To say that the last couple of days have been manic would be a great understatement; from last-minute changes to the A-Level appeal system to the UCAS website crashing at 8am yesterday, it is as if the universe wished for every A-Level student alike to be left on tenterhooks. As it turns out, I will be going to University after all this year and had a pleasant surprise in store for me on opening my results - not bad! Now that the celebrations are over, it's time to think about what's next and I thought it would be a perfect time to share what I'm doing to prepare with you today. If you too received results yesterday, or are receiving them next week, I truly hope you get the grades you deserve. In saying that, don't forget that your grades do not form your entire identity - particularly this year when it seems to be a lucky dip of sorts. There are always alternatives and I am a great believer of the phrase "rejection is redirection". Nevertheless, let's dive straight into this post!
​G x 

At the beginning of lockdown, I made sure to have a brief look at the modules for my first-choice university and begin reading the set texts to see which modules seem like a good fit for me. Admittedly, however, this reading has been rather casual and now really is the time to crack on and get those texts read at least once. My course also boasts a lot of flexibility in that you can also choose to study Portuguese alongside Spanish; for that, I am also going to experiment with the language and see if it is something that I would enjoy taking alongside Spanish.

Needless to say, my Spanish skills are getting noticeably rusty having not gone to school in five months and studying the language intensively. To combat this, I have recently begun to review vocabulary daily on Anki - which is admittedly nowhere near as good as the former Long-Term Learning feature on Quizlet, but I suppose we have to make do! Similarly, I have begun to listen to more Spanish music again and I am going to make it a habit again of listening to the news every morning while getting ready. Luckily, my university has also emailed me a grammar book to start 'familiarising' myself with (whatever that means) so I've already been going through the first couple of sections casually and making notes!

Having sacrificed a job in order to do as best as possible in my A-Level exams, now is the time I want to finally get some professional experience - particularly given that the vast majority of my university experience will take place online! As a result, I will be tweaking my CV and Linkedin Account to make it as competitive as possible; in fact, I've recently been reading Lucy Clayton and Steven Haines' "How To Go To Work" and I've already picked up a couple of tips that I know I'll be implementing. 

For those that may not be aware, Student Bank accounts tend to have quite a few extra perks when compared to a bog-standard current account; be it a free Railcard or a 0% interest overdraft. Now that I know I will be attending university in September, it's time to create that dreaded Excel spreadsheet and compare what each bank offers to see what the best deal is for me and proceed from there. 

This would not be a post about preparing for university without the mention of shopping; after all, we have so many items lying around at home that we take for granted and that aren't provided at university: laundry baskets, washing up sponges, duvet covers - the whole lot! I must say, this is probably the most exciting thing about preparing for university and I cannot wait to share what it is that I will do with my room once it is complete. 

I'm sure there may be a thing or too that I missed so, particular if you're already at university, let me know what you're doing or did indeed do to prepare. I hope you enjoyed this post and as per usual, leave me any other thoughts in the comments down below.