Tips to get you through your final year at university

Planning your Dissertation:

If you intend to do a dissertation in your 3rd year, take the summer break as an opportunity to plan as much as possible. Having a mind-mapping session about potential areas of research, making a start on formulating a reading list, and even better, picking a topic can save you the leg work when term starts up again. 

Start your dissertation research

You’ll find that soon into the autumn semester, your supervisors will expect an area of research from you, and ideally want to know the format of your dissertation research, so if you can at least make a start on this now, it will free some time up later on in the year.

Get your reading list sorted

Preparing for my literature review took a lot more time than I was expecting, so if you can make a start on this, by compiling a broad dissertation reading list (and reference any sources as you go), you’ll have a much more solid idea of what is already well researched in the field, and where any gaps are. 

Take a look at peer review journals/articles/books on related topics to get an idea of your dissertation before you start it. Depending on your university, you may be required to produce a proposal as part of your dissertation submission, so if you really want to get your idea nailed down, it may also be worth your time to create a mini-proposal so that when you’re allocated a supervisor, that you can hit the ground running straight away if you already know what you’re doing it on and can finalise your research proposal a lot quicker than if you hadn’t done that research over the summer.

Find example dissertations

I’d also take the opportunity to find a couple of past dissertation examples (if you can get your hands on them), particularly ones graded 2:1’s or firsts, to get a better idea of the format, structure and expectations for the write-up.

Even if you are stuck with what topic you want to write about, having a range of ideas and options to discuss with your supervisor will help you to decide on which direction you want to go. 

Part-time Job/ Saving Up

Depending on your financial situation, you may find (if it’s possible) that upping your hours or working as a seasonal temp throughout the summer so you have enough cash to get you through final year, will help to give you more freedom and time to study when you need to during final year.

I worked as a seasonal temp on the run-up to Christmas until early January, and although 20 hours was difficult to juggle, it meant that I only had to work for a couple of months, instead of working throughout the year, leaving me with plenty of time to do my uni work.

How to Manage Stress and Maintain Good Mental Health in Final Year

Looking back on final year, I will admit that it was difficult near the end of the year when all of my deadlines were due, however, so long as you are organised and keep in touch with your lecturers for feedback and help as you need it, your final year needn't be much more difficult than other years. 

Unlike my first and second year, where I lived away in Birmingham, in my final year I lived at home and commuted by train every day. This new routine meant that I often had to get up stupidly early to catch the train, and so I found that by getting into a healthy sleeping routine, that I wasn’t caught off guard when my alarm went off, and that I felt refreshed. In previous years at uni, my sleeping schedule was all over the place and I always felt tired, however, by consciously going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, I never felt sluggish and my motivation was much higher.

Exercising for your mental health

Regular exercise is something that I’d highly recommend for managing stress and maintaining good mental health. Although I didn’t have a gym membership, getting my 10,000 steps in and going for evening walks (particularly during lockdown) really helped me to keep a clear head and take a break from constantly thinking about my uni work. 

If you can, always try to organise and schedule exercise into your routine and take a break! I guarantee you’ll feel better for it, and will likely be more productive when back at your desk.

A valuable skill, if you haven’t already by third year, is to find out when you work best, whether you’re more productive in the morning, afternoon or evening and use that to your advantage. I’ve always known that I’m much working in the morning rather than the evening, so I would always get the hardest bits done first thing, such as on my train to uni, but always used the train journey back home, and once my family were back from work as downtime and would start afresh the next day!

Work your uni day like a 9-5

If you can get into a work-like routine, I’d urge you to treat your uni work like you would a working day and allocate set time each day, such as 9-5, exclusively for your uni work and then take your evenings (and weekends if possible) off to have some downtime or to squeeze in part-time work. 

If you do find yourself getting stressed with uni work, I’d also recommend you make the most of your lecturer's office hours and get comfortable asking them, or your personal tutor, for help as they are there to support you and want you to perform at your best!

To stay sane, try not to bombard yourself with too much work and get comfortable with giving yourself breaks when it starts to feel too much rather than burnout completely. It’s amazing how much work you can get done in small manageable chunks, whilst still allowing yourself the time to hang out with friends or exercise.

If you find yourself unable to make headway on a particular assignment (providing it's not too close to the deadline), take a step away from it and go back to it after a little while or maybe even the next day with a clear look at it, and you may find yourself more productive by doing so!

If you’ve always left deadlines until the last minute, do yourself a favour in final year and make yourself a schedule to map out when your work is due, set yourself mini-deadlines to meet and keep to them the best you can!

Final year will fly by! So take the opportunities you are faced with and make the most of your last few terms as before you know it, you'll be filling out graduate job application!