Exciting times!

Hi everyone, hope you're all well and that exam prep is coming along nicely..!

There's some pretty exciting things coming up for this little blog of mine. Firstly, UCAS Connect are going to be giving the layout a bit of a facelift soon which is definitely something to look forward to and secondly, I am being interviewed by a writer who would like me to contribute to an article that will be published in Illume Magazine (the UCAS magazine). Make sure you all keep checking back regularly to take a look at the new layout etc. 

I have just come back from having coffee with my friends and we were sat around having a minor freak out about what we're going to do when we graduate because this year is going by so quickly. We came to the conclusion that we basically have no idea what we want to do, in that we want to do everything. Very promising! But the post-Christmas break freak out appears to have calmed down and everyone seems to have settled really well and are looking forward to year two already. 

I stuck to my choir New Year's resolution by the way! The Cathedral concert is this Saturday, rehearsals have been pretty intense but brilliant fun. I have also been doing a bit of writing for the Uni newspaper, I wrote an article about BBC 3 which you can read here. 

But I can't stress enough how the A-level / IB hell that you're going through right now is completely worth it - even though we all moan about uni a lot! So keep revising and you'll do just fine. In case any of you need a reminder, here's a link back to my guide to avoiding procrastination.

Also, if you're coming to Kent in September, I'm hoping to be on the Welcome Week team so I'll see y'all then! 

India xx

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone, firstly Happy New Year, I hope you've all had a lovely time with friends and family over winter break. I remember being really excited/nervous this time last year because you can finally say that your exams are all this year and that you should be starting uni this year! It's equally the best yet scariest feeling ever. Quick reminder, the deadline for applications for most courses is the 15th of January so make sure you get everything sorted on time, the key dates for your applications are here. You're welcome.

As for my experience of Uni, I had finally settled in to a nice routine before leaving for Christmas break, so I'm looking forward to going back and starting that up again. I have decided to throw myself into the societies that I signed up to way back in freshers' week because I haven't put much (any) effort that way so far. It has taken me this long to realise that I get a lot more done when I'm busy and that the solution is therefore to fill up my schedule properly. So my "Uni-based New Year's Resolution" list is as follows:

• Procrastinate less - yes, that is still a problem. If you haven't already, give this post a read, it's my guide to beating procrastination. I should read it again myself. 

• Practice playing piano more - because I have convinced myself that once I graduate I won't have time to and the music facilities at Kent are amazing, it seems a shame not to make the most of it. I'm also joining the University Chorus which is something I was going to do as soon as I arrived but never got round to it (because I procrastinated...).

• Write more - working in media after university doesn't just happen by accident, so I'm going to use my time wisely and get involved with the university newspaper as well as blogging here and doing more freelance work.

My non-university related New Year's resolution is to complete the Super Sprint event in the London Triathlon in aid of the Scoliosis Campaign Fund. I signed up for it on a whim on New Years Eve, as you do... More on that soon probably!

My advice to applicants would be to take this year as it comes, it may not be the most pleasant with exams and anxious waits for the results, but make the most of your time at home with your friends and family before the excitement of uni in the autumn. Speaking for myself, the last few months of 2013 - once I was at uni - were best and more than made up for the stressed out months that came beforehand.

Good luck with your applications, please let me know how you're getting on, it's lovely reading your comments, most of which don't get published because I reply to them "behind the scenes"!  If you have any questions, let me know and most importantly: don't forget the deadline...

Time flies when you're having fun!

Sat here writing this now it's hard to believe that freshers' was over two months ago, time's flying by which is both good and bad, it's good because it means that things are going well, and it's bad because I don't want this term to finish and have to go home for a month!

So far it's been the strangest experience of my life, my friends and I spend most of the time moaning about how little money we have, how cold it is, how much work we have to do and how cooking for ourselves is really really annoying.... but we all (well, most of us) love it! 

So far there has been a lot of laughter and a few tears too, mostly prior to essay deadlines when it suddenly hits you that 2000 words is actually quite a lot of words and they all need to be intelligently put together so that your essay makes sense. It's hard. And then you remember that you chose to put yourself through this and therefore 'just get on with it'. It's all good. Then there's the joys of MHRA referencing - nightmare - but it's worth it, honestly! And because, as much as some of us hate to admit it, not having your family around can be tough at times.

