The first fall semester is coming to an end. There has been a lot to learn, not only about the topics talked about in class but also about navigating the hectic student life. That is why I decided to gather some tips for the students at the Metropolia Business School on how to survive student life.

The hardest thing for me to learn this semester has been time management. You won’t survive until graduation without planning your studies ahead carefully. A planner or a calendar is a must, whether it is an old-school day planner or a digital calendar app on your phone. I have found the digital one to work better for me since you can usually set the app to give you reminders about your important dates, such as deadlines. A broader planning tool is updating your PDP regularly – doing this will help you set goals and keep working towards them. You should also create a realistic study plan at the beginning of a new semester. This way the deadlines won’t creep up on you and you won’t have to do all the work for several different courses at the end of the semester.

A matter that is probably on almost everybody’s minds, especially during higher education studies, is money. That is why you should take the time to investigate all the student benefits, allowances, and discounts you are entitled to. School and organizations such as Kela and YTHS offer a lot of services, most of which are free. The most known benefits are probably the library, where you can loan most of the course books for free, and the lunch discount at student restaurants. However, you should do some research on less-known student benefits, because the list is long. Another great way to save on your spending is becoming a member of a student union – you will have to pay the membership fee, but the membership will pay itself back in the form of benefits such as free gym membership at Zone sports, discounts on different event tickets, etc.

The last but definitely not the least important point I have to make is about a student’s social life. Schoolwork can feel daunting at times, which is why you should try and make a friend (or a few) in class because studying together is way more fun! You can also share study tips with classmates since we’re all going through the same challenges. You should also remember to recharge and have fun – student life is not all about deadlines. A good way to find out about all the happenings around and outside of school is to follow your school’s and student unions’ social media accounts. That way you won’t miss out on all the fun!

As an inspiration for this blog post, I read the following article:
https://www.crown.edu/nook/20-tips-every-freshman-needs-know-survivecollege/