Month: May 2018

My favourite society – ManSoc

Hi! I’m Katie, and I’m a first year student on BA Business Management. Today I’d like to tell you all about my favourite society that I’ve joined since I started university, which is ManSoc.

What is ManSoc?

ManSoc stands for Management Society. The main purpose of the Management Society is to ensure you have the ultimate experience at the Management School. The society is run by students for the benefit of students, and is open to all Management School students regardless of year of study.

Socials

A big part of ManSoc are the socials. Being a member of ManSoc means you get discount cards for many local bars and places to eat, which is a very handy thing to have when you’re on a student budget. We hold many bar crawls along West Street, which is the best street for a student night in Sheffield. Even if you don’t drink, these socials are such a great way to meet people and socialise!

Another highlight is the end of year ball, which is always amazing. This is a great chance to celebrate the end of the year with all your new friends you’ve made. This year’s ball was ‘Casino Royale’ themed, which gave us all a chance to dress up and have some fun.

Trips

ManSoc is famous for its trips away, and in the past we have been to places like Berlin, Prague and Budapest. The trips are always very popular and are heavily subsidised, meaning it’s good for a student budget! This year the trip to Budapest was £259 for flights and accommodation and the payments are timed with when your student loan comes so it shouldn’t hurt your bank account too much.

They also organise trips within the UK, which are always loads of fun – last year ManSoc joined Invasion and visited Nottingham for a night, which has gone down in history as the social of the year!

Sports

As well as social events and trips away, ManSoc has its own football, hockey and netball teams. I’m part of the ManSoc netball team, and through this I’ve made a lot of good friends. These teams are all mixed with students from all years of study.

The teams all play within the intermural league, which is the league within the University where all the teams play different departments. It’s a really good opportunity to make more friends with Management School students and play competitively or just do some exercise. You can also put it on your CV, which is a bonus! Each sport has several teams of different abilities, so whether you play to a high ability or have never played before you are welcome to join.

So why join?

ManSoc helped me to get involved with university life by making lots of friends on my course and getting involved with sports teams. It also gives you the chance to make friends with people on the same course as you, but in a different year – which is especially good in first year, as they can give you great advice!

Finally, it’s a great extracurricular thing to get involved with alongside your studies. Obviously the biggest part of coming to University is your course, but a lot of University life is also about the clubs and societies you get involved in.

If this society isn’t for you there are hundreds of others you can join, so you’ll definitely find something that you enjoy! There are academic ones such as Women in Business, Economics Society and Investment Society. But then there are many others such as Belly Dance Society, Poetry Society, and Chess Society. My advice would be to get involved!

Exam revision tips and tricks

Hi, I’m Katie, and I’m a BA Business Management student. Today’s blog is going to be on a topic that I’m sure has been on the mind of a lot of students recently – exam revision! Since the dreaded exam period starts in a couple of weeks, I thought I’d share some tips and tricks I’ve picked up throughout school and university.

Start revision early – You can never be too prepared, so make sure you start revision as early as you can. By doing revision little and often, you’ll hopefully be saved from cramming loads of information just before your exam.

Make a timetable – Making a timetable it helps you manage your time so much better. Assign time for each topic you’re going to revise but also timetable in your fun activities, breaks and social events. Bonus points for making it colourful!

Find a revision method that works for you – Everyone learns in different ways, whether it’s by making notes, spider diagrams, past papers, speaking out loud or reading. Personally, I found making notes and then trying to teach what I had learned to a family member or friend worked really well for me.

Use colour – There’s nothing worse than plain boring revision notes. By using coloured pens and highlighters, you’ll make revision a lot more exciting and your notes will suddenly be more memorable!

Get enough sleep – Sleep is so important. You cannot concentrate or revise properly without having a good night’s sleep. Get at least 6-8 hours, so that your brain is well rested and you can be ready for another day of revision when you wake up. There’s nothing worse than revising when all you want to do is nap!

Take breaks – Don’t sit for a whole day staring at your revision. You need to take regular breaks for your revision to be beneficial, as your brain can only take in so much information at a time! I have a very short attention span, so find that working for 30 minutes and then having a 5 minute break works for me. If you have a longer attention span, then you might be able to work for an hour and take a 20 minute break – find what works for you!

Food and drink – Without drinking enough water you will get headaches and you won’t be able to concentrate. Staying hydrated is so important for effective revision. Ditch the junk food over exam season! Try your best to eat healthy – eat lots of fruit and vegetables and brain foods like oily fish, nuts, seeds and blueberries.

Get up early – When you’re revising don’t waste your day! Set an alarm so you wake up – start revising at 9am instead of 1pm and you can reward yourself with more time to do other things like see your friends, going out for lunch and taking longer breaks.

Past papers – Personally, I found these are the best way of revising. They help with your time management in the exam, and there is no better way of testing your revision than checking how you can answer real exam questions.

Get enough exercise – Being active is so important! Going to the gym, playing a team sport or just taking the dog on a walk is such a good revision break.

Believe in yourself – Nerves before an exam are so normal but you have to believe in yourself! As long as you are prepared, once you get into the exam you will surprise yourself with how much you know. Be confident in yourself – you’ve got this!

My experience as an overseas student

Hi, I’m Yunzhou, and I am a BA Accounting and Financial Management student from China. Although I’m currently in my second year of study, I remember vividly what it was like to come to the UK as a first year student, and this is what I would like to talk to you about today.

Before I landed at London Heathrow, I was full of mixed emotions – scared, excited, nervous, and more. I was so happy to find that when I landed, instead of the uncertainty and loneliness that I thought I would feel, I found myself falling in love with the country immediately. Exploring London for the first time was incredible, and I was drawn to the grandeur of the Big Ben, the tranquillity of St James’ Park, the hustle and bustle of the financial hub and the jubilance of the theatres. I found myself surrounded by exciting cultural heritage, marking that finally I had arrived in the UK, the country I had seen thousands of times on films and TV.

For my first few weeks in the UK I communicated with locals through speaking with what English I had, and using wild gestures and sign language when my English wasn’t enough. When I got to Sheffield, I found I had a passion for exploring the city, and I fell in love with the parks, small independent shops and restaurants and finding out more about the history of the city. Most importantly, I was met with kindness in everyone I met.

One thing I love about the UK, and Sheffield in particular, is the multi-ethnic and multicultural environment! Here, you can find people of all cultures chatting and laughing together in bars and restaurants, and it is easy to find food and drink from all different cultures, which helps when you get homesick. Having been born and raised in rural China, I had limited knowledge what the UK would be like, although films and TV made me think it would be full of posh people drinking tea and moaning about the bad weather! However, when I eventually made it to the UK, I found that the British culture is so much more than this, which to me, shows the importance of exploring first-hand cultures and countries that you are interested in – they may hold great surprises for you!  My experience of being an overseas student in Sheffield has been a great inspiration, encouraging me to become a global citizen and plan where I can travel to after I finish my degree next year.  The world is a huge place, and thinking of my future fills me with excitement – I would recommend this experience to any student thinking of coming to study in Sheffield!