Dear Future Fresher,
As a fresher, university can seem like a very overwhelming experience. If you are lying in wait with trepidation before your first year at university I thought it could be cool (and hopefully helpful) to write a kind of letter to you outlining my three top tips to make the most of your time as an incoming fresher.
1 – Don’t Be Afraid To Be The One Who Gets The Group Together.
With packing, unboxing and moving into halls meeting your other flatmates can sometimes seem slightly more fleeting initially than you may have first thought or perhaps even wanted. For a more durable first connection you can never really go wrong with a box of celebrations to share out with everyone in your halls, and don’t be afraid to put yourself forward to be the person who leads the coordination through setting up the flat WhatsApp group.
I would also setting up a group meal outing as soon as possible. When I first moved into my flat as a fresher we went to a nearby Nando’s and we definitely eased into each other as people a lot more in a relaxed environment with amazing food, and this can allow you to form a much more solid basis for potential lifelong friends.
2 – Sign Up To Lots Of Clubs And Cut Down As You Go Along.
I would say that if I could go back and change one thing about my time as a fresher it would be to utilise the freshers fair experience to the maximum. In a nutshell a freshers fair is a space where all societies and clubs at the university come together with individual stalls to get you to join them. It is a crazy, enjoyable and super exciting experience with blasting music, free food and amazing exclusive student giveaways from places such as Amazon and Domino’s.
Sometimes it can be tempting to just take the free food at a stall and pass on the signing up process if you may not have been completely set I stone about the type of society. However, I would encourage every fresher to try at least one new thing even if you were to drop it after the first session, to get the most your university has to offer. Who knows, you may discover a passion you never knew you had.
3 – Buy University Merchandise As Soon As Possible.
Following pretty much what this phrase says on the tin, buy university merchandise as soon as possible. It can be very easy to forget to buy your university hoodie, sweatshirt, t-shirt, mug (the list goes on) but it can make you feel closer and more integrated into university culture from the offset.
Finally, a note to say that as much as I would encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone, do what feels right for you.
Don’t feel pressured to do too much or do what everybody else around you might be doing as your fresher’s and university experience and path is uniquely your own and you should treat it as such.
Just have fun and go for it.