Starting university is an exciting yet challenging transition. Here are five crucial lessons I learned in my first year that made the journey smoother and more rewarding.

1) Making Friends

You might not make friends on day one, but there are many places to find friends.

When I first got to university, I struggled to make friends beyond one person in my flat, despite joining different societies.

Sometimes all it takes is changing one small thing to make friends. The turning point for me was sitting somewhere else in a lecture, which was the beginning of my long-standing friendships at university.

It might take some time, but sometimes you are looking in the wrong place, and it’s important that you don’t lose motivation. University is full of tonnes of people and different communities where you can find like-minded people, and your first year is the perfect opportunity to explore them.

2) Planning & Productivity

Planning and preparing regularly will improve productivity as well as helping you not to get too stressed.

Upon starting university, there are additional responsibilities that you have to take on like housework, cooking and grocery shopping as well as studying and socialising.

Being in halls can make this easier, as they are close to campus and have facilities that make it easier to do everything in the same building, so planning what you do and when can really help you to always be prepared.

Developing a routine for your tasks ensures you are always prepared and helps cultivate good habits that last beyond university.

3) Don’t Be Afraid To Reach Out Or Answer Questions

University staff and services are there to support you and help you get the most out of your university experience. Whether it is a tutor, lecturer or one of the student services, it’s always best to ask anyway – what’s the worse that could happen. Most people will try and be helpful by signposting you to the best place to get the information.

Sometimes asking a questions can help you in more ways than you know, by helping you understand a topic better and gaining you higher grade in an assignment or maybe finding out about an opportunity that some people may not know about.

4) Take Every Opportunity and Put Yourself Out There

Put yourself out there even if you’re not fully sure. Every opportunity you take, gives you more experience.

In my first year I was quite shy and just wanted to muddle through my degree, but I was also interested in doing the Dance Society, Nerve Radio and becoming a Student Ambassador. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push through, or even where to start. The first step was attending Freshers Fair, which was the hardest part, and after attending, I found out how welcoming and encouraging people would be. Fast forward two years, and I’ve done all these things and more. Becoming a PAL leader in my 2nd year, being a mentor outside of my studies and currently coming to the end of my placement year.

The experience you gain will encourage you to aim higher in the future. Pushing myself boosted my confidence and opened doors to new opportunities and new people.

5) Pacing Yourself To Avoid Burnout

When you first start at university, it can be overwhelming, but it is understandable if you wouldn’t know how to structure your time best, so it is very easy to burn yourself out.

The first few weeks can be hectic with moving into halls and settling in, meeting new people, attending freshers week, joining clubs/societies and starting classes, things that all happen naturally, and you can do all these things if you pace yourself and know when to take breaks.

Once you start classes and suddenly have to juggle a workload especially around deadlines and exam season, and sometimes group work can also make this tricky. Spacing out your tasks throughout the semester helps prevent burnout and keeps you on track.

Find out more

Navigating university life as a first year