Tips for freshers
It’s autumn and hundreds of thousands of students will be starting on university programmes not only up and down the country but all over the world. A fresher is considered a new undergraduate student at college or university. These tips are designed to help you get a kick start to the academic year and your university career.
Freshers’ fair
The Freshers fair, is an opportunity for the university’s clubs and society’s to showcase what they have to offer to all the new students, and normally your students’ union will be heavily involved in the fair if not running it so it’s also a great opportunity to see and understand how your union operate and who is responsible for making decisions on your behalf. Your leaders will most likely be floating around so make sure you take the opportunity to get to know them.
Because clubs societies and services happen at different times of the day, week and month this will be your only chance to see all the extra curricular activities your university has to offer in one location(s) at the same time.
Get there early so you can have an in depth look and to the students who are currently involved in the societies and their experiences. You will find clubs and societies for absolutely everything, and even If you don’t find your particular interest your union will be able to advise you on how you can start one yourself.
Another aspect of freshers fair is external companies use this platform to market to students so it’s a great opportunity to hear about all the special offers and discounts available for students from really big brands. Freshers at my uni was a two day event so I used to get there early on both days and load up on all the freebies I could, I’m talking USBs pens, sweets, coupons for Nandos and dominos, discounts to go to London Zoo, even if I didn’t sign up I still got mine! make sure you get yours!!!
Induction Lectures
Key information is given in your induction lecture, how your going to be examined, deadline dates, often welcome packs giving lots of useful information are given out, it’s also a great opportunity to ask questions to senior members of staff who as you will find out are not always be readily available. If you are going to miss a lecture, don’t let it be that one.
Campus Tours
During freshers week it is very likely that your university will offer some sort of tour of the campus this is a really good opportunity to learn where everything is without having the pressure to be at a lecture at a certain time, on top of this I would also encourage a personal tour where you spend time scoping out the university, during my time I had the campus wired, and even had what I’d like to call ‘secret rooms’ these were quite places on campus that very few people knew about that you would find me during the last few hours of a deadline. Universities have millions of pounds of real estate and since you’re paying so much to be there it makes sense you know and understand all that is available to you.
Purchasing Textbooks
You will hear a lot on this subject and this will vary greatly between subjects, there are some textbooks that you will 100% need and others that will end up being a £50 door stump for the three years, my advice would be hold on as long as you can before you invest in text books and get as much information as possible, if possible connect with people in older years and hear their experiences. Are textbooks available online or from the library? Consider all these things before investing. This is an important skill to learn as a student; finding the balance between having all you need for a semester and not wasting money.
Research the city
Many of you will be moving away from home do some research into the locality, as a student money will be an issue for most and there is always a better deal out there, on food for example you will often find a good deal at fresh food markets, many shops in and around your uni will offer student discounts and if you you buy a particular item a lot consider visiting a wholesale shop or a cash and carry it could save you money in the long run. An important principle that, I learned is that if you don’t plan ahead things do tend to cost more. Have a look online also there are many discounts on the items you need and using student discounts for example NUS card do go a long way. so invest in finding out what is available because it will yield benefits in the long term and save a lot of money.
How are you going to be assessed?
Understanding how you’re going to be assessed is pivotal in being able to plan your work and revision, How much is your first year worth? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if your first year doesn’t count to waste it, use it to optimise how you learn, and what you may find is that access to second year modules may be due to your performance in first year.
Will you be assessed via coursework or an exam? If it is an exam, what type of questions will you be asked? Multiple choice questions? Short answer questions? Essays? Will there be a practical component?
The more information you have the easier it will be to plan.
Extra services
Universities are multi Million pound institutions and they invest in additional services for students but often if you don’t ask you will never know about them, many universities will have some kind pastoral care service, where if you are having problems or question you can speak to someone, your tutor should be your first point of call but there are additional services.
Also many universities no have an enterprise department, so if you’re interested in starting a business or are looking for support for an existing business it’s definitely worth plugging into the scene.
Look into scholarship opportunities there are many funds available for students both within your university and externally sites like student cash point detail scholarships available for all kinds of projects, such as travelling during the summer, to funding research projects.
Relationship with Lecturers
Your tutor should be bestie (well kinda) and also all the lecturers that teach you, don’t be afraid to ask questions, get clarifications, I’m not saying harass them but you should have a very good working relationship. I’ve got out of a good few scraps at university simply because of the rapport I had with my lecturers and the administrative staff.
Calendar
If you don’t use a calendar already, start using a calendar! At university you are a lot more responsible for how you spend your time and a calendar will take away the pressure of having to remember everything and also help you plan your week more effectively.
These are just a few tips on some of the things you can do to make the transition from
school/college into university more smooth. Let me know what you think in the comments and some of the techniques you find helpful. If the demand is there I will happily do a part 2.
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