A week in the life of a first year student

Second-year Psychology student, Brooke, shares what a typical week in her life looked like in her first year at university.

Monday

Today is Monday, the first day of the week. Before coming to university my weeks would usually look very different to how they do now. I was used to my days being structured and regimented with full timetabled days at school or sixth form, but at university I have found that you learn to adapt to a much more flexible way of learning and living that is down to you! Whilst it has been weird adjusting to this new independence, it has also been filled with so much fun and learning both academically and personally. So here let me walk you through a quick week with me as a first-year university student.

On Mondays I usually start my day at 10am since I do not have my first lecture until 12pm. As I stay just outside of campus in self-catered halls, I quickly get ready, make some breakfast, and walk around 20-25 minutes to my lectures. For my course this year my lectures are an hour long, but they usually wrap up and finish after around 50 minutes. After I finish my lecture, I head to the library for a quick snack before I go over and write up the notes I made in that lecture. Sometimes lecturers will upload a ‘post-lecture’ quiz to consolidate our learning so I will usually go through these or look through some of the extra reading that they have recommended.

I stay in the library for around two hours before my next lab class which starts at 3pm. My lab classes last for around 2 hours each until 5pm which I only have once a week. I enjoy going to my lab classes as they are a lot smaller than my lectures meaning they are a lot more interactive, and I get to learn more about the practical side of my course such as learning how to design and conduct studies in psychology. After I have finished in my lab classes on Monday I usually head home, change my clothes, and get ready to head to netball training which starts at 6pm. I have found that there is so much to get involved in at university outside of your academics and attending lectures with activities such as sports or any other hobbies you may be interested in – you’d be surprised just how many niche societies they are for you to give a try and get involved in! After netball practice, which usually takes place in the sports centre on campus, I head back home and make dinner (usually something quick and easy like pasta!) and make sure I have the PowerPoints for my lectures the next day ready and downloaded.

Tuesday

My Tuesdays are similar except my lectures start at 9am! These are the earliest lectures I have but they aren’t too bad as I only start at 9am twice a week.

Wednesday

Wednesdays are days where I do not have any lectures or classes at all which I look forward to! I like to plan my Wednesdays based on how much work I have to do such as assignments, or by going through any lectures I need to catch up on. Usually, I spend a few hours on Wednesday catching up with some work, I might meet a few of my friends on my course in the library for a group study session, or I will go through the work on my own. I then like to spend a few hours for myself. I might go to the gym or attend sporting events where I may be either playing in a match or watching one of the other sports teams play as Wednesday afternoons are the days many sports teams have their games or matches.

Weekend

If we fast forward to the weekend, Friday evenings I usually attend an event a society is hosting with my friends or to meet some new people. I found a part time job, so I usually spend a lot of my weekends working as a waitress in a local café where I have met lots of other students who are also working too! Sundays are my reset days where I do my weekly shopping, washing and complete all the remaining work I may have for the upcoming week!

Did anything surprise you?

Now that you know what a week as an undergraduate student could look like, did anything surprise you? Add it to the comments below.