Quality of university life for a UiTM student

I graduated from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam, Selangor with a degree in accountancy. Mine was the first batch of students to earn our degrees after the higher learning institution was granted university status.

I studied hard (err … yes, I did!) and I played hard too (of course, I did!). I made acquaintances, formed some lifelong friendships and really had a good time.

I’d like to share with you my regular schedule when I was a student there. And although it was more than 15 years ago since I graduated, I think it is still relevant.

7am: Alarm clock goes off I wake up, shower and get ready for class.

7.30am: Savour a quick breakfast with my housemates at the stalls near our apartment.

7.45am: We would head to class either by bus or by car (I lived at Section 18 in Shah Alam and my classes were at the Section 17 campus).

8am: Class in session.

NOON: The first half of the day classes end. I have lunch at the campus cafeteria.

2pm: Class resumes.

4pm: Classes end. I head back to the apartment at Section 18.

4.30pm: I usually have discussions with my classmates and most of the time, this is when we work on class assignments.

5.30pm: I was a member of the campus' basketball team, so around this time, I get ready to head back to campus for a game or two of basketball.

6pm: Basketball practice.

7.30pm: Basketball practice ends and I head back to my apartment. I shower and take a respite from the long day.

8pm: My housemates and I head out to the stalls around the apartment to have our dinner.

9pm: I head to the campus at Section 17 to study either at the library or classroom.

10.30pm: I head back to the apartment for a wind-down session with my housemates. We would chat about things and mostly just fool and joke around with each other.

11.30pm: Bedtime.

This pretty much sums up a regular day for an average student at UiTM, Shah Alam back then. From the conservation I have with most students today, I doubt their schedule would be any different now.

As students, we concentrated on studying with the aim to finish our courses. I was on a scholarship and that was even more of a pressure because there were certain academic requirements to fulfill.

Now, my question is where in that day can we slot in the time to visit the local supermarkets for groceries and also cook our meals?

Although I don’t think my schedule was any different back then compared to other university students today, there’s one thing that is different: there was no GST then.