10 Things I've Learned in my Second Year of Uni

It seems crazy to think that I'm over halfway done with my university life - in fact, in less than a year I will have graduated. It's a slightly terrifying feeling. My second year at university has been tough, for different reasons than my first: the workload has been far tougher than it was in my first year; I've learned the hard way that stress unfortunately manifests itself in more ways than one; getting the right university-work-life balance is a hard one; and I've learned countless about wading through the many pitfalls of living with people who were wrong for you.

Last year I wrote a list of 10 things that I had learned in my first year of uni, and it was really well-received - it was shared by my university and I had a few messages from people nervously starting their first year who were glad to hear what it was really like starting university as a slightly socially awkward newcomer. I wanted to do the same this year, focusing on my experiences and the 10 things I have learned in my second year.

1. This year actually matters.

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And it's a whole lot tougher. 40% just isn't good enough anymore, and if you treat your second year like you treat your first year you might not make it through. I'll be the first to admit I didn't try as hard as I could have in my first year, and the sudden jump in workload was difficult to adjust to. However, there is a shining light at the end of the tunnel - your grades (in most cases) aren't split 50:50 between your second and third year, so if you find you've missed on an all-important grade boundary there's time to make it up. It means more work in your third year, but it's certainly doable.

2. To paraphrase Ron Weasley, you NEED to sort out your priorities.

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You might have been able to sleep off your hangovers in class and scrape by in first year, but it just doesn't cut it in second year. Even if your friends are able to balance work and play, if you know that you have work to do that fear of missing out feels so much worse when your summer is occupied by resits and your friends are posting photos of their time in Thailand. Being able to prioritise is a skill you'll need your entire life, so the sooner you master it, the better.

3. Find a study space that works for you.
Again, you can get by without a suitable study space in first year but by second year, you need a place that inspires and motivates you to work. You'll be seeing an awful lot of it. It doesn't matter if it's a particular seat in the library, the corner table in your local coffee shop or just your desk in your room - it'll pay off when you're able to get into a motivated mindset. Equally, make sure you have a place where you can just get away and think, even if it's just in the back garden.

It helps if your back garden has a view like this.

4. Learn to cook.
A bit of a repeat from last year, but I can't express how important it is, especially as you're probably now living out of halls and on your own. Not only is home-cooked food far better for you than takeaways, it's a great bonding experience and can be a lot of fun amongst housemates, and if you're savvy enough to do a group shop you can save a heck of a lot of money. There are so many student-friendly recipe books, food blogs and even events run by your university if you have no idea where to start. May I suggest my own recipes? #shamelessplug

Yum yum, you can find a recipe for this here!

5. You will argue with your flatmates.
And it's not going to be pretty. More often than not these are people you've never lived with before, even if you're the closest of friends, and some personalities are just more likely to clash. People have different routines and different priorities - you might live with someone who is incredibly anal about scrubbing the bathroom from top to bottom three times a week, whereas you'd rather the house be clean but not too fussed about tidiness. Luckily we didn't have too many problems with that in my house, as we were all relatively tidy but not overly fussed about everything being spotless, but we did have other problems.

6. Be wary of warning signs.
There are some people that you just aren't meant to live with, and unfortunately hindsight is 20:20 - if there's someone you're meant to be living with who you suspect you're going to have serious issues with, don't move in with them. Even if you've signed on the dotted line and committed to a year of your life in this house, there are options if it doesn't work out. I won't go into much detail publicly about my flatmates in my second year as I feel it would be detrimental but there were warning signs before we all moved in that I wished I'd paid attention to - we argued about money and who would make what kind of contribution, and this should have been a giant red flag.

During the year I butted heads a lot with my more outspoken flatmate over everything from when to order a washing machine to blaring music during exam season, and it unfortunately went from us being very close in first year to no contact now. When you look back it was clear that we both have different personalities and coping mechanisms so were bound to disagree, but at the time I wasn't so inclined to acknowledge it and I know that we were all glad for a fresh start when the tenancy was up. If you find yourself in this kind of situation there are options - speak to your student advice unit and see if you get help mediating with them, or if it's an option you can escape for a weekend or two every couple of months to give you all a break. If you need out, you can find someone to take over your tenancy depending on your landlord or lettings agent, but be aware that this is a last resort and it will cost you.

7. Don't go overboard with the home decor.

The painting and fairy lights were great at the time but they've been in a box for 3 months.

Even if you decided to stay in the same house for your third year, you won't be there for more than about 24 months. For the majority of students, it's about 10 months in their second year accommodation - sure, make it cosy, you're going to be living in this place for the next few months, but don't kit it out with the latest and greatest in furniture, decor and gadgets. We're students for one, we don't have the money, and there's just so much to move when your tenancy is up. If I'd had a larger room I feel like I would have bought more things to decorate it, but to be honest even some of the things I used to decorate last year's house are just sitting in a box. It's where you're living for the next few months, not your forever home.

8. Lettings agents will screw you over without even batting an eyelid.
If you go through a lettings agent for a student house, you can bet that the majority will find every way they can to get as much out of you for as little as possible. By going through the university we managed to bypass the agency fees, but here in Brighton they can be anywhere in the region of £200 +VAT just to secure a property. If you don't get the property for any reason, too bad. You're not getting your money back for anything. The lettings agency our house was registered with charged £150 +VAT to secure the property, and for that I'd at the very least expect a habitable room and a clean house. When we turned up on moving day there were snails living in my skylight, which was actually my only source of natural light and meant my room was legally not habitable. My parents spent hours helping us deep-clean the house, and for about 6 weeks afterwards we were still finding snail trails in the living room. When we moved out 10 months later the damp and mould we had reported on day one was still there.

Apart from some of the paper on the floor, it pretty much looked like this - stained mattress and all.

Even when you've moved out of the property you're still at risk of losing money to lettings agents - double and triple check the agreement you've signed, because if it says you can't burn candles or that you are responsible for cutting the grass in the back garden and you don't follow through, you can kiss your £600-odd deposit goodbye. I know of a friend who had left an unlit candle out when her landlord came to show prospective tenants around the property, and when she came to move out he'd clocked the candle and refused to give her flat the whole deposit back from breaking the tenancy agreement. Her flatmates weren't pleased.

9. If you can balance university and a part-time job, do it.
Just before my second year I managed to land myself a Sunday job at Boots. Admittedly it's not relevant to what I want to do post-degree, but the skills I use there (teamwork, interpersonal skills, timekeeping) are completely transferable to a future career. It's a great way to build up your CV, particularly if it relates to your studies in some way, and I was particularly grateful for the extra income. The student loan only stretches so far and it turns out I have expensive tastes. Whoops.

Champagne tastes with beer money.

10. If you need help, ask for it.
This is possibly the most important thing I learned in my second year, and I learned it the hard way. Unfortunately I got ill and missed a few very important lectures and a deadline, which severely impacted my grade for the final year, and I wish I could go back and tell myself to ask for help the moment I started to struggle. My third year is going to be even tougher because I didn't want the help I so desperately needed, and it's now very unlikely I will get that important 2:1 grade. Not completely impossible, but it perhaps could have been prevented. Certainly when I asked for help at the student support unit, they were there for me - it's their job after all - and I'm putting the final touches on a support network to get me through to the end of my course. There's nothing wrong with admitting you need a bit of guidance or assistance sometimes.

Hopefully this provides a useful insight into life in your second year - university is tough, but it's an experience you won't forget. Were any of these particularly helpful for you? Is there anything in particular second year taught you? Comment and let me know!