If you’ve spent the last few months scrolling on TikTok, watching pop culture portrayals of student life, or just feeling the pressure of what uni is supposed to be like, you’d be forgiven for assuming Freshers’ Week is just one giant pub crawl.
Before starting uni, I was genuinely terrified. I don’t drink, and I get pretty overwhelmed in loud, packed rooms. In my head, I’d built up this grim picture of sitting alone in my room while everyone else bonded over shots and nights out. It’s so easy to feel like you’re going to be the odd one out if that whole scene just isn’t your thing.
Which is why it felt like such a huge, absurd relief when, on my very first afternoon, almost every single person I met asked the exact same thing: “Hey, do you want to grab a coffee?”
That single sentence took such a weight off my chest. It was the first moment I realized I didn’t have to fake a persona or force myself into sticky-floored clubs just to make friends.
The reality of UofG during Freshers’ is way more relaxed and varied than the hype lets on. Plenty of people skip the drinking scene — whether for health, religion, personal preference, or just because they value their sleep. You don’t actually need a pint in your hand to find people you click with, but unlearning that initial Freshers’ panic definitely took me a bit of time.
Looking back, a few strategies helped me figure it all out on my own terms.
The Coffee Trick is real
Glasgow’s West End basically runs on caffeine, and “getting coffee” is the absolute universal icebreaker here.
Whenever I felt social anxiety creeping in, proposing a coffee run became my safety net. Grab a flat white at Espresso, a sweet treat at Tantrum Doughnuts on Gibson Street, or a boba on Byres Road. It gives you something to do with your hands, an easy environment to chat, and a built-in escape route after 30 minutes if the vibe just isn’t there.
Daytime events are where you actually make friends
There’s a weird myth that if you’re not out clubbing, your options are limited to staring at your bedroom walls after 7 PM. Honestly? The daytime stuff is where real connections happen anyway.
- Official Alcohol-Free Union Nights: Both the GUU and QMU plus the SRC run great sober daytime events like arcade nights, outdoor movie screenings, and plant-potting mixers where alcohol isn’t even part of the equation.
- Society Taster Sessions: The SRC Welcome Fair is massive (over 300 societies). Go for groups with built-in activities like Board Games, Baking, or Literature. Having a game or task to focus on takes all the awkward pressure off making small talk.
- The Free Museum Escape: If campus gets a bit much, walk down to Kelvingrove Museum. Strolling through the galleries gives you instant conversation starters, so those quiet pauses never feel awkward.
Handling flatmates and evening plans
Navigating flat dynamics during Freshers’ can feel tricky when your routine looks different from everyone else’s, but it doesn’t have to be awkward.
- Set your own boundaries early (and casually): You don’t need to make a big announcement or give a long explanation about why you aren’t going out. A simple, confident “I’m going to pass on tonight, but have a good one!” is usually all anyone needs to hear. People are far too focused on their own Freshers’ anxiety to interrogate your evening plans.
- Be present for the early evening: If your flat is hanging out in the kitchen before heading out, stick around for 20 minutes with a soft drink or tea while everyone is just chatting. You get to be part of the flat bonding without having to tag along to a noisy venue later.
- Host the alternative: If you want to do something in the evening that doesn’t involve a bar, suggest an low-key flat movie night, ordering takeaway, or grabbing a late-night dessert on Byres Road. You’d be surprised how many of your flatmates will jump at the chance to have a quiet night in after a long day on campus.
- Lower the stakes: Remind yourself that you don’t need to meet your lifelong best friends on Monday night. Bonding happens in tiny, quiet moments like sharing a laugh over the Glasgow rain while waiting in line for your student ID card, or chatting with whoever sits next to you in the Cloisters.
The Bottom Line
Looking back, I wasted way too much energy worrying that I wouldn’t fit into the “standard” uni experience. Glasgow is an amazingly warm, diverse city, and UofG genuinely has space for every kind of person.
So don’t write off Freshers’ Week before you even get here. Put on some comfy shoes, wander through the Cloisters, grab that welcome coffee, and just let yourself experience it on your own terms.