You will receive a lot of advice from different people telling you what to do and what not to do when you’re preparing to go university. Listen to what they say, but it doesn’t always mean they know everything. For example:
- Be careful
- Focus on your studies
- Look after your belongings
- Be careful
- Take care of yourself
- Be careful
- Don’t get too drunk
- Be careful
These are vital guidelines needed for university, so you must take notice and pay attention to them. However, it is also the advice given by parents, teachers and others not living the life. It is therefore absolute you receive the essential guide of how to live and survive at university as a FRESHER from an expert – a uni student!!! On arrival:
- Do not be too shy – you need to make friends
- Be friendly – you need a social life to survive
- Do not be narrow minded – you will meet lots of new people, appreciate diversity
- Learn to accept change and differences
- Try to be yourself – you don’t want to come across as ‘fake’
Living the Student Life:
- Familiarise yourself with the area but be careful at the same time
- Go shopping - enjoy some of your loan money but not all (shopping can become an addiction for guyz and girls)
- Do not spend all your money at the start of the semester – you will need it the most towards the end when you’re broke
- Take advantage of the student discounts; on nights out for cheap drinks (£1 a shot is the best one, discounts when clothes shopping, the cinema and some restaurants) – there’s no harm in asking
- Without technology, you have nothing
- Life without a TV is bearable
- You'll find sleeping becomes the most important thing you need to do
- 'Lazy' becomes your middle name
- You're always hungry – even after eating
Uni, lectures, etc.
- Try to go into lectures – notes are not always put on-line
- Go to the seminar –there’s more interaction so you’ll find them useful
- JOIN societies – it will look good on your CV, helps you make more friends and can be a lot of fun
- Return library books on time – the amount they charge for late books is ridiculous
Alcohol:
- KNOW YOUR LIMITS – don't ruin your night by throwing up at the end (or worse, at the start)
- Have something to eat beforehand – this stops the sick feeling
- Have some milk before and after drinking alcohol – this lines your stomach, stops the sick feeling and reduces hangovers
- If you do get drunk, eating a greasy meal (kebabs, chicken, etc.) really helps – the fatty food absorbs alcohol quickly, so will again reduce the sick feeling and a hangover.
- Drink lots of water – have at least two pints of water before going to bed
- DON'T mix your drinks – it will make you feel sick and can be very dangerous
The last few things that will help you are:
- Have fun, don't stress, remember you are not alone in taking these steps
- You may go through a few friends before you find your actual friends (this is normal)
- University life is very different to life at home. It is important that you try to be organised and keeping up with the basic work load for your course. If not, you’ll find yourself having late nights, lack of sleep, trying to catch up with a semester’s work in a few weeks – it is not a pleasant state to be in so just avoid it
- A lot of people say first year is not important because it doesn’t count towards your degree. It is important; use first year to set your target for years two and three, work hard so you know what you’re capable of achieving
- Enjoy first year while it lasts, second year things get serious and stresses of the academic life will begin to dominate the stresses of your social life!!!
