Comment: University life and the start of your second year - 'the best year of all at uni'
Jonathan Blower is originally from Leamington. He attended Sunderland University for four years during the 1990s, where he qualified as a teacher and moved back to Warwickshire. He taught at four schools in Warwickshire and Coventry over the next 23 years and achieved a Master's Degree in 2012 before moving back to the North East (Newcastle upon Tyne) in September 2023 to take up a headship. He is currently vice principal at Durham Independent Grammar School and undertaking a Doctorate in Education at Newcastle University. Over a series of articles, he gives his advice on the post-A levels period and university. Here, he talks about the 'best year of all' at university - the second year.
In my opinion, the second year of university is, on balance, the best year of all. It’s a time when you have established great friendships, you’re looking forward to seeing everyone again, and you now know that you are settled and well able for higher education. In saying that, though, it is probably the most challenging academically.
Arriving back after the summer break is a great feeling. It’s still relatively tough, however, saying goodbye once again to friends and family. There is still that element of anxiety mixed with excitement as your family wave you off or when the train pulls out of the station. In a previous article, I wrote of departing on a coach back to Sunderland. By the second year, though, I was in possession of a student railcard, so the journey time was reduced significantly from 10 hours to around just over 5. If you’re going to a university a long way from home, it’s probably better to spend a little more money to reduce travelling time. Coaches are very good but tend to go a bit around the houses, as the saying goes, thus you’re a long time travelling. At this stage, on a personal level, even though travel by train would take less time, the nerves and slight anxiety of departing from Leamington Spa back to Sunderland for the start of my second year were still there initially, but by the time the train travelled north of Birmingham and pulled into Derby and Chesterfield, this began to disappear, and the excitement of beginning another academic year then firmly kicked in. You’ll always feel a bit nervous on the day of departure after time at home; this is entirely normal.
It’s likely that you have now moved out of halls of residence and are now living in either a flat or a house. This part is really good as you are now living with people you really want to live with and be with. They are the people who you have got on really well with and those with whom you have struck up a common bond. There will be challenges, of course: sharing bills, who has which room, and general living together and getting used to habits. It’s very different being in a house from being in halls. You’re all under one roof and there’s less space, so hitting it off and getting the combination of people right is important. The challenges I mentioned are only a very small part, and the great times shared and the fabulous memories made will far outweigh minor stumbling blocks you may face from time to time.
Once settled back into your house, you will, I’m sure, be keen to go out again and get in amongst it. New faces and already familiar ones are all processes of now being a real part of it. You’ll be able to see the new freshers a mile off, and it will rekindle those happy memories and that unfamiliarity of when you started a year ago. It’s amazing how different the start of the second year is from your first year, but both are very positive, albeit in very different ways.
Once you’ve had that first night out again, university will then begin to weave its magic once more, and the second academic year will be underway. Don’t underestimate the study this year, though. It will become more difficult. There will be a bit of a jump academically compared to the first year; it is definitely more challenging. You’ll remember the jump from GCSEs to ‘A’ levels, I’m sure. I’m not saying that the transition is as difficult as that, but you will definitely notice the difference.
With the above in mind, in my opinion, what makes it possibly more challenging is that your social circle is now wider; you have familiarity with student nights out and the good times around you; the sports/clubs/societies are, once again, now underway; and the workload is more demanding. The biggest thing for a lot of people here is that they want to be a part of a variety of areas that university has to offer. Unfortunately, at times, this can be to the detriment of academic study. You may find that studying takes longer because it is more challenging and academic; you may also find that research, seminars and lectures are now of paramount importance, and while you may have missed the odd lecture the previous year, you’ll realise that there isn’t any real place for this in year 2. The time will also be going quicker, and essay and exam deadlines will be on you before you know it. My best advice is to definitely continue to enjoy every part of university life, but try to manage your time sufficiently, and now that you are really established, try not to burn the candle at both ends. Passing that first semester is important; you really don’t want to be redoing semester 2. This, of course, is not the end of the world, but it is always better to go through your course handing in your assignments on time and passing all of your exams along the way.
I pass on this advice because, I must confess, it was here (and the only time, I must add) that I did have to repeat an essay at the end of semester 1 of the second academic year. Looking back, I can understand exactly why. I was enjoying my nights out immensely, and I was playing regularly for the football team. We had progressed in a cup competition, and this involved further travel to other universities, even as far down as Sheffield. I had found this particular essay and module difficult and hadn’t sought help from my lecturers when I clearly needed it. The latter is vital if you are ever struggling to complete an essay or you are concerned about a forthcoming exam. Get help, seek advice, look for support, and you will definitely receive it. I wanted to think that I was ‘sorted’ and was ‘coping’, but I clearly wasn’t, based on this assignment. Fortunately, I had passed the other two modules but then had not reached the standards for this one. After receiving the disappointing feedback, I opted to take this assignment home and complete it over the Christmas break. Not ideal, I know, but not having the aforementioned distractions and being able to focus just prior to and just after Christmas itself was definitely what was needed. The assignment was then handed in and, happily, I then passed it and could move on.
If the above ever happens to you, see it as a good and positive aspect of your life at university. It’s made you realise that you are still very capable. It’s also made you think that you probably need to manage your time better and not forget your real purpose of being there, and you will have realised that it’s not going to be quite as easy or as straightforward as you may have thought. However, I actually look back now and see that as a positive (although I wouldn’t recommend it). It made me realise that this wasn’t going to be handed to me on a plate and, in some areas, I really needed to get my act together. Thankfully, this lesson was positive, and it didn’t occur again!
The Christmas break will soon be upon you, and it’ll be time to be with family and friends again after a few weeks/months away. The difference between this Christmas and last, though, is that now, even though you are home and back to where you are from, it’s probably the case that university is almost like your second home. It’s never easy saying goodbye to family and friends again when the Christmas holiday ends, but familiarity and great times still ahead will now be the biggest part of your life.
The second semester of the second year is also one of great excitement. You’ll now be used to that jump academically, and it will, or has already, become the norm and part of being an undergraduate. The reason I use the word ‘excitement’ is that during this period, you’ll maybe start to understand what you are capable of achieving degree class-wise. Your marks start showing a pattern and a trend, and this gives you a bit of an indicator of what your final degree might look like. Our assessments were always marked out of 16, and I was averaging around 9 or 10 at this time. Could I have pushed myself a bit more? Possibly, but this mark would potentially see me gain a 2:1 or 2:2 and, at that age and time, I was more than happy with that. I knew that I wanted to be a teacher at this point, and this class of degree would allow me to follow a PGCE immediately after graduation.
Towards the end of the semester and as the summer months approach, it may be time to start thinking about potential destinations for further study after graduation. It may still be just over a year away, but applying at the start of your final year is usually a good way of securing your first choices or the best destinations. If you can get sorted in the first semester of your third year, that’s all to the good. If you don’t want to think about that yet, there’s plenty of time later. You’re a long time working! In the meantime, embrace and enjoy every magical moment of that second year in what will be one of the greatest periods of your life. Trust me – the time will start to speed up now. Make the very best of it, and I wish you continued good luck.
In the next article, I’ll be talking about the third and final year, getting through both semesters, and that all-important graduation day.