By Sophie Lee, Second Year, English
Although the university experience is often marketed as three years of partying, drinking, and socialising, it is easy to forget that the main objective of a university education is a degree, with students aiming towards academic achievement. However, balancing academic study with personal life and extracurriculars can often lead to high levels of burnout and competition, creating an unhealthy environment for students.
Self care is often the last thing on many students’ minds during intense exam periods, as all-nighters in the library become commonplace, and constant productivity is viewed as the norm. This intense ‘grind culture’ has become embedded in student identities, with many students feeling as though if they’re not working all the time, then they’re not working enough.
The University of Bristol’s 2021 Student Wellbeing Survey found that higher levels of anxiety coincided with exam periods, with 43 per cent of respondents who took the survey before the summer assessment period reporting symptoms of anxiety, compared to 36 per cent of those that took the survey during, or after. Additionally, according to the 2024 Bristol Degree Outcomes Statement, only 26.2 per cent of students achieved a first class degree in the 22/23 academic year. So the question remains, why is it that students feel so much pressure to achieve a first? While it is evident the data links academic burnout with heightened mental distress, it prompts a deeper inquiry - are academic expectations the sole driver of student anxiety, or are there broader cultural and systemic pressures at play?
‘There was no way I could revise so much content in such little time’
During the 2024/25 academic year, the University of Bristol altered term dates to move January exams to December, creating an earlier exam period in both TB1 and TB2. This had a significant impact on many students, with Emma, a second year Chemistry student, commenting that she found the Christmas exam season ‘insane - there was no way I could revise so much content in such little time [and] I couldn’t go over content during term since the workload then was too intense.’
Although the University marketed the shift in exam period as beneficial to students’ mental health, personal experiences of students have been seen to contradict this, with many reporting that revising for exams while also completing coursework contributed to higher stress levels.
Although the simple answer to this might seem to be to separate exams and coursework more clearly, overlapping deadlines aren’t the only factor in rising levels of academic anxiety. Often, a sense of competition can arise, as students strive to be seen to be working at all times of day. Online tools such as Flora, Notion, and the Pomodoro Method provide ways for tracking workloads, but these statistics can give rise to harmful comparisons, as students may compare how many hours they’ve been revising.
This can lead to unhealthy habits, as studying becomes competitive, rather than focusing on academic outcomes. In this way, revision has shifted from a tool by which to learn content, to a way to show off academic superiority. These competitive attitudes clearly aren’t present in all students, but the evidence suggests that it has a huge impact on many students across the university.
Eleni, a first year Psychology in Education student, told Epigram that she ‘felt a lot more pressured to be revising constantly’ during exam season, and often left ‘for the ASS at 7pm and [didn’t] get back until 3am.’ These unhealthy habits can have a knock-on effect on other aspects of student life, with Beth, a second year Film student, agreeing that, after long nights of studying until the early hours, she tends to spend the next day sleeping, which negatively impacts her mood. It’s clear to see that these competitive environments lead to both personal and academic burnout, so what is the best way to combat this?
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2024/25 Academic year in review
Common ways of students coping with burnout are to socialise with friends, maintain normal routines, and make sure to reward themselves while studying. Although the main point of going to university is to get a degree, life at university is so much more than this. From getting involved with university societies, to attending quiz nights at local pubs, or going on a charity shopping spree, there’s so much that can be done to avoid academic burnout. Although it can seem like there is no escape from ‘grind culture’, it’s important to remind yourself that University is more than just the degree you walk away with.
Even stepping away from your laptop screen for five minutes can help take your mind off the work you need to be doing. At the end of the day, even though your degree is important, you should never sacrifice your mental health in favour of academic achievement. The University’s Students’ Health Service offers informal wellbeing advice as well as professional medical support, so never feel afraid to reach out.
Featured Image: Epigram | Reuben Kerbes
Have you experienced academic burnout?
