Mettle Guide to starting
university
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Copyright Š YFC and CWR 2012 Published 2012 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley lane, Farnham, Surrey Gu9 8eP, england. Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered limited Company No. 1990308.
Mettle Guide to Starting university is produced in association with British Youth for Christ. British Youth for Christ is part of Youth for Christ international, a movement of youth evangelism organisations in over 100 countries of the world. Please visit www.yfci.org for the country nearest you. the right of Simeon Whiting to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, designs and Patents Act 1988, sections 77 and 78. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. See back of book for list of National distributors. unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible, New living translations (Nlt), copyright Š 1996, revised 2004. used by permission of tyndale House Publishers, inc., Wheaton, illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Concept development by YFC and CWR. editing, design and production by CWR. Printed in england by [tBC] iSBN: 978-1-85345-741-8
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COntents intrO Mates faith the Best thinG aBOut uni LifestyLe use yOur heaD OutrO
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04 06 28 50 52 74 96
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One! first Of f, WeLL D
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intro
MAKINg IT TO university in the first place is no mean feat. So congratulations on getting through the endless rewrites of your personal statement, all that revision, the exam stress, the tearful farewells and the shopping for a toaster. Allow yourself a satisfied smile for a moment. university is brilliant. it’ll stretch your mind and your faith, teach you loads about yourself and God, not to mention the subject you’re studying, and could give you friends for life. We hope the Mettle Guide to Starting university will give you some wise and practical advice on how to make the most of your university experience. it won’t answer all your questions or give you a simple formula for how to be simultaneously a brilliant student and a brilliant Christian, but we hope it will at least give you a nudge in the right direction. After that, it’s over to you …
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N O I T C SE
section 1
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T fIrS E ThE h . T N O h T rTA TlY W M. IMpO C A S I X E S E O Th IENd lOOK AT ON T T fr d l h l l g I O I EW TO h hE r gUId Ng T hOW hAVI N Of ThE rE ANd IO ’A SECT frIENdS T ‘rIgh
section 1
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yOur
tiPs
Mate
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tiP 1
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tiPs
talk to absolutely anyone! – university is a chance to meet all kinds of people. Not everyone will be like you, but that’s the beauty of it. there will be people around you from all manner of different backgrounds, with different experiences, different views, different skills and different faiths. there are all manner of stimulating and mind-broadening conversations to be had and you might be surprised which people you find yourself connecting with. don’t hide in your room. Get out there and meet some people!
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reaDinG Proverbs 12:22–28 KEY VErSE ‘the godly give good advice to their
Day 01
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friends; the wicked lead them astray.’
ChOOSINg YOUr frIENdS wisely can make a massive difference to your university experience. Good friends will give you good advice, support you and stick with you when life gets tough. on the other hand, just drifting into friendships with the wrong people can land you in all sorts of trouble. i was lucky enough to have some brilliant friends at uni. We had a lot of fun together, but they were also there for me when life wasn’t so good. i don’t know how i would have coped with my finals without them. We’re still in touch now, ten years after graduating and i’m so glad we’ve stayed friends. At the opposite extreme, we all come across people who just want to take advantage of us, borrow money and never pay it back, or use our stuff without asking. these verses from Proverbs give us a checklist of qualities to look for in a friend. does this person tell the truth (v.22)? do they work hard, rather than expecting other people to do everything for them (v.24)? do they support you and encourage you (v.25)? Are they wise about how they use money and possessions (v.27)? And perhaps most importantly, do they want what’s
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