university

There are a number of thing you can do outside of the classroom during your time at university that will help towards securing dream graduate jobs.

Volunteer

Volunteering abroad is a great experience and looks great on your CV – and so does volunteering locally. Approach your university, local charities and not-for-profit organisations to gain relevant industry experience. For other industries, network professionally and set up a week's work shadowing during reading week, or two days a week at a local agency.

Get part-time work

A part-time job gives you the facts and figures to back up your well-written graduate CV, and you never know what connections you’ll make through your work.

Make the most of media

Contribute to university media outlets. There are multiple opportunities ready for the taking on campus, including: writing for the university newspaper, hosting or producing a university radio/TV show or getting involved in the annual fashion show.

Student life - a revolving door of parties, cheap booze, student debt and new friends. A simplistic portrait, perhaps, but not entirely untrue. Outside of your studies, socialising on campus can be never-ending if you join a few societies.

But the stress of studies and the casual hangovers of a party lifestyle can take their toll. According to the Nightline Association, 65% of students feel dangerous levels of stress - and it's impacting their health dramatically. The problem is so dramatic that universities are even setting up petting zoos to calm any students on a knife edge before their studies.

If you're feeling the impact of being a hard-living student, here are a few tips to help relieve the strain.

Have a Day to yourself

No matter how much work you've got to do, taking a full day where you can kick back and relax is vital for effective studying. Why not set aside a day of pampering for yourself? Head off for laser hair removal, nail painting, a full-body massage, an eyebrow tweak or any makeover that takes your fancy. It might seem like a lavish way of beating your stress, but in some cases looking good can mean feeling great.

Funding your way through university is a daunting prospect for anyone. Despite the help from Student Finance, studying away from home is undoubtedly expensive, and sometimes a student loan isn't enough to pay your rent, bills and all the other expenses that come with student living.

Rather than doing the maths and giving up on university all together, it's important that you explore all options to see if there are other ways to fund your studies. To give a brief overview, here are some options you might want to look into.

Specific University Grants

Being selective about where you choose to study can have a drastic impact on your income. Many universities offer grants for different achievements and circumstances, so if you're expecting to secure top grades at A-level or are particularly talented at a certain sport, then you could be eligible for some extra cash.

There's nothing worse than being bedbound with a bug. Not literally, of course, that'd be rather odd, but rather curled up in the foetal position as a truculent infection gnaws away at your immune system and leaves you feeling decidedly feeble.

Instead of reaching for your laptop or coursework, you're struggling to clench a Kleenex as your nose streams and your voice makes you sound like Marge Simpson after a One Direction concert.

For any busy student, the scenario above can be a living, breathing nightmare, as deadlines loom and impatient tutors shake their heads at what they believe is simply a horrible hangover.

As a student from a foreign land, your mother won't be around to mop your brow and bring you chicken soup with a sympathetic grin - which is why protection against illness is better than a cure.

But how?

1) Keep Your Hands Clean

When you're ambling around campus, mingling with hundreds of other students, you'll come into contact with more bacteria-laden surfaces than you can shake a bottle of hand sanitiser at. This can lead to you picking up nasty illnesses such as flu and food poisoning.

Apart from figuring out finances, worrying about fitting in and stopping your mum from buying all the unnecessary kitchen utensils under the sun, finding the right place to live while at university can be an equally confusing and daunting task. There are a couple of different options available but it's important to consider them early and arrange them as soon as possible in order to get your first pick. Here are four of the main types and some key details that will help you to choose which place is right for you.

1. University Student Halls

One of the most popular choices for many students, university halls offer a great transition from home to independent living. All the costs of bills, internet and sometimes food if you choose the catered option, are included in a complete fee each term. However you'll still have to do your own laundry, wash your dishes and look after your room. Some rooms are en-suite, but many include shared bathrooms. It can be unnerving if you're moving in with five to ten other people that you don't know, but halls are a great way to make friends quickly and settle into your university together as everyone is in the same boat and you're likely to be quite close to campus.