Student insight: Making the most of your year at WBS

In this month’s postgraduate insight blog, our Masters students discuss how you can make the most out of your year at WBS, from getting involved in societies to staying on top of your workload.

Shreaya Bajaj 
MSc Marketing & Strategy 

It is rightly said that University days are the most enjoyable and memorable days of one’s life. The University experience at WBS is full of learning, fun, enjoyment, development and independence. Here are my top 6 tips to make your year at WBS the best it can be.

Learn proactively

Though this may sound obvious, most students get tangled between managing assignment deadlines, examinations and lecture schedules. Do not restrict learning to classroom lectures; step out and taste-test the array of workshops and seminars conducted by the Business School which will help you explore your passions and gain a perspective towards diverse fields. This can be as simple as learning a foreign language, visiting a company or attending a skill development workshop. There is plenty to learn and experience here

Get involved

University is not only about studying; enrich your student life by getting involved in at least one of 250 societies and clubs at Warwick. This is an excellent way to strike a balance between passion and socializing and also develop skills like teamwork, multi-tasking, communication and time management - essential for both academic and non-academic endeavours. Be a part of the University’s open days, food festivals and social nights.

Eat and stay healthy

Ensure that you eat healthily, exercise and sleep on time. For most of you it may be your first time away from home, so make sure you pay special attention to this because you can’t give your best when you’re half-asleep, tired or have an empty stomach!

Seek assistance if needed

Don’t be shy to seek help, advice or assistance when you’re feeling tense, over-worked, homesick or lonely. There is a plethora of resources on campus and the teaching staff are very friendly and approachable. They will ensure you feel at home.

Choose your modules carefully

While choosing elective modules, be sure to line these up with your interests over picking up ‘easy’ and simple modules. Select intellectually stimulating modules to make the most of your learning at WBS.

Managing finances

Keep a track of your money by setting aside a monthly budget and stick to it. Also, take advantage of the student discounts which are a blessing in this world of high rent and unavailable expenditures!

In the beginning it will be challenging to manage things all by yourself, but it gets exciting once you have it all sorted. Push yourself and step outside of your comfort zone - develop a new skill, try something new and make new friends. Remember to make your journey a colourful one filled with roller-coaster experiences because you are in charge of steering your life’s wheel. But above all, be yourself!

Sona Kwon 
MSc Business with Consulting 

To make your WBS journey fabulous, you should not be afraid of exploring the various types of opportunities available here at Warwick.

Firstly, get familiar with Warwick campus. Rather than walking the route that you usually take, why not explore a different part of the campus? The university is covered with beautiful nature like woodland and lakes. Whenever you are overwhelmed by academic pressures, you can take a walk through a landscape and heal your soul.

Secondly, get involved. When you arrive at Warwick initially, you definitely have no idea how to survive. Why not learn something new and/or something that you’re interested in apart from academics? I would recommend learning a foreign language provided by the language centre or IT skills from the IT service training centre. This will give you the chance to meet people from different departments and parts of the World. Through socialising, you will never feel lonely or isolated.

Lastly, get out of campus. WBS and the International office regularly organise trips to UK tourist destinations. This is an ideal opportunity to get to know fellow students, as well as British culture. Furthermore, this is much more cost-effective than organising a trip by yourself. Rather than visiting usual places where tourists commonly visit, you can seize the chance to experience authentic British vibes through these trips.

Anna Emilia Maruska
MSc Finance 

There can be a lot to take in during the first month or so of your Master’s at WBS and finding the right balance between academic and non-academic activities is important to make the most of your time.

Your Warwick journey should start by meeting as many people as possible. The MSc in Finance course is composed of students from all sorts of backgrounds, as are all the courses at WBS, so expand your network and make friendships that will help you stay positive and make your time at Warwick even better. You might even meet people that inspire you or can give you ideas for starting a project. You don’t have to do it to make profit - do it for the experience and lessons you will undoubtedly learn which are transferable in any path of life. 

Staying on top of your work is an excellent way to excel but also enjoy yourself throughout your year. Completing the assigned readings before lectures will not only ensure you engage properly during lectures, but also provides an opportunity to make summary notes which will come in handy closer to the exam. I would strongly recommend small-group study sessions as a method of revising and taking a break from your intense, independent study sessions to ease the inevitable pre-exam stress.  

Do stuff you enjoy. Not only is it impossible to study and revise for 24 hours a day, it’s also counter-productive so don’t underestimate the importance of resting your mind. Participating in societies is an excellent way to maintain a balance between work and socialising, but more so to develop applicable skills. With more than 250 societies and plenty of sports clubs, you can make new friends and enjoy yourself because your Warwick journey is what you make of it, so make it the best experience ever!

Avoid staying with people that speak the same language. Take advantage of the fact that you’re in England and that you can improve your English skills! And not only that, you can connect with people from other countries! So try to get out of the familiar and your comfort bubble and try to minimize the time you spend with people who come from the same places and speak the same language.

Pieran Jiang
MSc Finance & Economics

I expected my postgraduate life to be self-organized, with only several hours of lectures in a week. However, life at WBS turned out to be more than I expected.

WBS provides us with high-quality teaching and a well-structured program. In total we have 3 terms, and in each term, we get 4 modules. We are required to attend lectures and seminars for each module and some courses are also equipped with lab sessions which guide you to use computer programs like Python and R. Pre-sessional math courses and excel training sessions are designed to help us recap the knowledge we learned in our undergraduate degrees and build up a strong technical foundation for further learning. Teachers and tutors are nice and patient, and always accessible when you have queries. Besides the excellent learning resources, I appreciate the open and inclusive social environment. Everyone is closely linked, helping us to build our relationship with our colleagues.

It has been almost a year since I joined WBS - I’ve enjoyed it a lot and there’s so much support for students to benefit from.

To learn more about the range of postgraduate courses on offer, please visit our dedicated postgraduate homepage.