Written by Patricia Obawole, BU First Year Law LLB Student.
Allow me to set the scene for you. You have taken the executive decision to go to university. Good. One of your choices could in fact be Bournemouth University. Great! All you’re going to do is party all day and not do any of the work set. Let me stop you right there. Inasmuch as the activities within the University consist of Freshers, it’s not ALL about freshers. Subtle difference.
What do I need? How’s the nightlife? Am I going to make friends? Questions I’m sure are continually racing around your mind and I am undoubted that this will be followed by “what, I am going to have to buy food for myself?!” Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you but yes, after years of living with parents/careers, it is time that you venture out from the nest to find your own little hut. This will be a comfortable, good quality home most likely to be University Halls. That’s right, welcome to the “Halls Experience” a year entangled with meeting new people, seeing new things whilst simultaneously focusing on studies and trying to achieve your potential.
I can guarantee that it will be an experience that you won’t want to forget in a rush. Allow me to tell you of my own account:
Counting down the sleeps before I was to leave was the longest segment of the process. All I could think was “AHHH, I’m going to university!” when I arrived it was definitely not was I was expecting, it was better. In all honesty I was sceptical about the common phrase “University will be the best days of your life” I wasn’t one for clichés. Nevertheless, the experience of moving away and starting afresh has been rather interesting. Chances are there will be times when you want to go home, that’s okay and normal for everyone. But sometimes, change is good, and university is exactly that.
Bournemouth has a wide range of activities for you to take part in. Try not miss the Freshers’ Fair, it’s good! The amount of free stuff they give out! And it’s a great opportunity to join societies and to meet new people that have the same interests as you. So, I highly recommend it.
I’m sure you can tell the kind of person I am by what societies I have joined, The Law Society and The Debating Society. The funny thing is, even the ones that seem boring (like mine) aren’t, but obviously I would say that. I think it’s the best way of finding people with similar interests to you. Try it out (it doesn’t have to be the debate society!)
The sporting facilities are immense as well, it seems that they have classes for anything that makes you move your body, this ranging from Kickboxing, to Pilates. So I’m sure even the pickiest will be able to find something.
What’s the difference between College/Sixthform and University? In a nutshell A LOT. You’ve probably heard that a lot of work is done is done independently, but that doesn’t mean your lecturers/tutors won’t help you if you need it, that’s what they are there for, it just means that instead of giving you 90% of the information, they’ll probably give you 50%. And no, it’s not because they are mean or doing a Vicky Pollard and “aren’t bothered,” it’s because they are preparing you for the World of Work (yes, it’s real).
That’s probably enough for you to think about but I will leave with you my number one survival tip. University is about playing hard, but working harder, make sure that your priorities are in order.
Good luck, and I hope to see you soon
Patricia Obawole
