Undergraduate! What next
An aspiring undergraduate, Chioma was gradually slipping into depression. Few weeks after missing out on the meritorious admission list of her choice University. Her mum came complaining that she would no longer eat nor speak to anybody, as she spent most of her time indoors, grieving.
I asked to speak to her privately and luckily, my request was granted. Few minutes later, the 17-year old sat staring into my face with gloom… “My friends are all settling into the University already!. I haven’t even gotten admission, they are all going to see me as a never do well”… she muttered in between sobs that seemed to have been long suppressed. I was heartbroken. If it were possible to buy her this admission in the market, I would have emptied my savings for her. We had a little conversation afterwards, which I guessed had little or no effect, as she reportedly went back into seclusion.
It was on a Tuesday morning, when I received the good news; Her name showed up in the recently released supplementary admission list. Suffice to say that the news gave her a much needed uplift. Fast track to two months later, we had crossed paths on my way back from work and I was particularly eager to hear her exciting stories about school. I was however, a bit disappointed. That school is not funny at all, she whined.” I’m just so tired; I wish I could just stop. I also wish this admission came at a later time when I’m more ready”.
What could be the reason for this sudden drop in excitement? A lot of fresh Nigerian undergraduates face this same scenario every year; they assume this new “status quo” equals better life. Unfortunately, this would be the first time these individuals would be left to take up the responsibility of enrolling themselves in school. For a lot of them, it would be their first adulthood experience- The sudden realization that there is no parental assistance. These “freshers” become even more confused as they are left to little assistance from well-meaning volunteers on campus.
One can attribute this to physical, emotional and physiological unpreparedness for the new environment. This can be seen to have adverse effect on the students as they perform rather poorly in general at the beginning of the year, regardless of the many fearful sermons they receive from older students about the risks of failing.
First, start checking out the proposed University you hope to attend, right after your post UTME. The period of writing post UTME should serve as a perfect survey period. What’s the better option for accommodation? Is the school hostel accommodation suitable for you?
A lot of students and parents fail to put environmental factors into consideration while making decisions for accommodation in the first year. It is already generally assumed that every freshman should live in the school hostel to help them get accustomed to the school environment. However, the state and conditions of most of these hostels are nothing to write home about. A certain federal government institution reportedly recorded power outage for nearly two months before they ensued on a protest to get it sorted out.
Some schools have no provision for kitchens and may prohibit the use of gas cookers. Hence, students with respiratory health issues may have a very uncomfortable time settling in, as they would be forced to keep roaming the school after school hours, just to escape the menace of stoves and improper ventilation. Therefore, get to find out which options are most suitable for achieving your maximum study output.
As an aspiring undergraduate, keep photocopies of everything and be sure not to misplace original documents. Get files for everything and keep duplicate copies at places where they easy to retrieve. Why is this necessary? Most times, freshers tend to misplace a lot of documents during the registration process; some others keep just one copy of very important documents. In any event of fire outbreaks, these documents are lost and become major issues when their program is completed.
If you are an undergraduate or freshman, befriend the older students in your department, especially students in their second year. This is a necessary survival tip. Experience they say is the best teacher. Asides helping with advice on rather difficult issues common to freshmen, they could also provide educational materials like past question papers and guide the students on necessary registration problems.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions at every point of confusion. In a bid to prove not to be a novice, a lot of freshers miss out on important information,.
Dear fresher and aspiring undergraduate, ask, read every notice. It’s just for one year; it won’t hurt. Get yourself accustomed to your academic adviser and ensure you ask every question or confusion you have.
Also endeavor to take down notes and gather important materials. Because of the general rush and excitement in attending lectures, a lot of freshers live for the thrill of walking up and down the university in backpacks. They announce boastfully, that they have a lecture to attend, without actually taking away the information needed from the lecture. Some others bank on the availability of other’s notebook to cover up during the examination preparation period.
For anyone who is aiming at finishing at the very top, the first step to achieving this begins on the first day. Attitude to school work will always reflect in grades. It is therefore of utmost importance to start well and on the right track.
A preplanned life they say is a preplanned success. Life happens very fast in school and so does time fly. Keep the excitement going, enjoy your first year in school by being ready with these few insights, to be forewarned, is always to be forearmed, Don’t be like Chioma!
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A very inspiring and motivational story, the problem most times is even from our parents, they fail to understand the pain there children suffer in school, they will tell u, is not that same university we all went to ,forgetting time changes and not everybody can adapt, all in the name to protect your child.