Library dates and beach trips: Here’s the ultimate Exeter exam season starter pack

Exam season at Exeter Uni is no joke. It’s the time of year when deadlines build up, exams near, and procrastination becomes a full-time job. Whether you’re in first year, facing your first academic meltdown at uni, or a third year scraping together a dissertation (and your sanity), we are all fighting for our lives this term.

But Exeter exam season isn’t just revision, it’s a messy and stressful experience of last-minute cramming, chaotic group chats, spontaneous Pret trips, and turning the Forum library into your second home. So, whether you’re frantically trying to memorise a year’s worth of content in the space of a week or simply embracing the chaos, here’s the ultimate Exeter exam season starter pack.

1. Caffeine

Caffeine is basically a ritual for Exeter Uni students during exam season. When you’re 20 tabs deep on your laptop, sleep deprived, and on your 10th trip to the library this week, a Barisca coffee or a Red Bull is the only thing keeping you going. At this point, it’s not just a drink, it’s a coping mechanism.

2. AirPods/headphones

What would Exeter students do without these during exam season? They do more than just play music, they give us emotional support and are a productivity lifesaver. And what better way to drown out the exam stress and loud groups in the library than with some Charli xcx or lo-fi beats?

3. Forum library trips

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In Exeter, study dates in the Forum library are a rite of passage. The library inevitably becomes a second home to students. Open 24/7, silent spaces, close to Pret, and an endless supply of books, it has everything you need to lock in. Although, finding a spot in term three is literally like entering a battlefield.

4. Visits to Exmouth beach

Every student needs a break from exams and there is no better way to spend it than on Exmouth beach in the summer. A quick 30 min train ride away is all you need for the ultimate mental reset. A stroll on the sand and a dip in the sea is the perfect way to escape exam season for a day and excuse to procrastinate just a little longer.

5. ChatGPT

ChatGPT has become an essential support system for students at Exeter Uni. Struggling to wrap your head around a theory? Need some study hacks? Want someone to quiz you? Part time tutor and emotional support, ChatGPT does it all and is key to surviving this exam period.

6. TP Friday

After a long strenuous week of studying and exams, is there a better way to clear your head than with a few (or a lot) of Venoms on a TP Friday? In TP, Exeter students come together to forget about all the critical theories, referencing, formulas, the existential dread, which is crucial to making it through exams.

7. Last minute cramming

We’ve all been caught saying “I’ll do it tomorrow” until tomorrow is the day of the exam and suddenly you have to learn months of content in one night. Then you end up reading, highlighting, and typing faster than you ever have before. Unfortunately, it’s an essential and shared exam season experience, and one that you never learn from.

8. Module group chats

Every Exeter uni student is part of a module group chat and undoubtedly someone will ask the most obvious questions the night before the exam like what referencing style you’re supposed to use or who Karl Marx is. As annoying as they may be, these chats are also brilliant for reminding you that everyone is in the same boat. Exams are hard but at least you’re going through it together.