If I remember rightly, this time last year I was waiting anxiously for offers, or was just about to send off my personal statement. You've therefore probably already made your choices about where you want to go and what you want to study - huge step, well done! But just know, and I'm talking from experience, that if you end up somewhere completely different and studying another course, it's still amazing. Looking back I was far too set in my ideas of what I wanted and I hadn't given other things a chance, I'm so happy that I got into Kent through clearing because it suits me quite nicely... oh, and I managed to change onto American Studies once I was here anyway! 

Anyway, next on my list of things to do is start looking for accommodation for next year, which sounds like an odious task and I'm really not looking forward to it but it needs to be done. My main criteria is good central heating... Did I mention that we moan about the cold a lot?

If you have any questions about my time at uni so far or about the application process please comment below and I'll get back to you ASAP!

India x

Tomorrow's the day!

Hi everyone! As promised, I'm taking the blog with me to uni! I've moved in to my (amazing) off-campus accommodation so I'm sat in my room right now, tapping away at my laptop - à la Carrie Bradshaw... and am going up to the campus tomorrow morning to enroll - meep! 

I have a housemate moving in upstairs as I'm typing this and another who's already moved in. The last two will be arriving at some point over the weekend as far as I know: so exciting.

I had a meeting with the DDSS today to have a chat about what they could do for me with my physical and mental health problems. They were so incredibly helpful and we have an amazing plan set in place and all I need to do is go to see my new GP to get the plan set in place. I would truly recommend telling the staff in advance if you have any issues because they'll make your life so much easier.

I'm feeling SO exhausted after moving around so much in this past couple of weeks that I have no idea what I'm going to do this week other than catch up on sleep and stop eating so much junk food... So partying isn't at the top of my priority list except for two events I'm not missing out on, including the MTV Freshers' Ball - yuhuh!

Picture of me and my trolley full of food - and an ironing board...

Anywaaaay - I shall probably post some photos from tomorrow's enrollment, sounds like the entire campus will be super busy, I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone!!

As usual, let me know how you're all getting on, or if you have any questions about applying for next year: drop a comment bellow!

I xx

I'm in the UK

Hey everyone! So, I arrived in England a couple of days ago and I've been busy buying all of my stuff for uni... So much fun :D 

Anyway, I'll be living off campus this year so I'm going to go and drop my stuff off at the house tomorrow and I'll move in properly next thursday. I can't get over how much I'm looking forward to it...

Anyway, at some point I will get round to writing a little guide for this next year's applicants, but I'll probably take a little while to get round to it.

Are you all ready for uni? Or are you applying to start in 2014?

PLOT TWIST!

Having promised myself that I wouldn't put myself through the supposed "hell" that is clearing, I decided to live life dangerously and go for it. On results day the newspapers were covered in A level news and clearing details as were all the news channels and so on.... I decided to take the plunge at that I'd really regret it if I didn't. 

So I grasped my courage with both hands and set out gathering phone numbers, course codes, email addresses and so on and set to work on trying my hardest to get myself a place starting in September. After a handful of negative responses, I decided that I'd wait to hear back from Kent who operate their clearing system via an online form. 

After a little while, I received an email from Kent, saying that they unfortunately couldn't offer me a place on law, but that they would happily accept me on Comparative Literature. Ok. Now what? So I took a minute to calm myself down and logged onto the Kent website to have a look at the course content, which looks super interesting, and there's still a decent link with my love for America and all things USA and there are study abroad opportunities which I'm really excited about.

I gave the head of Comparative Literature a call - she was so nice - and asked her if she could change my offer to Comparative Literature with a year abroad, which she happily did. I've gladly accepted this offer and am just waiting to get my UCAS track notification once the university have processed my decision.

What a roller coaster of a year, huh? I hope you're all doing ok following results day, and as I've said time and time before: everything happens for a reason.

If there's anyone who'll be at Kent (Canterbury campus) in September, don't hesitate to comment bellow and I really look forward to meeting you!!

Not this year

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted for so long! I just got my answer from Sussex yesterday, it's a no for more reasons than one, part grades, part other stuff that I won't go into, but basically they're cool for me to reapply next year which is great.

So now I'm just working out what I'm going to do academics-wise next year and planning out some traveling to make this 'blip' worth it. I'm feeling really positive and I have a vague idea of what I'll be doing but I need to make sure it's the right thing before plunging into it head first!

I'll keep on posting here anyway, so if you want to keep up with the blog, make sure you bookmark it or something.

Have a great summer everyone and all the best with your results!