One of the highlights for students who join BU every year is Freshers Week!

Freshers Week is an opportunity to go out, have fun, take part in activities, and meet new friends! In this blog, I talk about my experience of Freshers Week at BU, including what my expectations were Vs the reality.

Before I moved in, I talked with my new housemates about what events were on, and if they would like to go to them. There are a wide range of events around Bournemouth, sometimes on the same day.

Some places that usually host nights out during Freshers Week are (but not exclusively): Cameo, Walkabout, Lollipop (SUBU – Old Fire Station), Revolution & Halo. They are commonly fancy dressed themed which is great to have a laugh and dress up.

I was a bit worried when I was packing for university that I would not have enough fancy dress options or ideas. Perhaps there would be an event that I would have nothing to wear? However, I was with some really nice people, and we ended up borrowing from each other. I took one or two items that I knew I would use and then adapted the clothing I had or did my makeup in the theme.

Sourced from The Old Fire Station

For example, one of the themes was the Zoo, so I used my makeup to make myself look like a big cat! Basic dresses and shirts were also very useful!

All my housemates had similar ideas on where they wanted to go, so we had a look at the tickets. Both before and during Freshers there are always wristbands on sale. The idea behind these is that you pay a singular amount instead for entry to multiple events, rather than buying tickets individually. I paid for a wrist band as I thought I would use this often.

However, I actually only ended up going to one event with it and bought alternative events instead once I got to Bournemouth once I knew where my flat and neighbours were going.

Wristbands can definitely be useful to get, but I advise doing a bit of research into how much the individual tickets cost for the specific events you are thinking about going to and think about what is best for you!

Tickets do sell out quite fast, but I found that you do have time when you arrive to chat to people about where they are going and then buy the tickets to where you are going to go. I thought I would spend all the week with my new housemates, but in reality, I met people during Freshers Week who I also went out with.

Another expectation of mine was that it would all be drinking. Although I went to a lot of events that involved drinking, there were also events run by SUBU and ResLife throughout the week. When I was a fresher, I went to a flowerpot painting session for example. Also, I thought people would mainly go to scheduled events only, but I found that I went to lunch with course mates, and walked around Bournemouth to help find where everything was. I found that there were lots of opportunities to ask people to do alternative things and this again was great for meeting people.

I met a lot of people during freshers, which was extremely fun however, what I did not realise is that not all of them will become your good friends or will stick around! I am now a final year, and a few of those people I met in Freshers Week are still my friends, but I realised you meet a lot of people over the three or four years at BU, and you stay friends with those people who are your kind of people! (So do not worry if friendships come and go! It is never too late to make friends at university!)

During Freshers there is the BU Freshers Fair which showcases all the great clubs and societies you can get involved in whilst at BU.

There are also lots of stalls for part-time jobs and volunteering opportunities. I found this very fun to attend, and even signed up to a fitness class! Find out more about BU Societies here.

Overall, I had a brilliant time, and I really hope you do too! If you would like to chat to a current student about their experience of Freshers Week, you can here.

Find out more

Freshers Fair