You've survived fresher’s week and now you’re all set for your first year of
university. Here are a few tips for post-fresher’s success.
Learn to cook
It’s
all very well living off baked beans and take-out pizza for a week while you
party the nights away, but that would be a nutritional disaster in the long
term.
Pick
up a student cookbook from your local shop and organise a weekly meal with your
flatmates. Take it in turns to do the cooking, or better still, all pitch in
together and teach each other new dishes.
Keep your flatmates happy
Having
bonded over your communal dinner, it’s important that you keep your new friends
onside- after all, you have to live with them for a year.
Get
together and draw up a list of house/ hall rules so that everybody knows what’s
expected. Don’t be afraid to politely mention something you’re not happy with,
so you can all work towards a resolution.
Try something new
University
gives you the opportunity to try new things. If you haven’t already joined a
society, it’s not too late. Take up a sport, join the debating team or learn
how to knit. If you want to do something that your university doesn’t currently
offer, why not start your own society?
Get
together with some friends, ask your student union for some help and you’re
good to go.
Avoid the call of home
While
we wouldn't advise literally ignoring all calls from home, if you start feeling
homesick, the worst thing you can do is visit home whenever you get the
opportunity.
Some
people experience homesickness within the first few weeks, while it may hit
others half way through the first term. Either way, the best way to combat
these feelings is to throw yourself into student life. The busier you are, the
less time you’ll have to think about what you might be missing at home.
Think about your CV
The
first year of university is a great time to get some extra experience before
the workload increases. Maybe become a mentor at a local school or apply for a
part-time job at your student union bar.
If
you want to do a placement or an internship in the summer, keep an eye out for
forthcoming deadlines, which are often earlier than you might think.
Your
university careers service will have many resources you can make use of, so get
in touch with them sooner rather than later.
Don’t neglect your work
Amid
all the fun, it’s important to remember that university is about studying. Make
sure you know when your deadlines are, or what you need to revise for an exam.
Use
your first year to get into good habits for the rest of your degree; try out
revision techniques or improve your time-management skills. Perhaps make a
schedule for each week, to make sure you have enough time to read or attend
sports practice.
Work out
It’s
easy to get blasé about your health when you’re not being fed by parents. While
learning to cook nutritional dishes will help to keep you well – colds spread
quickly in halls of residence – it’s also worth watching what you eat to keep
off the extra pounds.
Eating
well and keeping physically fit will help to keep you working at your best
throughout term.
Keep to your budget
As
well as managing your time, you’ll need to continue to manage your money. If you've already budgeted for the year, take a moment to assess how well you've kept to it. Fresher’s week can be quite expensive, so you may need to adjust it accordingly.
Make
sure you have enough money for food each week, and if you’re a little tight for
cash, think about where you might be able to cut back – maybe on cigarettes,
alcohol or takeaways.
Explore your surroundings
Not
only are you at university, but many of you will be in a completely different
part of the country.
Use
your free time to discover all the area has to offer. If you've got to spend
the next few years there, you may as well discover the best places to go.
Find
a favourite pub, stumble upon a great place to read or check out some local
events.
Take a trip back home
While
you should avoid going home every weekend, if you do begin to miss friends and
family, use a long weekend or you reading week to visit your parents.
This
is a great opportunity to eat a huge meal and load up on tinned food to take
back with you. Aside from visit’s food-related benefits, use the time to relax
and take a break from university life – that way you’ll go back feeling
refreshed and ready to get straight back into it.
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Categories: students, University
