I am a recent graduate [for the
second time] who has completed two degrees which meant that I had two first
time experiences at University as my degrees were in two different locations. For me I was actually more nervous the second
time around as I had spent three years at my first university where I had made
wonderful friends and made many unforgettable memories. I was conscious that I would
be a lot older than those living in halls second time around and worried that
my experience second time around wouldn’t
match up to my first. I shouldn’t have been worried as I had a great time and
have made many friends and created lots more unforgettable memories. For me
both experiences were completely different, which is only natural as I had done
a lot of growing up throughout my first degree and entered my second degree
more grown up and more focused on my degree as I was very focused on starting
my desired career. So as the new batch of students are getting ready to begin
another chapter in their lives by going to university I thought I would share some
helpful tips that will hopefully prove useful to some of you reading this. So grab
yourself a cuppa and enjoy as this post is gonna be a long one.
Making Friends And Trying New Things:
First off, fear not. You may feel like
you will never make friends and may fear that you will remain alone-this will
not happen, after all we are all the makers of our own destiny. This feeling
may be more evident in those who didn’t have a great experience at school/college
or who may be moving to a university where none of their friends are going. When
going to university for the first time I didn’t know a soul and tbh now I’m kind
of glad I didn’t as I found that my friends who moved away together clung together
and didn’t make as many ‘new’ friends. It is important to remember that
everyone is in the same position as yourself and will be having the same worries
as you. I’ll never forget saying goodbye to my family and closing the door
behind them and looking around at the three strange faces looking back at me
and thinking ‘oh crap.’ On first impressions none of the girls looked like my
type and I thought I wouldn’t get on with them, how wrong was I. I am still
very good friends with them to this day and even lived with one of them for
three years. We were sat in our kitchen on the first night feeling slightly awkward
when I came up with the idea of knocking on everyone’s door to say hello and introduce
ourselves-best thing we could have done as we got to meet others from our courses
and arranged to meet and walk to class together for the first day. The knocking
on doors resulted in a huge party in ours where we stayed up until 6am having ‘the crack’ as we say here, and the rest
in history. So don’t be afraid to be bashful, go knock on doors and introduce
yourself. Also another way to meet
people is freshers week, it’s time to step out of your comfort zone and join in
the activities offered. I strongly recommend trying new things as it’s a fun
way to meet new people; I joined in the hip hop dancing, belly dancing and
fencing clubs and had an absolute ball even though I was rubbish at all three.
Shopping And Money:
Don’t go mad on buying things for the
house. Wait until you see what others have brought with them and they you can all
chip in and get the rest or divide it amongst you on who buys what. Buy cheap
as you don’t want to spend lots on stuff in case it gets ruined. There are
always cheap household stuff in September and October as shops purposely aim
their market at students around this time of year. I strongly suggest that you
invest in a decent clothes rack for drying your clothes in your room as this
will last you throughout your whole time at university and beyond. Ear plugs
are also handy for those evenings where you want to block out noise. A printer
is also a good investment as you will save so much more money in the long run as
University can charge 5p for a sheet of paper and there are always queue’s at
the printer. Argos always do good printer deals for around 25-30quid.
Clothes wise, I wouldn’t suggest
rushing out and buying loads of clothes as in early October [normally when
loans are in] many shops like DV8, Topshop, New Look etc will offer 15% and 20%
student discount. Even keep your eyes peeled for student discounts in stores
such as River Island that normally don’t offer discount as they will normally
have a weekend where they will offer student discount, they will time this for
when loan payments are in. So save your pennies for then. I also recommend that
you don’t go mad on your loan. Remember its real money that you will have to
pay back so make it stretch as nothing worse than having no money and all your
friends are off out doing fun things.
