Vacations, at Oxford better known as 'vacs', are meant to be a time for putting your feet up, enjoying home cooking and catching up with your friends, sounds perfect right? But when the term comes to an end and your tutor dumps two essays and a reading list on you, suddenly it doesn't feel quite so dreamy....
And the annoying thing; not everyone gets given the same. Whilst one summer I was asked to read the entire works of Shakespeare, some of my friends doing other subject had absolutely no vac work!
Being an English student I always knew there would be a lot of reading but the vac lists were another level, it literally became a race which sadly meant the joy of reading dwindled.
It is though all about getting the balance right; in my first year I was so sure I wasn't clever enough that I read everything thrown at me but there was no way I was ever going to remember it all. It's called a 'vac' for a reason so be selective about the work you do and make sure, after those jam packed 8 week terms, you set time aside to chill!
Top Tips
Get organised in advance; plan time for studying and the rest for fun!
Don't try to read every book on the reading list like I did, by the time the tutorial came around they'd all merged into one.
Oxford students do find time for fun too, so don't be put off, it's just about getting the balance right!