First year over

I made it through the entire first year at Oxford, and I think I now have got a fairly good idea of what studying at such a prestigious school is about. I got past all three terms, Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity, and most importantly, the final exams – Prelims.

Our tutor congratulated us on the well-deserved summer holidays and told us that this was the first (and probably also the last) time he recommended that we have a rest and not study during the holidays. Let me sum up and rate the full academic year in this post.

Looking back, I have to admit that I struggled somewhat in the first trimester getting used to a different teaching system in a foreign language. I was unable to make good use of lectures – it was hard for me to stay focused, as the topics were often “dry”, and it also took me some time to be able to digest the “salvos” of formulae and facts spewed at me in English. It just made me try to communicate and socialize with Britons more, to improve my English as soon as I could and eliminate this barrier. I guess I should mention that I had never lived in an English-speaking country before. I also started playing volleyball for the university and working out at the local gym, so I ended up with even less time available.

I felt more secure about how I managed the language, tutorials and lab work in the second term. As a result, I took up even more sports. Two volleyball practices a week, matches on weekends, three gym workouts, and one ice hockey practice kept me busy to the fullest. I managed school at the cost of not sleeping.

During the Easter holidays, I had to “roll up my sleeves” and start to carefully prepare for the upcoming exams. That gave me a good “head start” in the third and final term, so I was able to go on at the same rate and learn even more intensively. The volleyball season ended, and I quit ice hockey. Five workouts in a week and studying regularly in my room was an ideal mix to stay active, get enough sleep, and manage preparation for the final exams as well.

The final exams for the first year at Oxford take place all together at the end of the third trimester. For my program, Materials Science, this meant four three-hour stints on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the seventh week when we were tested on everything we had been taught in the first year. Such a concentration of exams is obviously quite stressful. I have to admit that the two-week period prior to the exams was very psychically demanding for me too. At any rate, the change in my schedule described above and the restriction of other activities helped me to manage it all eventually. In the end, my exam grade was “first” (A) in each part, with quite a high overall average and honors, and I was more than happy about that.

The entire first year at university in the UK was an almost indescribable experience for me, and I am really happy for my determination to undergo everything I have described, because this sort of lifestyle – of maximum productivity – suits me. Now it’s time to get ready mentally for the second year, which is said to be much more difficult than the first one.