From upper secondary school to university
Louise's story
Give a short introduction of yourself
My name is Louise, I am 24 years old, and I am in the middle of my 7th semester on cand.merc. in Organization and Strategy. I’m originally from Randers, but I moved to Aalborg in September 2016. Before attending university, I graduated from an HHX in 2014, and afterwards I had two gap years.
Which considerations did you have regarding attending university?
I thought a lot about what would be the most important things for me to have settled before the beginning of the first semester, in order to make attending university more manageable. Therefore, I established several goals and prioritised them from top to bottom:
- 1
My first goal was finding an apartment and moving to Aalborg, so that I would be in cycling distance from the university and the center of Aalborg. I made this a goal of mine because I knew it would be unmanageable for me having to commute between Randers and Aalborg every day.
- 2
My second goal was creating a social network. Moving to a new city to attend university, I knew that it would be important for me to make some friends, so that I would not feel lonely. Therefore, I took part in almost every social event during the study start, and through those events, I managed to establish a social network.
- 3
My third goal was learning how to be a student at AAU. I needed a social network first, to help me get through the hard times at school such as the exams. Once I had built that network, I was ready and able to start learning and studying.
- 4
My last goal was finding a student job, which would provide me with greater financial freedom and the opportunity to buy new clothes, go out for dinner and save up money for textbooks.
When I reached all of my goals, I had built a strong and firm foundation, which made student life much easier for me. I was ready to learn new things and grow personally and academically at my own pace.
How did you experience your first day at AAU?
To me it was very hectic. I couldn’t really find my way around, and I didn’t know any of the people I was going to be studying with. Luckily, there were many tutors who were kind and happy to help.
At the shared breakfast, we just sat there and ate in complete and awkward silence, until one of my new fellow students said: “Well, this isn’t awkward at all”. After that, everyone at the table started laughing, and we slowly started easing up and began asking each other questions. Once you start opening up and talking to each other, it won’t be as awkward anymore, and you’ll gradually start feeling more confident.
Luckily, there were many tutors who were kind and happy to help
Which challenging experiences did you have during the study start, and which good experiences did you have?
During the study start, I felt like I always had to be happy, positive and outgoing when I was around my fellow students, which was really hard. When I was done with my lectures for the day, I would go home and cry, because I felt so exhausted and drained. I have later discussed the study start and my feelings with some of my friends, and I found out that they felt the exact same way.
In spite of this, I still found the study start to be really awesome. I loved not being treated or looked at as a ‘child’ — everyone was equal and perceived as grown-up individuals, which I loved!
Other than that, I also really liked how I could feel myself learning so many new things. My time on my bachelor’s degree in Business Economics has been the best time of my life because this is where I feel like I have grown the most both personally and academically.
When I was done with my lectures for the day, I would go home and cry, because I felt so exhausted and drained
What do you wish someone had told you about student life?
As previously mentioned, I talked to some of my fellow students about how I found it hard starting university and moving to a new city by myself. Because of that, I wish that someone would have told me that I wasn’t the only one who went home and cried almost daily, but that a lot of students actually did that. Besides that, I wish someone had told me how great it feels when you reach your goals and learn something new.