Help a mature student...

[TheDayAfterTomorrow]

Hi,

I start uni next work, mental health nursing and all based from home for now due to covid.

So far, I've bought a couple of notebooks, laptop, usb stick, pens, sticky notes.

Do I need anything else? We haven't been given a reading list yet

I already have a printer at home, I've got no idea what to expect as it's all home based

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated xxx

How (sort of) exciting!

I know nothing about your subject, but recall I did most of my postgrad reading either under the duvet or sprawled on the sofa with the kindle app on my phone. It felt much less like work that way. So - kindle/app. And ensure all your devices are as up to date as possible with plenty of storage space.

I didn't do this (because I'm a fool) but if you're not yet familiar with Bibliography software - now's your chance. You'll thank yourself come the final term.

Have you been able to make contact with others from your cohort? Even if you're not meeting up you should try to establish some sort of camaraderie. If you're lucky you'll learn almost as much over the coming year from student interaction as from your tutors - particularly at Masters level where everyone will already know something of value.

Good luck!

(Sorry, you didn't say Masters, my mistake, but the point still stands.)

Revision cards and a couple of files could be useful.

I would make sure you've got a physical space to work in, either somewhere you can leave your stuff out where it won't be disturbed or if you're using the kitchen table, making sure you have somewhere to store your stuff safely when it needs to be moved.

I wouldn't go too crazy on supplies and stationery as (1) you need to know how the course is going to be delivered (hard copy textbooks, pdfs, all online context, a combination, etc) first and (2) there are likely to be some options and until you know the answer to (1), you can't decide what will work best for you in terms of your learning style, etc.

A lots of this won't become clear until the course starts and the materials are released so I'd wait until you've got the lay of the land before planning how you're going to study and what other supplies you might need - you don't want to waste money on heaps of ring binders and dividers if it turns out they're delivering everything online and you find you actually don't need to print much!

I've done two years of a BA as a mature student via distance learning. The only thing I'd add to your list is at least one physical file/ring binder and set of dividers.
I found it really helpful at the beginning of each course/year to print out the summary of the syllabus and also any schedules/deadlines/calendars etc in hard copy.

Also it's sometimes hard to read everything online and annotate it or makes notes. Occasionally it was nice to be able to sit with a hard copy and highlighter pen!

Also, if you've got login details have a good nosey around the student portal parts of the uni website - what information there is, library resources, check you can use whatever online meeting software (Teams/ Zoom etc)

Good luck!

@PersephonePromotesEquanimity thank you!! I haven't met anyone yet, we have a virtual induction week next week but it all feels so impersonal and strange.

I've been on maternity and furlough for the last year so I was really looking forward to getting back out into the world and meeting new people face to face 😕

There isn't much direction from the university as yet, hopefully there will be soon x

another mature student here too, the things I needed most were a decent electronic filing system and ways of organising digital info. So before you start, learn to use eg Endnote (referencing), OneNote, if you're at Uni for the first time do a bit of reading on avoiding plagiarism, how to read and think critically - books like the Palgrave study skills series are really good. The Open University has some good pages on reading critically if you google them.

Also if possible a quiet or tidy space to work with enough room for your laptop (decent spec - does it meet uni tech requirements? headset and mic necessary?) and some books / papers spread out. Is your screen big enough to eg write a document and read off a pdf or ebook at the same time? If not and you;ve not a 13 inch screen or less, you may end up constantly switching between screens and it'll drive you nuts - think about getting a second screen as it will likely save your sanity and certainly help you to work more efficiently. It was a game changer for me.

Good luck

Hi OP,

I did nurse training as a mature student (adult branch, no longer in practice) and have supported students through their training. I just wanted to say ‘good luck’ and use the university support systems and support your fellow students. Training and practice can get stressful and the emotional labour involved shouldn’t be underestimated.

As for stationery, I’d add a planner/diary to your list. Being able to write your timetable, deadlines and practice placement shifts on paper is really useful. Some people use their phones but honestly, having it written down is really useful and can’t accidentally get deleted!

Lined paper, highlighters and folders were in DD's basket last week.

Hi @TheDayAfterTomorrow not too much advice here as I am doing the same! Mature student starting a mental health nursing degree. Sorry your uni haven't given you much yet, we have our reading list and timetables. Mainly online with a few workshops on campus.

I think a planner is well worth it, easier to use for me than apps etc... I've studied before so good filing systems, revision cards, access to quiet areas (library, home, wherever.)

I have already met a couple of other students as we have a class WhatsApp group and arranged a socially distanced meet up. About half our cohort is on there, we found each other on the uni Facebook page or the mature students uni Facebook page, so might be worth seeing you could post on your unis page to get to know people.

Good luck! I'm getting quite nervous now, but excited too!

I run mostly paperless (doing another healthcare degree) and I'd second cards to make flashcards with. I have an iPad and Apple Pencil I tend to use for drawing diagrams etc - then I collate them all together with my lecture notes, embedded videos from powerpoints etc into one master set of everything linked to a particular topic. Other friends use a notebook for each subject (I tend to do that for revision and mind mapping the shit out of things and stuff) or one notebook they write things in and then file onward - it's what works for you (and I know filing later doesn't happen with me).

Might be able to find your reading lists if you trawl the library website with your course code if you've got it - I sniped a load of second hand copies of things off Amazon doing that last year in advance of going back. We don't tend to need timetables as we have a uni app which has them on - this year I've bought myself a day to page diary to plan out what I'm doing when because of the online aspect to things, normally I'd just make a quick to-do list on my laptop (syncs to my phone and iPads).

I'd second the split screen thing - I use a macbook and tend to use my iPad as a second screen which is an amazing feature to be able to do.

These replies are so, so helpful! Thank you so much!! I've been in my own little bubble for the past year so this all feels so new and daunting!!

Depending on how sociable you are, you could be the person to set up a Whatsapp for your group. Very useful when you have an essay panic and you just need someone to give a bit of advice or chat about the course. It will be even more useful this year as face to face is going to be so limited. Good luck with your studies!

YYY to a WhatsApp group! Mind was a great source of support.

I'd defo second having a look at the reading list and seeing what you can grab off ebay / Amazon, I did this on my MSc and sold some of the books the following year for a tidy profit . I really like reading from paper rather than an e-book, especially this year just to get off the screen. That said, you could even start watching some lectures on Youtube for your subject or key topics.

I had a wall planner with all my hand-in dates, seminars etc for first year but I used an app on my phone after that. I've still got an at-a-glance beautifully coloured in A4 list of key dates and deadlines on my wall though which is really handy. I have a picture of it on my phone, which I refer to more than the app!