"Be kind to yourself!" – MSc student talks wellbeing

MSc Business & Finance student Sharanya Ullal offers insight and advice on maintaining strong mental health throughout your Masters course.

Receiving my offer from Warwick Business School ignited a cocktail of emotions in my mind – joy, excitement, pride, but also anxiety, uncertainty and doubt. Would I keep up with the workload? Would I settle into a new environment? Would I excel academically, make friends and find time to enjoy myself all in just one year?

When I arrived, it was reassuring to hear that most students have similar worries. It’s natural to be nervous about such a big change in your life, but the biggest changes are often the best changes.

A healthy balance of structure, application, exercise, rest and socialising is the perfect way to manage your WBS experience. Here, I share my top tips that might help you along the way to achieving that.

Planning is everything

One of the first things I realised I needed to get good at was planning. You’ll have a busy and varied schedule, so it’s vital to map out a strategy to manage it.

Get familiar with deadlines, set reminders, identify benchmarks, and give yourself some leeway to account for delays or problems. This will also help with your social life – a detailed plan with room to maneuver means you’ll nearly always be able to adjust your schedule to enjoy life outside of university.

Make the most of WBS staff

WBS has amazing teaching and support staff – use them! Each department and cohort have personal tutors with whom you can schedule meetings and discuss any potential issues, concerns, or anything at all. These tutors are mostly WBS alumni, so their advice is tried and tested by them personally.

I find the staff extremely approachable and helpful across the board, they really care about us as individuals. They understand we may all have varying problems or difficult situations to navigate throughout the year, and are flexible and empathetic in granting extensions to help each of us achieve our goal. 

Give yourself a break

You can’t perform at your optimal level if you’re working yourself too hard and burning out. Take breaks, take days off, take your mind off of your work once in a while.

There are so many extra-curricular opportunities on your doorstep. My advice would be to check out the 300+ Warwick societies, enjoy the state-of-the-art Sports and Wellness Hub, and dance the night away at the Terrace Bar!

Be kind to yourself

Mental wellbeing is extremely important, both academically and personally.

If you’re having struggles, small or large, I’d recommend making use of Warwick’s Wellbeing and Student Support offering. It’s a free service, and offers one-to-one appointments in whichever format suits you best – face-to-face, virtually, over the phone or by email. They also run regular workshops with advice and guidance on wellbeing, and managing time and workload.

The best part for me though is the Pets as Therapy events, nothing cures my stress quicker than playing with a furry friend!

Learn more about Sharanya’s course, MSc Business & Finance here, or download our brochure to discover our other Postgraduate courses.