The daily routine of a student is always changing. From going to lectures to spending time with friends and experiencing a new part of the city, you’ll never be bored when you’re studying in the UK.
So what is student life like over here? Let’s explore what a typical day for a university student might look like.
Waking up
The daily routine of a student starts with waking up from a good night’s sleep. Hopefully, you’ll be feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. Toast and fruit, cereal, scrambled eggs, whatever you would like - just make it healthy.
Our best advice for getting ready in the morning is to have prepared everything you need the night before. You’ll wake up with your clothes already picked out, your lunch already made and your bag already packed. It makes getting ready so much easier. If you’re working to a good schedule you’ve made for yourself, you’ll be able to get the most out of your studying.
Have you eaten breakfast? Got ready? Got your laptop and textbooks? If yes, then it’s time to start a productive day.
Morning studies
What your schedule looks like depends on the degree you’re studying. It’s different for every student. You may be busy in the morning or in the afternoon or you might be at university from 9 AM to 5 PM.
For example, an Electrical and Electronic Engineering student may have a practical lesson in the morning while a Biochemistry student may have a seminar.
You might not even have any lectures or seminars scheduled for the morning. If you’re free, it’s a good time to do some studying by yourself in the library or in a coffee shop in the city. If the other students on your degree are also free, you could plan to study together.
It’s a good idea to create a weekly study schedule so you know when your lectures and seminars are and can see where you’re free. This can allow you to plan your free time to use as study periods.
Study periods are important at university as they can help develop your knowledge of a subject, but you can also use it for things like participating in a university society.
Time for lunch
An important part of the daily routine of a student is having a break to get lunch. Mornings can be busy. You might have had a Business Accounting and Finance lecture to develop your entrepreneurial skills or a seminar for Computer Science, covering a group discussion on computer system design or information storage. Taking time to have a healthy lunch is a great way of breaking up your day into manageable portions and refresh yourself for some afternoon work.
You’ll also have a chance to review any new things you learnt that morning.
You may have made your lunch the previous night so find a nice place to sit and eat, but this isn’t the only possibility. For example, in a city like Newcastle, there are loads of great cafes to get food from.
The afternoon - a time for study or exploration
After a busy morning, you might have a free afternoon or it could be the other way around.
If you’ve got lectures and seminars, you’ll be able to focus on them, learn new things and develop some interesting ideas. If you have any free time, remember to take yourself to a quiet place and continue to study or get started on your assignments.
Studying in the library is the perfect way to find new information and come up with new ideas.
You might take some time during the week to explore the city with some friends. For example, in Newcastle, there are lots of things to do and places to see. You could visit the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art or walk around the Quayside on a sunny afternoon.
Remember, stick to your study schedule and you’ll know when you’re able to explore, as you don’t want it to interfere with any work you have to do.
Evening possibilities
This is the time you can use to do whatever you want. You might spend the evening at a local restaurant with friends, but most days, you’ll be cooking at your student flat. To make your evenings easier, plan your meals each week by creating a shopping list you can stick to.
The evening time is also when university societies have their meetings. At Newcastle, you could be spending time going over law cases with the Bar Society, discovering new technologies with the Engineering Projects Society or even exploring global relations in the Model United Nations Society.
An evening can also be spent enjoying the sights and sounds of your city. Depending on where you’re studying, there will be so many amazing things you can experience.
For example, Newcastle has an incredible culture you can take part in. You could watch a football game at St. James’ Park Stadium, go to The Cluny to hear some live music or watch amazing acting at the Tyne Theatre & Opera House.
You might prefer to have a quiet night in your room, reading, listening to music or watching your favourite film. You could even use this time for more studying. Just don’t stay up too late, you might have more lectures to go to in the morning.
There are so many ways you can spend your free time at university, so why not explore even more possibilities that are available to you?
Learn more about student life
There are so many possibilities in the daily routine of a student. If you’re studying at Newcastle University, you’ve got the chance to live in a fantastic city with so many things to see and do. Our International Students page can provide you with loads of insights about what it's really like to study and live in Newcastle.
