Starting university is daunting for everyone, even the most sociable people! Uni is nothing like I had imagined it to be and yet I have had the most amazing experience and met so many people whilst learning to live independently. First year has gone by so quickly so here are some tips on how to settle in and make the most of your time as a fresher.
Part One: Planning Ahead
1. There is only so much planning you can do but something I found helpful to take all my nerves and turn them into excitement was to plan and design what I wanted my room to look like. It was very important for me to have a nice cosy room that felt like my home away from home and evidently this played a massive role in how quickly I managed to settle into the university lifestyle. So make a Pinterest board and start looking at room inspiration because you’re going to be spending a lot of your time in that room and you want to feel as comfortable as possible!
2. Visit your university before hand to get a feel for the campus and the kind of life you are likely to be living when you move to uni. After results day I visited my uni and got to look at my building and have multiple tours of different accommodation buildings. This gave me a really good grasp of the city as I was able to look at where I would be living and the walk I would be taking everyday whilst also introducing me to the city as I walked through it. I have now been at university for 7 months and am still finding new parts of the city everyday but during my first week the familiarity of my surroundings when walking from my flat to uni really made moving from a small town to a big city a little less terrifying.
3. Join as many fresher pages as you can, the best way to find people on your course and your potential flat mates is to post in these pages. This means that although there is always going to be those awkward introductions on the first day everyone feels slightly more at ease as you have all been getting to know each other prior to moving in. Additionally, me and my flatmates were able to plan what freshers events we wanted to go to and talk ahead of moving in so that there was no pressure of deciding where to go during the chaos of freshers.
4. Research things your university has to offer; before leaving I had already looked to join multiple societies and sports teams. These truly are one of the best ways to meet people and make friends. Having a brief idea of what kind of teams you might like to join before heading to university can really help to take some of the stress away from your first couple of weeks at uni. Joining Lacrosse was perhaps one of the most daunting parts of my university experience as I had never played before and only knew my flatmate who I was going to the try it out session with. Despite this it was by far the best decision I made at uni as it allowed me to meet so many new people, most of whom were were in the same position as me.
5. Make plans with friends and family from home. There is no right or wrong way to do university, so if you want to have your friends come for a night of freshers or just to bring a little bit of home to uni whilst you settle in then do it. Uni can be hard. Yes although as a fresher you are busy 24/7 socialising, having inductions and exploring your new city, when it all calms down you find yourself with a large amount of free time and to start with not everyone has loads of friends to spend that time with. FaceTiming friends and family from home can therefore be one of the most beneficial things on offer. I’m not saying have a friend over every weekend but perhaps just once or twice a semester and then you can also visit them every so often; I know so many people who have fallen out of touch with friends since moving to university but believe me when you go home at holidays there is nothing better than a big reunion with the people you have been friends with for years!!
So here are my five top tips for preparing for university, they may work for you or they may be completely useless but I just wanted to share my experience in the hope that someone would find it useful. Stay tuned for part two ‘The Reality of Uni’ coming soon xx.
