Term 2, Year 1

The second term is much (in Cambridge terms!) more relaxed than the first, as we gained an extra 4 hours of free time due to each of the 3h p/week modules dropping down to 2 (International was always only 2 hours). This proved to be invaluable: not only did this mean that I was able to start attending rowing sessions, and having the odd lie-in, but it also garnered valuable study time in the afternoons after lectures and seminars.

I decided to try and get a head start on assessing the work, so that I'd have more time over the break rather than having to make my notes then, so I tried my hardest to review notes on the same day that we'd covered them. It really is important to also have some leisure time, which was why I was really pleased that the time change allowed me to start rowing properly - we even managed to go down to London to compete in WeHORR which was a real experience.

I feel as if I've gotten to a stage where I'm finally feeling that I'm understanding the work, but time-pressures are really kicking in. Next term we'll not only be trying to revise for the impending exams, but also still having lectures right up to the wire. I haven't had to cope with this sort of thing before, so I'm hoping that I'll still be able to somehow memorise the content we're being taught, whilst also learning the ones I've been looking at over this break.

We still don't know when the exams are scheduled for, aside from that they're due to start from the 25th of May and run until the 10th of June at the latest. I really hope that we're lucky enough to get a day or two between exams, and don't have two on the same day, as I know how draining that can be!

Obviously I'm a bit nervous about the exams, as there really is a lot to memorise, but I'm confident that everything will begin to fall into place. Here's hoping!

Term 1, Year 1

At the end of Michaelmas, I can certainly appreciate why they have eight week terms here! It's not so much the amount of work (although there is a lot), but rather that the intensity of the way they teach here really gets to you. Having three lectures a day four out of five days a week immediately removes a good chunk of the day from you being able to do anything else, and in weeks where you have supervisions in the afternoon, you often only have an hour or two hours in the middle to do some work.

The toughest part is finding the time to review what you've learnt in lectures whilst also preparing for your supervisions. Even though they're on a fortnightly basis, it's a balancing act between trying to get the work done well in advance, and then risking forgetting it, or frantically doing something the night before. I tend to err on the side of the former, as I'm certainly not one of those people who stays awake until 2am writing an essay (although there are certainly some here!)

Sometimes it can be difficult to find time to do extra-curricular things, but you have to make sure that you do have some time to yourself. I certainly appreciate the weekends, as it means I can have a lie-in!

I think everyone is glad to be getting away from here for the break, as it's an extremely pressurised environment. We'll obviously all be busy over the holidays, but sometimes you just need to physically remove yourself from a place in order to get away from its 'atmosphere'. Even so, it'll be lovely to go home for a while.

Merry Christmas!