Syllabus Week: Survival 101

Syllabus week is always a drag. Always has been, always will be. But unfortunately, it’s an essential and inevitable annual (if not triannual) chore. Most students go one of two ways: they either put all of their energy into the first week, and by the second week are already exhausted, due to extensive colour co-ordinating, or do nothing whatsoever, and are disorganised for the rest of the term. But have no fear- we’ve got a set of five survival 101 hacks that will get you through syllabus week no bother!

1. Don’t be so black and white

The trick is to be somewhere in the middle of doing everything and doing nothing. It’s oh so tempting just to sack off all of your lectures and seminars during the first week- after all, you’ve done it all before, if not at uni, then definitely in some form or other during school. But don’t forget you’ll have new modules and classes every year too, so even if it’s just to get to grips with the structure of a particular module, it’s worth going, at least to 50% of them. Otherwise, you’ll find that in the second week you’ll be plunged into the deep end, and you’re a week behind schedule for the rest of the term. That’s not to say that you should take syllabus week too seriously, though. As long as you know basically what’s going on, you should be ok, don’t wear yourself out on sorting out your book lists!

2. Get Organised

Take this time to get yourself sorted for the semester. Anything you need to do, now is the time to do it. Sort out your gym membership. Make sure it’s all paid for, sort out what times and days you’re going if you want to book any specific classes, and who you’re going with. If you’ve moved into a new place, get your decs up, and make sure you’ve got everything you need. When you’re doing your food shop, make sure you’ve got all the toiletries you need, and start freezing meals for the next few weeks. Make sure you’ve got all the books/ stationary etc. you need for the new term too.

3. Catch Up

Chances are, you haven’t seen some people in a while- that’s the bad thing about Uni, when everyone goes home for the holls, you’re scattered across the country. It’s inevitable that you’ll stay in contact more with some people than others, not even because you like them more, but because you might be on the same course, or live closer to them. Whatever the reason, during syllabus week, it’s a good idea to re-establish those friendships, especially with people you haven’t heard from for a while. So fill that first week with catch-up coffees, gossip dinners, and evening drinks, and make sure you and your mates are all caught up before work gets in the way.

4. Are you on the right track?

This is the time to sign up for new things- so have a think- is there anything you’ve always wanted to do that you haven’t before? Go to all of the sports and societies fairs, and sign up for everything that takes your fancy- do as many taster sessions as you can before you get too busy, you might find something to do for the whole year that you really enjoy!

5. Have fun!

Although it’s still important to keep your wits about you, remember that syllabus week isn’t technically part of term. You’ve just got back from the holidays, and the works only going to get more intense from now on in, so you might as well go out as possible why you don’t have too much on! Obviously, don’t get too exhausted, but 100% enjoy yourself while you can.