I recommend that you bring clothes that are
easily washed and dried. Some clothes for both day and night. It would be good
to have lots of basics that can be dressed up or down. Plain tops are great for
this and mean that you can create lots of different looks without looking like
your wearing the same thing all the time. I would also recommend you bring some
sport/gym gear for activities that you may partake in. Bring any Halloween costumes
or fancy dress outfits that you own as there will be many themed nights out. Popular
ones are school discos, beach parties, pub golf, tennis hoes and pros and Greek
themes. Flip-flops are also great to bring as it’s more than likely you will
have a communal shower. Also a hanging shower caddy is great as you can take it
to the shower with you to carry all your essentials in. Another alterative if
the shower is only used by a small number of people is to buy a cheap plastic drawer
set or vegetable rack to store your shower stuff on. Each person can take a
shelf or drawer to keep their stuff in. I also recommend that you bring a something
to keep your dirty washing in as you may have to use communal washer and dryers
and want something to carrying your washing in. I would suggest for those who will have
communal bills such as electric or heating bills to divide the bills equally. I
wouldn’t recommend taking it turns to pay the bills as I have seen this cause arguments
so it’s probably best to all put a fiver in a kitty every month etc to pay for
bills. It’s probably also worth buying some food items together such as basics
like milk, bread, butter etc as fridge space is limited and its pointless
to have four loaves of bread for four
people. Also take full advantage of your student card for example if you
produce your student card in McDonalds when buying a meal you can get a free McFlurry,
cheese/hamburger or fries.
Safety:
Now onto safety, prepare for a
lecture. Most universities would provide students with welcome packs where
there will be lots of information-do read this, there are usually free condoms contained
within this pack and they are often hanged out during fresher week. I would
suggest that you keep a stash of condoms in your room and some in your handbag
in case you find yourself in that situation-after all its better to be safe
than sorry. Please be drink smart, do not get yourself in risky situations and
do not wander off drunk alone as you are only making yourself more vulnerable. Personal
alarms are often handed out in fresher’s week, grab yourself one and carry it
in your bag. They are small and take up little room in your bag but could save
you from an awful situation. Always make sure someone knows where you are going
and when you should be expected to return. I also strongly recommend keeping money
in your phone and keeping your phone charged.
Other tips:
You may not get on with everyone you
meet but the good thing is unlike school you are not forced to spend all your
time with those whose company you don’t particularly enjoy. A top tip I have is
to always keep a spare loo roll hidden in your room. Believe me a time may come
where you will need it. For those who worry about using shared loos especially
where #2’s are concerned I would suggest bringing incense sticks with u to the
toilet and light it to well you know,lol. Just remember to blow it out and take
it back to your room with you if you don’t want anyone to know what you’ve been
doing. Compile a first aid kit with plasters, Imodium, headache tablets etc as
this kit will come in handy. Do gather up taxi numbers and take away menus and pin
them to a board or the fridge. If in a new area I strongly recommend that you
put a few taxi numbers in your phone in case you ever get stuck. It may be a
good idea to have an emergency taxi fund hidden in the flat in case you get
stuck and need a taxi home but have no money in your purse. Means you can run
to the flat/house and get the fare from the kitty-just remember to replace any
money you take out. Any snacks and drinks you do not want to risk getting eaten
or drunk by others especially by those who get a dose of the munchies after a
night out or want to party on I would suggest keeping this in your room. I also
suggest locking your bedroom door. There will often be parties where there will
be ‘randomers’ if you want to prevent your stuff being stolen then lock your
room door-simples. I would also suggest making up house rules once you get to
know each other better and regular house meetings is a good way to air any concerns
and prevent avoidable bitching sessions or bust ups. To avoid arguments it
would also be a good idea to draw up a cleaning rota. I would also suggest that
you learn how to wash and iron and get someone to show you how to cook a few
meals if you don’t already know how to.
Finally do try and stay on top of
your university work and attend class. Make sure you look into what classes are
compulsory as you don’t want your university experience to end due to missing compulsory
classes. After all you have put the hard work in to get here. If you are
struggling with university work then speak up. Go and speak with a lecturer
after all that’s what they are there for. But you are seen as an adult now as
are expected to speak up about such things whereas in school the teachers came
to you if they thought something was up. If you are struggling with any other
problems such as relationships, sexual health, money etc there are support
systems in University to help you, no one will want you to struggle.
Finally enjoy every minute as take it
from me the time flies. So buckle up and enjoy the journey.
I hope this was helpful.
xKx
