Three years goes by fast! Oh the memories! Results day has been and gone and you are now preparing to leave for university. Here are a few things you should think about in order to make a smooth transition and take advantage of all that your uni has to offer.
Spend Time With Friends
Enjoy this summer at home before you and your friends part ways. You will stay in touch with them but it will never be the same, sometimes it will be better. Go out, have dinner, take a day trip to Brighton. Just really enjoy the time you have with them.
Start getting prepared early
The few bits and bobs that I didn’t get until a week before the move-in date were a nightmare and a half to get. This is because the majority of the fresher population were getting all their stuff at this time. To avoid the queues, crowds, and ‘out of stock’ notices, start shopping early.
New Home
So now you have made the journey to your university. Moving in will be a bit of a blur, but my advice would be to smile and when all your stuff has been put in your room, leave your door open as you unpack. This will allow your flatmates and others on your floor to poke their head in and introduce themselves.
Fresher’s week
It’s all about making friends, exploring your university and finding out what it has to offer! Now I would warn against signing up to every club or society that offers you free stuff. You wont have the time to do all the activities and society/club fees can be expensive! My advice would be to pick the ones that you are really interested in and give them all a trial. Then narrow it down to the ones you have the time for and the ones you can afford.
At Loughborough we had fresher’s fortnight, which meant going out for 14 days straight! #superfresher! However I would recommend that you only do as many nights as you can/want. Your priority is to get a degree, don’t hinder your success by partying all the time. Do what you can and rest when you need to. It’s okay to stay in your room curled up watching Waterloo Road!
As a Christian, it was hard to combine my faith with my life at Uni. I was known as the friendly fresher that liked to have fun and dance the night away, but I sometimes felt that I was hiding the other part of me in order to fit in. It’s not that I was behaving any differently but no one knew about my faith. When I told my friends that I was a Christian they accepted my faith and supported me.
So I would advise you not to hide your faith. Our faith makes us who we are and we should be proud of it. Sites like www.fusion.uk.com help connect students with local churches and other Christian students. www.uccf.org.uk is another site that links students with their Christian Unions and provides resources and videos to help you along the way. Just remember everything is “In God’s Hands”.
By Honey Gabriel
Tweet Her @honeygabriel19