Fresher’s Tips
Congrats on getting into uni I hope you have a wonderful time and it’s everything you want it to be and more :) This is a long post with just a few tips for those starting uni (or college). Feel free to add to it with any of your own ideas.
Things to take:
• Buy some plants they brighten things up are are great for covering up odd coloured walls and endless pine furniture. (Then buy some fake plants for when the real things inevitably die.)
• You will not need a kitchen worthy of a pro chef. There’ll be no room in your cupboards for food otherwise. A couple of pans, a frying pan, sieve (doubles up as a colander) and a baking tray will do you. Similarly, 2 plates, a bowl and a couple of knives and forks are fine as long as you keep up with the washing up.
• Bring some of your bits from home - a cushion, picture frames etc. they’ll make your room feel more like home & personal.
• Your childhood teddy. No one will laugh, trust me.
• A desk lamp, unless it’s included in your room already.
• Fairy lights. No student’s room is complete without fairylights + they’re aesthetic af.
Hacks:
• Cover your baking trays with tin foil before cooking anything greasy - it’ll save so much effort washing up and prolong the life of your trays.
• Cook double portions of things like pasta and save half for the next day to save on cooking nd having to buy meals at uni. Also take a thermos of coffee, uni coffee is either shit or expensive.
• Layering blankets and jumpers is cheeper than turning on the heating if you’re paying your own bills.
• Get out of the house at least 4 times a week and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Otherwise you turn into a reclusive ghost with scurvy.
• At first it might seem very quiet compared to home - play the radio if it is, the voices in the background and presenter’s conversations are very comforting.
• Absolutely everything is on facebook - groups for your halls, for your course, for your societies. Even tickets for freshers events are on facebook a lot of the time. Look it up before you go.
Study:
• Do things when they’re set - even if a lecturer says it’s for the assignment due in 3 months time do it when it’s set otherwise you’ll forget the topic and have to spend double time relearning everything later.
• Talk to lecturers, they’re real human people and they want you to pass. Make tutorials, email them at weird hours with bizarre questions and if you don’t understand something TELL SOMEONE.
• Study groups are wonderful, make some friends on your course with similar academic interests to you and work on assignments together. Often they’ll be able to support where you struggle and visa versa.
• If you’re struggling to work at home go out to a coffee shop and work their. In uni towns many places expect students to come in and have free wifi and plugs. Just make sure you buy something when you go in and then a drink every couple of hours after. If it starts to get really busy and baristas are giving you looks it’s time to leave, though.
• Look after yourself, sleep, mental and physical health will always be more important than your studies. You can take time out, resit assignments and drop out altogether if you need to. NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR HEALTH.
Social:
• Everyone is in the same boat as you, you don’t have to change who you are to be liked.
• You might have to force yourself to be more extroverted than normal and go to events/talk to housemates and course mates for the first few weeks but it’s worth it I promise.
• Talk to the people you sit next to in lectures. Its handy if you miss something and need notes, plus I’ve made some of my best friends simply by happening to sit with them.
• Go explore where you live with people, it’s a good way to get to know them and the nice little nooks that will make the place home for the next few years.
• Don’t feel you have to drink if you don’t want to. You can have a good night out sober (trust me). If you do drink be safe. Have a way home planned and don’t leave by yourself and without telling the people you’re with. Save some cash for a taxi fare. If someone you trust tells you to stop drinking, STOP.
• People won’t unfriend you for not wanting to go out, or for going to bed early, or for having some alone time though. Make an effort to do communal things, but don’t feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to do, ever.
Feel free to add to this with your own tips.
