If you’re a new university student, you have probably heard about freshers week. This is sometimes referred to as orientation, or welcome week. You may have heard things that make it sound daunting or scary. This article should hopefully provide some insight to make your freshers' week less intimidating.
Freshers Week enables you to learn more about academic expectations, course structure and available resources. You also get opportunities to explore clubs, societies and other activities that could improve your uni experience.
What Is Freshers Week?
Freshers week is a main part of any new student's university experience. It allows them to transition from regular life, into uni life more seamlessly.
Freshers has a long history, going as far back as the early 20th century. At this time, universities recognised that new students needed help adapting to the academic and social aspects of uni. It has changed over the years, becoming more comprehensive.
When it began, it was originally focussed on academic purposes, but now has become something to address both academic and social needs of students.
When is freshers week?
Freshers week is usually held in September, 1 to 2 weeks before the start of the university term.
It is a week which is packed with many social events and programs to help new students get acclimated to their new environment, as well as meeting new people.
Why is Freshers' week important?
During freshers week, you often meet new people, and begin to build and develop your own social network. You get the opportunity to meet people of all backgrounds and environments.
Freshers week allows you to feel like a part of the community at your university.
Academic preparation is also a large part of freshers' week. You can easily find information on how to access information and resources to help you in your academic journey, including support services for counselling, health services and academic advice.
What can I expect from freshers?
Academic inductions provide an overview of your course, allow you to meet course leaders and tutors in advance, and give insight into the requirements of the course and expectations.
You may also need to register online before you can attend your university, get put into the register, collect keys/key cards for student accommodation and other resources.
You can also expect different tours of certain departments and on-campus amenities. Make sure to check for the times that these are happening. Tours of the campus can be especially important if different uni buildings are spread around the city.
These tours can help you learn where everything you need is, helping you avoid any confusion in your first few days of university. It also gives you a chance to get to know your coursemates.
Library tours can also be important, as they are usually large buildings. Navigating them can sometimes be disorienting.
For example, the Bodleian Old Library is not only one of the largest university libraries, but it's also one of the UK's largest library systems, and has existed since 1488. It covers more than 1 building, and each building is laid out geometrically, so it can be quite confusing to navigate through some of them.
Learning the layout of your main library is significant, as this is a place where you may come to study, work with other students on group assignments, find books relating to your course and print your work.
Some workshops may also be organised for how to navigate your universities online platforms. Study skills workshops can also be set up to help you manage time, workload and use different techniques to study effectively.
Your student union may host welcome parties, allowing you to relax, have fun, and meet new people regardless of what course you’re studying. Some events can be themed, giving students a way to express themselves at the same time as socialising.
Pub crawls are another useful social event as they serve to help you explore your local area at the same time as meeting new people and relaxing into your new area.
There are often fairs for clubs and societies where they will try to advertise to prospective new members. There will be stalls to showcase what activities take place within that club. You can sign up for these at the fair, or often in your own time online.
Many clubs will host “give it a go” sessions, where prospective members can see if they enjoy those activities before joining.
Sessions focussed on wellbeing may be something you find useful and worth looking into. Stress management, mental health and healthy lifestyles are all things that can be neglected when at uni, so attending some of these workshops could be very helpful. These will also give you access to in the future.
Challenges and solutions
Although the first experience at university is undoubtedly exciting, it can come with a few different problems. Hopefully, this following list can help.
Homesickness
New students often experience some form of homesickness or anxiety, as they settle into a new place often far away from their home, sometimes for the first time.
Solutions:
- Stay connected through regular video or voice calls with family and friends.
- Make your living space comfortable, potentially with items from home to add a sense of familiarity.
- Seek support via counselling services if these feelings become too overwhelming.
Overwhelm
The amount of information and events during freshers' week can be quite overwhelming.
Solutions:
- Prioritise the events that are the most interesting or important to you. Focus on these, and skip other events when you need to, to avoid burnout.
- Make sure you take regular breaks to rest and recharge yourself. It is important to keep enough space free for downtime and relaxation.
- Organise your time in a planner, or calendar to ensure you don't miss anything important
Managing finances
As I mentioned earlier, it's easy to get ahead of yourself when it comes to student finances.
Solutions:
- Set budgets and stick to them. It is vital that you keep on top of your spending
- Tracking your spending to see when money is coming in and going out can help you crack down on things that might be unnecessary.
- Many of the events during freshers' week are free, so taking advantage of these can help you save a lot of cash.
- Utilise your student ID to get a student discount, especially on food, entertainment, or supplies.
Making friends
Creating new connections can be difficult, especially in new environments.
Solutions:
- Appear approachable by making eye contact, smiling, keeping your hands out of your pockets and maintaining good posture.
- Participating in clubs and societies that you are interested in will allow you to meet similar people.
- Don't be afraid to follow up with someone you connect with. Suggest study sessions, grabbing a coffee or any other activity where you can continue to converse with them.
Balancing social and academic life
It can be easy to lose track of priorities and have an imbalanced schedule.
Solution:
- Manage your time with things like to-do lists, calendars, planners or other techniques to ensure that you keep track of social commitments and deadlines.
- Identify your priorities and create a schedule around those. Balance work and fun to avoid burnout or missed deadlines.
- Stay organised to reduce stress and increase efficiency.
Academic concerns
You may not feel ready for the demands of your course, or university life in general.
Solutions:
- Attending orientation sessions can drastically reduce anxiety and proved helpful information on what to expect from your course.
- Make use of any resources you are afforded. Workshops, tutoring centres and study groups can all be effective.
- Try to build good study habits early into your year. Keep notes organised, regularly review your lecture content and keep on top of things.
- Lecturers are willing to help anyone who needs it. Don't shy away from communicating with them and asking for help.
Key Takeaways
Although freshers week is a new and exciting time, things can sometimes not go the way you intended. By following these tips and points, you should be able to make the most of your freshers' week in a safe and enjoyable manner. I hope this article was helpful in reducing any fresher anxiety or answering any questions you might have had. If you have anything else you need to research regarding university, all the uni essentials you need, or any other topics, check out the Superprof blog.
You can also have a look at the premium service, which connects students with their ideal tutors, based on their individual needs and location.
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