Five feelings you’ll only understand as a postgraduate student at Lincoln

It’s the fourth week into fourth year and already the fear is kicking in. Everyone knows that a postgraduate course is meant to be stressful, but you’re not alone in worrying about it; here are five more feelings you’re bound to experience if you’re lucky enough to study a masters this year at the University of Lincoln.

The sheer fear of Outlook

Assuming you’ve already been here or have been attending university for the past three years, the dreaded inundated university email inbox is something you’re pretty familiar with, as that Outlook app on your phone or laptop that never hesitates to bombard you with emails (mostly from IT support) at every hour of the day.

Now, most of us would admit to swiping off the notifications or at worst going on do not disturb if the sight of them truly fills you with dread, however, postgraduate students know there is a different type of anxiety when it comes to these as nothing compares to the feeling of pure stress when you’ve been avoiding your tutor for not completing the seminar work you’ve been trusted to do. After all, masters students are supposed to be more reliable and punctual.. right?

The constant anxiety

To be honest, I think this one is something that just comes with the price of being a university student. Constantly thinking you have forgotten to do something when in actual fact it’s just the anxiety that comes with writing a dissertation, or constantly assuming there’s some secret assignment that everybody knows about but you.

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Having already done a dissertation in your third year, you’d think that the prospect of another one wouldn’t be so daunting (or at least enough to put you off going through the anxiety that comes with writing it, ever again!)… until you remember it will all be worth it. Not to mention it’s practically double the work and size and you’re pretty much signing yourself off to a life at the Uni of Lincoln library for the next year or so.

The total shivers from being stuck at the train tracks

You would think that at this point the noise would almost become second nature to you and the waiting time to get across the track would be something you’re used to, yet the fear of not making that one workshop or seminar you’ve been telling yourself you’re finally going to make it to this week is only amplified as the barriers don’t go up after the first train, or the second, or even the third. Of course, you can always walk up the stairs and go over the bridge but at that point, you may as well get your walking boots on and prepare for what seems like an expedition worse than steep hill.

Sometimes sacrifices do have to be made for education, which is why being a humble five or 10 minutes late for your seminar by waiting at the barriers might seem like the better option than taking the stairs.

Uni work, sleep, or a social life?

Yep, say goodbye to the weekly Quack nights out.

The constant toss-up of which one should be prioritised; a good sleeping schedule, getting your work done, or actually seeing your friends and having somewhat of a social life, is standard now that you’ve chosen to do a master’s degree. Although trying to balance these was already somewhat of a problem in previous years at uni, the balancing act of all three really does appear to fully take a toll on your life now that you’ve begun your fourth year.

Spotting a fresher has become all too familiar.

Whether that’s the lost look on their faces, the huddling together with other freshers who are definitely their flatmates, or the large lanyards with their IDs and every other item they could find to stick on it hanging from their necks, there’s no denying that spotting a fresher after being at the uni for four years is a familiarity like no other.

All that considered, even with the complete stress and anxiety of being a postgraduate student, the reminder that this time next year the hard work will have paid off and those sleepless nights in the library will have paid off, is bound to keep you going…or hopefully anyway!

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