5 Top Tips for Freshers’ Week

Freshers’ week is finally upon us! This is your chance to celebrate those exam results, meet new people and get a taster for uni life.

But it’s not all boozy nights, whirlwind romances and non-stop partying. There’s more to being a fresher than you think…

Whether you’re going into your first year, or you’re a second year experiencing freshers for the first time – we’ve come up with five ways to make it a week to remember.

• Introduce yourself to people
• Create a budget and stick to it
• Go to freshers’ fair
• Avoid burnout
• Sort out your admin

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1. Introduce yourself to people

Uni is no fun without a few pals to keep you sane when those deadlines hit. Plus, it’s nice to have people to binge Netflix with.

Luckily for you, the whole point of freshers’ week is for you to get to know new people. University halls, the student union and nightclubs around town will be packed to the rafters with students your age. Making friends will never be this easy again.

If you’re in halls, wedge your door open on move-in day so your flatmates can say hello. You can’t go wrong with a friendly smile and these three questions…

• What’s your name?
• Where are you from?
• What are you studying? 

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2. Create a budget and stick to it

Jessie J once said ‘it ain’t about the money, money, money’. But we beg to differ. Forgetting about the price tag could result in your bank balance sinking faster than a bike in a canal. ​

Now that you’ve got a student loan and a whole lot of control over it, life is sweet. But don’t get carried away! Make sure you’re spending wisely, so you can pace yourself and have some money to spare when your finances drop later on in the term.

The solution? Budget, budget, budget. Money Helper has a great budgeting tool that lets you know exactly how much money is coming in and what it’s being spent on. This will help you stay on top of all your expenses and plan your savings too.

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3. Go to freshers’ fair

This one’s a must. And not just for the free pens, sweets and tote bags. Freshers’ is a fantastic opportunity to find out about all the extra-curricular activities you can get involved with, such as debating, jazz or Zumba.

RateMyPlacement stall

If you’re looking to get a head-start in your career, look out for the RateMyPlacement stall to find out how to get paid work experience whilst you’re at university.

Join a society

Being part of a society will widen your social network, broaden your skill set and help you maintain that work-life balance. It’ll help to boost your employability too. Employers love students who have interests outside of their academic studies.

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4. Avoid burnout

Whilst freshers’ week has a reputation for non-stop partying, it’s good to pace yourself by having a couple of chilled nights in with your new mates.

Get to know each other. Likes, dislikes and all. Especially people you live with. The closer your bond, the comfier you’ll feel around them.

If you went to freshers’ fair like we suggested, you’ll probably have a ton of Domino’s vouchers to get through. So why not have a movie and takeaway night? Life’s all about balance, otherwise you’ll risk burnout. And no-one wants that.

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5. Sort our your admin

At the risk of sounding like nagging parents, if you’ve moved away from home you’ll need to do some life admin to make sure you’re settled in. For instance, it’s worth registering at your local doctor’s. This will come handy when you catch freshers’ flu.

What else you ask? Well, we’d recommend making sure:

• You’re fully registered for your course modules
• Have access to your student university account
• Created your weekly timetable for all your lectures and seminars
• All your devices are connected to the uni WiFi before classes begin.

Campus tour

Oh – and definitely take a tour around campus to familiarise yourself with your department. You don’t want to get lost on your first day of lectures! 

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What’s one bit of advice our team would give to their freshers’ self?

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