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prepping for uni

hey, should I be preparing for my uni course a few weeks before I go? like, is it necessary to read some books/articles?

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post by jreid24

hey, should I be preparing for my uni course a few weeks before I go? like, is it necessary to read some books/articles?

Have you received a welcome pack from your department? If you have, there could be a list of recommended reading for your course.

What have you studied in your A Levels/IB/BTEC/etc. and what degree are you doing?

Is it necessary? Not really. However, it's going to help if you're studying a very academic and challenging subject e.g. Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Reply 2

Johnny Valentine

You CAN prepare but don’t have to

If your course set reading before you attend then you SHOULD do that

If you want to refresh your knowledge of the subject by reviewing A level notes then you COULD do that

If you enjoy the subject, you may want to read independently but the books you choose and the subjects may not be a close match for any course modules but, hey, if you love the subject it’s all good right?

But no, you don’t have to prepare especially unless your uni asks you to

Reply 3

University of Kent

Official Rep

Original post by jreid24

hey, should I be preparing for my uni course a few weeks before I go? like, is it necessary to read some books/articles?

Hi @jreid24

Just echoing what others have said here, you can if you want to/if your uni has specifically given you reading that MUST be completed beforehand. But to be honest, the recommended reading lists are generally just to support you throughout the course, so they may ask you to go over some of it after a lecture, for example, to solidify what you've learned.

But generally, most uni courses start pretty basic to ease everyone in, as not everyone will come from the same academic background (like some people will/won't have an A-level in the subject .etc). So the first few months are normally not too dissimilar from A-level, so I wouldn't stress! It depends on the course, but most won't be intense from the get go - if anything, extra reading may just get you slightly ahead of others :smile:

Good luck with starting uni!!

Natalie
University of Kent Student Rep

(edited 8 months ago)

Reply 4

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by jreid24

hey, should I be preparing for my uni course a few weeks before I go? like, is it necessary to read some books/articles?

Hey there,

As a person who was really stressed with preparation for the university, I understand how you feel.
However, as was mentioned previously by other people, if your university has not reached out to you with the suggestion to read or do something beforehand, I would advise you to focus more on the researching social side of your university, such as societies that you want to join or the activities you want to take part in :rolleyes:

Let me know if you have any questions,

- Ilya :biggrin:

Reply 5

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post by jreid24

hey, should I be preparing for my uni course a few weeks before I go? like, is it necessary to read some books/articles?

Hey there @jreid24 !

As others have said, unless your university has reached out to you and given you anything specific to do then no. It's good you're thinking like this though because at university level you're supposed to be able to go out and independently study by yourself and they don't always specifically say to you 'read this' or 'make notes on this'. So eventually you will have to do prep work but unless they've said something to you you should be okay. You can get some books and start reading if you'd like to give yourself a headstart but it isn't essential unless they've asked.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU