Preparing for university

Yep, it’s that time of year again, the air is getting the colder, summer tans are starting to fade and its back to the books and trying to find a parking spot.

We all knew summer was not going to be here forever so just put away the short-shorts and bring out the cardigans. Whether it’s your first year coming to MRU, or you’ve been here for a while and just need a degree already, you will still need some essential items to get you through the year.

Here are five things we recommend getting to help you in your post-secondary journey.

1. An alarm

We all have smartphones now and all of them have the alarm apps on them but would recommend splurging the ten bucks and getting a real alarm clock — especially if you have 8 am classes (not sure how anyone thinks that’s a good idea). Get the one that is separate from your phone and set it far away from your bed to manage getting up in the morning. An even better alarm would be the one that rolls away from you. It’s pretty ingenious really, and that way you won’t (well hopefully) go back to sleep after. If you somehow can catch that alarm clock and still go back to sleep then you got some skills and there are many other smart alarm clocks made to keep you awake.

Do yourself a favour. Buy a mini stapler and plenty of staples and keep it in your bag. Do not let it out of your sight. It will save your academic life someday. Photo credit: Hannah Cawsey

2. Caffeine

Most MRU students are probably not “morning people” and those early morning classes can probably make you press the snooze button a few times or just drank a bit too much last night (we’ve all been there) and you will probably need caffeine to get you through the day.

Whether it’s a coffee or a tea, MRU has coffee places all over so you can always get your fix or just buy the instant coffee and find hot water. Just make sure not to drink too much, you wouldn’t want to be sitting in class with the caffeine jitters, people might start to wonder.

3. Agenda

Managing all your classes can be a daunting task with all the assignments and the deadlines, so have an agenda to keep track. Get an agenda and use it as it will help you feel less overwhelmed with any upcoming deadlines. Luckily the bookstore gives away free agendas courtesy of SAMRU, take one and start to organize all your homework.

No matter how far away that paper may seem put it into the planner and start preparing in advance so that you wont have to pull all-nighters. Set goals every week to help you not feel stressed and procrastinate less.

The earlier you start implementing good studying and time management skills the better your time at university will be. Those skills will also transfer into real life and getting and keeping a good job.

4. Sanitizer

Almost everyone has read MRU Confessions and is now aware of what is really happening on the school ground and apparently learning is not the highest on the list of priorities. According to the page there is a whole lot of nasty going on all around us and the one thing that it should teach us is to bring sanitizer. Buy a pack of the wipes, the spray, and the gel, just get it all and use it, often. Everyone has become a little paranoid about who sat in that couch before, and who did what where. One thing that we could agree on is that no one should bring a black light to school; I think that sight would frighten a lot of us. Sanitizer is cheap so stock up.

5. Relax

Not something that you can carry in your backpack really but something to keep in mind when you are at school. University can be stressful and we all need to take breaks and relax a bit, put down the books once in a while and have a beer at the Hub. Try to enjoy your time at school because all that’s waiting at the end of it is adulthood, which is not all its cracked up to be. Make new friends, join school clubs and know there is more to do at school then just studying, have fun.

On the last note don’t forget to buy some pens and paper and stuff. The new school year is upon us so just try and enjoy it as best you can.