidating subject to read, you will genuinely be losing in life if you feel obliged to dedicate a majority of your time in university on the subject you may come to hate in a few months’ time. I am kidding. Personally, I feel that the best balance between work and play would be 30:70 in the first year. After you grasp the pace of teaching and workload in your university, you can then better adjust this balance for your second and third years. First year doesn’t count. I’m sure you already know. So afraid not, pre-reading now is definitely unnecessary. You are honestly not going to be any smarter than those who do not pre-read so I suggest that you should enjoy the holidays before beginning this new chapter of your life. At least that is what I did and I managed my first year perfectly fine. Here are three tips based on my personal experiences. TIP #1 – STUDY SMART DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. FOCUS on what you’re doing and complete it within the time allocated for it. Do not make the silly mistake of procrastinating, or studying with your phone beside you. This would only distract you. DO NOT MULTITASK. You are not brilliant at it and will never be. Therefore, you should definitely not be watching TV while writing an essay. Concentrate on reading the cases, writing your essays and finishing your tutorials. You would realise how much time you save when you focus and you can enjoy time off work in peace. This also includes skipping minimal lectures but never skip a tutorial. Prepare your tutorials in detail. I found that my tutorial prep work contributed to a large part of my efficient revision during exam
period. It saved me a lot of time having to look through the lecture slides as most of the main points are summarised in my tutorial work. When you study, make sure you understand the concepts and cases so that you do not have to waste extra time on trying to understand them again when you’re doing revision. TIP #2 – CHOOSE YOUR CCAs WISELY While you may feel the need to choose law-related societies so that your CV could potentially look good, I have so many friends telling me how they regret joining those useless law societies. I am not sure about the other universities’ but at least for mine, I am pretty sure all the law-related societies are useless. If you think about it logically, you spend the lectures and tutorials focusing on this subject, would you really want to waste the time allocated for CCAs on this as well? In my honest opinion, I would suggest going for something you would enjoy, perhaps even a passion that you don’t get to study or if all else fails, a sport so that you get a fair amount of exercise each week to keep fit. After all, a part of university life is about constantly meeting new people and you could only do so if you join the societies that are not law-related. TIP #3 – KNOW WHEN TO SAY NO It is not always that you have to reject an invitation for a night out or a gathering. Maximize your chances to meet new people during your first term because honestly, who studies in the first sem? If you genuinely want to experience the UK style of living, get yourself drinking but do it responsibly. Sem 2 would require you to know the balance, which should be a 50:50, between going out and doing work whereas in Sem 3, even the locals would know it’s time to study and that is when you need to say no. You would have all the time to drink and party after exams. Almost 5 whole months of summer! I believe to a certain extent the chance to experience different culture and meet friends from all over the
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