Your Top 5 Priorities In Your Final Term Of University

As you approach final year deadlines you probably feel a mixture of excitement, nerves and fear which has sort of manifested itself into some kind of permanent, dull nausea. Soon, university will be over, the student bubble you float around in will pop and you'll be left with nothing but fond memories of the past few years (and hopefully a great degree and loads of lifelong friends. But you know what I mean). There's A LOT to get done in a very short space of time. This means your last few months at uni need to be productive and you need to have your priorities straight. Here are the 5 things that should be at the top of your list. Hopefully, during the course of your degree you have acquired some form of organisational capability but if not, now is definitely the time to start. You need to be organised this term to stay on top of everything. There're going to be deadlines coming at you from every direction as well as all your usual other commitments- life doesn't stop just because the pace picks up! Make sure you know when key dates are, deadlines, exams, housemate's birthdays, the charity event you promised to attend months ago, whatever. Have a calendar, a diary, even a post-it will do as long as you know what you need to do, where you need to be and when. You might not be able to be as much of a social butterfly as you were last term so be prepared to prioritise your spare time and say no to some parties. Having said that, make sure you still have fun- otherwise you will go crazy (er). Don't leave things to the last minute- a little bit of fore thinking will help this term go much smoother!

Study Hard:

At the end of the day you are at university to get a degree, so it makes sense that you give that final push when you're on the home straight. Revise extra hard for exams, actually do the coursework before the night before it's due and as for that dissertation, well, it may as well be a military operation huh? 10,000 words isn't that much- really..? If at any point you feel like you can't breathe for the mountain of work you are under make sure you talk to someone. Even if its moaning to a housemate, calling Mummy for some much needed parental advice or skyping your cat for hours, just do it. Do not keep it all inside and stress in silence. It will only make things worse. If the housemate and the cat just aren't cutting it then speak to your tutor, academic advisor or the student support services. They'll be well practiced in comforting stressed students! But, it will all be worth it in the end. Come the summer you'll be a graduate so just keep the final goal in sight for motivation.

Make Summer Plans:

Hard as it may be to think beyond the next deadline at the moment, you kind of need to consider life after uni and how that might look. Are you going to go travelling? Are you going to get straight into a job? Volunteer work? Sign onto the dole? Whatever it is, a vague idea of plans for the summer and the future would be good to have, just so the day after graduation you don't go 'Oh. What now?' The chances are you probably want some time out after uni- but that still requires planning, even if it's just buying a festival ticket. The world is your Oyster and equipped with your new, shiny degree you'll be ready to take on anything- right?

Get Your CV Updated:

If you do plan to do something crazy with your degree, like start a career, you're going to need a CV- a good one at that. If you haven't had a job whilst at uni you probably haven't updated it in a while, and even if you have, it's always good to freshen it up regularly. If you haven't got a clue where to start then take it in to the careers service on campus- they'll be able to give you some tips. There's loads of great websites and blogs offering advice too, and hundreds of articles to make your CV stand out that you'll no doubt stumble across with a quick Google search. Make sure to include all of your important experience (both job and life) that is relevant to the kind of job you want. Also, under your degree in the education section mention some core modules, main projects and skills that you have acquired over the course of your degree. Getting your CV up to scratch can take a while and having a good CV under your belt will save you time later. You never know, your dream job could pop up during your final term so having a super CV to hand means you won't miss out on any opportunities.

No Regrets:

Finally, rumour has it that your time at university is the best years of your life. So, if there's anything you simply HAVE to do before you leave uni, you'd better get a move on! You want to be able to graduate saying 'Yep, I did everything I set out to achieve and more.' You'll regret the things you didn't do, so make a list and tick everything off by graduation day.