Hey Lindsey, do you have any advice for someone starting first year in uni? :)
I have a lot of advice! Pls browse my university tag from this time last year, but my main points of advice are thus:
Category 1: living with new people
Talk to your housemates even though talking to people is tiring and difficult!
Have music playing in hang-out areas (because silences aren’t as awkward when there’s music)
Ask what people are studying/what they know about the uni already/what their fresher’s week plans are/if they’re open to you tagging along
Eat your meals in communal spaces for at least the first month (even if you end up sitting alone at the kitchen table watching netflix, someone might walk in, see you’re watching their favourite show, boom, friendship)
Keep your bedroom door open when you’re just hanging out in your room and wouldn’t mind company. I recommend keeping your room tidy and not smelly, then when you want people to come hang out with you in it, they’ll be up for doing that.
If your housemates are all chill with it, have a little get-together once you’ve moved in, write down everybody’s phone numbers and stick them on the fridge, have a big joint game of something stupid (I used Sopio but obviously would not recommend that - but having a deck of playing cards in your hang-out area is great for sober quick games during the day, and also drinking games in the evening)
Tidy up after yourself, accept that not everyone is also going to tidy up after themselves, try not to let this bother you too much.
I also recommend lurking in your new university’s tag on Tumblr/Twitter, and sending messages to people with ‘going to x university!’ posts. I did that with my friends Alix and Hazel before I went to uni, made plans with both of them during the first few weeks, and now they’re some of my favourite people!
Category 2: Freshers Week
There will be a fresher’s fair; go to it! It will be crowded and uncomfortable, but there will be lots of free things. Sign up to a bunch of society mailing lists, but make sure you’re at least a little bit interested in what you’re signing up to, because you will get emails about it for the next three years.
There will be a lot of drinking and revelry. If this is your sort of thing, great! Have fun, be safe, make sure you know where you are and how to get home! If it’s not your sort of thing, it’s not a huge deal. Chances are, there will be a few people in your house who will be skipping out on going out drinking because they’re not into it/they don’t fancy it/they’re still recovering from the night before. Make plans to watch a movie with them, offer to get the snacks/drinks/etc
There will probably also be other events, go to ones you think sound interesting, don’t bother with the others. Some universities have wristbands that get you into everything, you might think it’s worth it, you might not. In general, freshers ‘events’ (comedy nights, gigs, etc) are usually pretty naff.
Grab some housemates/people you’ve met and explore the campus or city together. This first week is the only one where your schedules are totally free, so use it to your advantage! Make an effort to be way sociable for this one week, even if it’s totally out of character for you.
Category 3: learning
I found that first year wasn’t as big of a step up as the GCSE-A Level step was, if that helps! The only difference is that all of a sudden, 70% in a thing is amazing, 90% is almost unheard of, and 56% is still pretty decent. Adjust your expectations accordingly!
If you have a first year that doesn’t count towards your final degree, by all means chill out about learning for a little, but don’t slack off! The things you learn in first year will be needed for the next two years, and you’ll be super glad you have a firm grasp of the basic concepts when you have to write a complex third-year essay on a subject.
Okay so the main difference between school essays and university essays is basically just that university essays require you to reference other people a lot. When writing an essay, plan it out roughly first, find a bunch of quotes/concepts from other books, and note them down with the page number and book that they’re in. Then when you’re writing the essay, use any relevant quotes and CITE THEM using whatever reference system your department requires. Make sure to do this right, because you can lose a lot of marks on an essay for doing this wrong, but it’s not as hard as people make it out to be. Make sure you don’t use a quote/concept without citing it because that’s plagiarism and that’s a Big Deal.
Remember that everyone starting uni this year is in exactly the same boat as you! Everybody is a little nervous and eager to make friends - you’ll probably find that making friends in your first few months of uni is the easiest thing ever, because everybody is out of their element, trying to find their people. (You might keep these friends, you might not! You can always make different ones by talking to different people on your course and going to a new society!)
Going to uni for the first time is very scary, but it’s a really really good experience to have! I know it’s easy for me to say, but try not to worry about it, and just go along for the ride. Hit me up if you have any other specific questions and I’ll do my best to help you. <3
