AN INTERVIEW WITH A FIRST-CLASS GRADUATE, YUCHUN ZHOU
BACKGROUND
Yuchun Zhou is a graduate from the University of Birmingham. She studied Economics where she graduated with first-class Hons in July 2017. She shares her undergraduate experience and advices all aspiring first-class students, “Go out of your comfort-zone to meet people and face challenges because eventually it will become your memory and you own it”
TELL US ABOUT YOU
My name is Yuchun but everyone calls me Angela because my Chinese name is quite difficult to pronounce. I am a graduate student from the University of Birmingham. I recently graduated with a degree in Economics. I am currently taking a gap year, and hopefully I will be in London next year to do my masters and major in Economics.
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND INSPIRATION?
I don’t really have a role model. I just use my imagination to create one, but it’s not very stable. I normally say to myself that I want to be like this. And I get my ideas from movies I watch as well. So, with my imaginations I just inspire myself.
HOW WAS YOUR UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM?
It was great! It was amazing! The course wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be and the professors were very helpful. The facilities were also good and nice especially the old library, I really loved it. The accommodations were nice as well. Everyone there was really friendly to me. Sometimes I did miss home, but most of the time I enjoyed the freedom. Although I didn’t attend a lot of events in uni but I still made a lot of friends from my accommodation. It was a nice experience in general because it taught me how to live independently and build my own social circle.
HOW DID YOU KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED?
I had it in mind to do a master, so I did some research and found out that to get a good one, I had to get a first. I didn’t really think far because if I wanted to get a job I just needed a 2:1, which wasn’t that stressful than to get a first. So, I always thought to myself if I wanted to continue my studies, I needed to get a first. Also, the classes and lectures were really interesting, so I was always involved in my studies. I love my course and I’m always keen on knowing more about it, which was a great motivation for me.
HOW DID YOU BALANCE YOUR SOCIAL LIFE AND ACADEMIC LIFE?
I spent most of my time studying in the library or a café, especially in my second year. But in my third year, I hardly went to the new library because it was too crowded, so I just used a cluster or learning centre to study. I always liked to go out for dinners and clubbing with friends. Most of my friends didn’t really know each other, I often went to the gym with my gym partner, went clubbing with another type of friend, studied with my study partner, and ate with friends. So, I just did different things with different people.
WHAT WAS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE IN UNIVERSITY?
Hmm, in second year I just got up and went for classes because I had a lot of lectures at 9am, which made me spend almost the whole day on campus. Then I did some exercise. I was also in the UoB tennis club, which was quite nice. While in third year I really changed a lot. I got up at 6am to go to the gym. Then had breakfast afterwards because most of my lectures started at 10am, which gave me enough time to prepare for lectures because I always did my makeup and ate breakfast.
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT UNIVERSITY?
That would definitely be the knowledge and the lectures, because some courses are challenging but probably nothing you can't handle. If I had any problems I sought help from professors during their office hours and they were very helpful. Maybe it’s because I really love my course, it’s all about logics and I enjoy mathematics. There was a particular lecture which was three hours, I always got a double espresso because I didn’t want to lose focus. The professor was always good at explaining and he seems to know everything, which was very cool. The social life was also really fun.
HOW WAS YOUR FINAL YEAR EXPERIENCE?
It was stressful, but rewarding because I eventually got what I wanted. But compared to some of my friends who wanted to apply for a job we were less stressed. They always went for networking events, and careers centre. While all we needed to do was focus on studying and went through the master application process.
DO YOU THINK YOU DID THINGS DIFFERENTLY TO GRADUATE WITH A FIRST?
No, I don’t think so. You just have to find the balance, don’t abandon your social life or what you enjoy, like sports, travelling, volunteering or a part-time job. I don’t think it’s that difficult to graduate with a first from the University of Birmingham, all you need to do is pay attention in class and make sure you understand everything in class. I admit that everything was stressful at the time but when I recall, it just happened naturally. We can’t stay in the library all day, I sometimes studied during the day and went out at night. If you want to graduate with a first just keep that in mind, so you won’t let yourself go clubbing or sleep all the time.
DO YOU WORK WELL UNDER PRESSURE OR WHEN LEFT ON YOUR OWN?
I prefer planning things ahead. If tomorrow is the deadline and I haven’t done anything, I will probably be panicking and will end up doing nothing. When I was in uni I always planned ahead, and set my own deadlines.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ECONOMICS?
Actually, I didn’t really have much choices because I was a programme student. I studied finance in china and was given limited choices in the UK. I was really lucky to study Economics because I’ve fallen in love with my subject. At first, I wanted to become a Strategist. I wanted to help other people to plan their future and things like that. Economics helps you to understand how the market works and how to allocate the scarce resources. It trained my brain to think in a more logical and rational way. You can also use the theories in your daily life to make good choices and maximise your utility, which is very practical. But if I get another chance, I will probably study computer science because programming can make computer help you in a way you want. It is a very technical subject and it is also applicable in our daily life.
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING THING FOR YOU IN UNIVERSITY?
At first it was loneliness. When I just got to the UK, it was a totally different environment for me. I didn’t realise I was lonely at that time, but I was, even though I had friends with me every single day. Maybe I needed time to adapt to the environment. That was a very tough time for me, because I felt depressed. Even my friend who was also an international student had a similar experience. We eventually helped each other. And I think this is always a problem for international students because we don’t have any relations in the UK, and everything always seem so new and different.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU REGRET NOT DOING WHILE YOU WERE IN UNIVERSITY?
Enjoying life! I always thought about the tuition fee my parents paid and didn’t want to let them down, so I always studied. Although I went out and socialised, I should have done more travelling and clubbing. I was too afraid to go for networking events, and I hardly went for gatherings. I missed some good opportunities as I did not want to step out of my comfort-zone. I should have stepped out of my comfort-zone and enjoyed my life more.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO ASPIRING FIRST-CLASS STUDENTS?
It will happen naturally, so don’t worry too much. Although you will be under a lot of stress because I was always freaking out but it will eventually turn out fine. Also enjoy your life more. I wanted a first and missed most of my chances. Even though I enjoyed my life, I should have enjoyed it more. The cost for failure in university is very low, if you fail, nothing severe will happen, so just try not to panic. Go out of your comfort-zone to meet people and face challenges because eventually it will become your memory and you own it.
You can follow Yuchun on social media:
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