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Coming to University through Clearing

If you’re thinking about coming to university through clearing, read on to learn about my experience of applying to Nottingham through clearing, and how that impacted my preparation for starting university. Research the University It’s important to make sure that the university and location is somewhere you can see yourself living for the next three …

Best Ways to Relax during Quarantine

It’s hard to keep calm and carry on during quarantine. As a third year student with deadlines approaching, it’s easy to feel stressed in the best of circumstances. With the added anxiety from these unprecedented times we find ourselves in, trying to study can seem overwhelming. Each of us has had to dramatically alter the …

Dealing with ‘Writer’s Block’ During Deadlines

It’s that grey time of year again – amid all of the festivities and Christmas lights in Nottingham, many of us are getting our heads down in Hallward and trying to bash out an essay which we should have realistically started a few weeks ago. Sometimes, having a deadline looming over you can really boost …

Why ‘Blue Monday’ is a myth? (and other optimistic things)

Over a decade ago, psychologist Cliff Arnall coined the term ‘Blue Monday’ to mark the third Monday of January, also known as the most depressing day of the year. According to a formula he published, factors such as grim weather conditions, failed new year’s resolutions, and post-holiday period debt contributed to making this day the …

Handling Academic Setbacks

With exam season just around the corner, I recently felt an unfamiliar wave of anxiety coming my way. Some introspection revealed that my panic was most probably a reaction to the academic setbacks I faced last year. From growing up in a culture that heavily focused on top grades to never having faced academic failure …

Self-Care Saturday: Taking Care Of Yourself At University

Hey guys! Guess who’s back and ready to talk to you all about the most underrated aspect of university life: self-care? After spending years as an over-achiever and perfectionist, it was natural for me to want to be the best version of myself at university. However, it became way too easy to mistake being the …

How To Make Halls Feel More Like Home

With the start of the new academic year, a lot of you will be moving into halls for the first time ever! As exciting as that exclamation mark makes it seem, the move is rarely anything but time consuming, messy, and tiring. Trading in your comfy bedroom back home for the shoebox that is uni …

Throwback Tuesday: Placements During High School

While I was scrolling through social media as I do much too often these days, I came across a message from a former mentor that I met two summers ago. She is a paediatric surgeon who used to work at the Frontier Lifeline Hospital in Chennai, India. And it is under her guidance that I …

Dear incoming first years, here’s what to expect

University is supposed to be the ‘time of your life’. It’s what everyone always says. And it’s probably what you wholeheartedly believe as you spend your last summer preparing to be a freshman this fall. I bet you’ve already heard of all the people you’ll meet and places you’ll go. The things you’ll see and …

Why I’m Voting Labour On 8th June

At the moment, all anyone seems to talk about is the General Election. I for one, am growing extremely tired of it all; you scroll down Facebook and  it’s one party bashing another, or a nasty article about a politician. It’s very easy to be swept up by headlines and accept the propaganda that’s continually …