Tutor blog

What to expect during your first week at University

This is a guest blog post written by Emma Holly Watson, an English tutor on MyTutor.

So, you’ve met the conditions of your University place, executed an Ikea haul which rivals that of a 2011 YouTuber and debated the pros and cons of plug-in versus battery operated fairy lights for your new room (go for battery operated – all University halls are woefully lacking in plugs). But what does the first week actually involve? 

Moving day is bound to be a little bit awkward

Picture the scene. You’ve picked up your room key, traipsed an entire car’s worth of belongings up four sets of stairs, nabbed the kitchen space away from both the cooker and the sink (pro-tip) and watched your parents drive away into the wide blue yonder. You knock on each of your flatmates’ doors, meet in the kitchen and try to figure out if you have anything in common with five strangers you met over the Student Union Facebook page. Well…welcome to move in day! Moving day is hectic, nerve wracking and a little awkward – but that’s inevitable. Remember, everyone’s feeling the same way. 

A couple of tips to help smooth your move include keeping your door open (I know, I know, everyone tells you this, but it makes you look friendly and approachable), and bring some treats to share with everyone. A cuppa and the nice biscuits your parents bought in your first University food shop is bound to bring everyone together!

Enrolment can be a whirlwind

Among getting to know your new flatmates, checking out the best pubs, and figuring out how to work the hall’s oven, you’ll also be invited to a whole spectrum of weird and wonderful induction activities. From the boring (read: essential) to the invigorating, the first week is your chance to get to know your uni campus, lecturers and the inside working of the place where you will be spending the next three years. My first week at University was jam packed. From a library orientation, a tour of campus, meeting my tutor, induction seminars, a boat trip along the coast and a treasure hunt in my new city, I didn’t have a moment to take a breath. Attend all the activities on offer to you. Not only will you get to recognise your professors, this is when friendships are forged. Push through the nerves and get your pickaxe ready – there’s going to be an intense amount of ice-breakers!

In summary, don’t forget to check your emails and pick up your student card. You will be (literally!) lost without it.

pupil-illustration-mytutor

Getting lost in your new home

The next thing to be expected is getting lost in your new home. It’s likely, unless you are going to University in your hometown, that the only opportunity you had to explore your new city was on an Open Day. This can definitely give you a flavour of what to expect, but your first week is the perfect time to find the local supermarket, gym and club. This city is going to be your new home for the next three years, so get stuck in! It was during Freshers Week that I found the bizarre twenty-four-hour coffee-shop turned bar at the end of my road, the pub which pulled the cheapest pints and the train station in preparation for any visits home. When your family comes to visit, you’ll be able to show them the city’s best restaurants, shops and pubs (although I’d Keep the city’s best drunken kebab spot to yourself).

Learning life skills

The first week at University can be a shock to the system in many ways. For instance, you suddenly realise just how much your parents do for you! The first week – strike that, the first year – is spent trying to figure out how to work the washing machine and tumble drier (hello shrunken pink clothes), the oven (chicken nuggets and chips for tea every night gets old by Reading Week) and wishing that your mum was there to help you out. Thanks mum!

There are a number of ways you can prepare to take this next step into adulthood. Learn how to cook a couple of basic, versatile meals. Once you have mastered bolognese, add a tin of kidney beans and you have yourself a chilli, experiment with herbs and spices – and if all else fails have the local takeaway number on hand! Take a look at the labels on your clothes and learn which temperature wash you should be using if you don’t know already. This will give you a head start when faced with the communal washers and dryers. Soon you’ll be cooking up a gourmet meal for your flatmates, but I would leave them to wash their dirty gym kit themselves!

So there you have it – now you know exactly what to expect from your first week of university. Good luck!

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