A day in the life of a Maths student

We caught up with Mathematics student Reahan to gain a little insight into a typical day on campus...

7 am 

I like to wake up a bit earlier to get myself into the right mindset for the day. I shower, have breakfast and get dressed, and leave to take the bus onto campus. I live quite a distance away, so it can take me 30-45 minutes to arrive (depending on traffic), but to make good use of my time during the commute, I check my timetable for the day and see what contact hours I have for the day. This can vary greatly depending on the day; this term the most contact hours I have is 6 hours in the day (a combination of lectures & tutorials), but there are days where I will have 1 or even 0 scheduled sessions for the day! This creates the perfect opportunity to catch up with some work.

9 am

I have my first lecture of the day.

This module is called ‘Mathematical Methods’ which discusses the science and engineering industry, including applied mathematics research; so not only am I learning maths, but I am also able to see useful applications in subjects like physics and engineering.

12 pm

This tends to be a good time to grab lunch with my friends. Whether it be a Tesco Meal Deal, Greggs Pizza (both conveniently on campus) or some hot food in town. It’s important to find some time to relax a little so you’re not too overwhelmed with your day.

1 pm

 At this point, I have some more lectures and tutorials. The tutorial sessions are a great way to go through exercise problems with your lecturer and gain a bit more support if needed. Whilst this is timetabled, you can also book one-to-one sessions called WASS appointments, as well as receive some maths support from the Learning & Development Centre (LDC).

4 pm

During this time I can do several different things depending on the day. Sometimes I use this extra time to get a bit of revision in or recap some of the new content covered earlier in the day, or maybe just spend some time with friends and wind down from a long day. On Wednesdays, we have afternoons off, so I may spend some time at a society event. As President of the Maths Society here at Aston, we do strive to make sure that we have a mix of formal and informal events throughout the term - some past events include a scavenger hunt for new first-year students, maths olympiad, movie nights, and an interdisciplinary quiz event (which the mathletes won, of course).

7 pm

I head home and have dinner. If I have some work that I haven’t finished I usually do it at this time, but if it isn’t a priority then I like to spend time with my family and catch up with my Netflix! 

10 pm

 Before I head to bed, I pack my bag for the next day and have a quick look over my timetable to see what is happening tomorrow. If my day starts a bit later the next day, then I am usually catching up with some friends or out and about!