When you open your A Level results (assuming you aren’t taking a gap year), and discover that your place at university is secure, it is without a doubt that your initial reaction will be to jump with joy and scream as loud as you can! However, the fear and doubts begin to set in reasonably quickly – mainly ‘I’m not going to know ANYONE!!!’
Honestly, there is nothing to worry about!!
The most useful advice possible is simple, you are not the first person to leave home, nor will you be the last. My personal ‘visions’ of moving to university were that I was going to be left in a room on my own, with a suitcase, as my mum drove away – leaving me in a place where I knew no-one and didn’t have the confidence to speak to the weirdo in the room next door. I was petrified! But, to be completely honest, this couldn’t have been further from reality – there was no weirdo next door, and there was no feeling of uncertainty as I painstakingly introduced myself to everyone in the flat. However, as Theodore from University of Exeter says, ‘Moving in day will just be a crazy whirlwind of bags and boxes,’ so be prepared to have to juggle everything for a few hours!
What proceeded in the following week (bare in mind that Freshers’ Week is possibly THE most fun that you can ever have!), was a time that everyone got to know each other, make solid friendships and generally have a fantastic laugh. This is a brilliant opportunity to meet people – talk to as many people as you can, everyone else is in the same position and therefore everyone benefits from some new-found confidence. Simply, be prepared to be as friendly as you are capable of, but remember to be yourself! It will be an awful lot easier to keep up these friendships if you aren’t pretending to be someone else (like so many people do)!
Meeting people will also become an awful lot easier when you begin lectures. When you are spending lots of time with lots of different people, you’ll become close to others without particularly thinking about it. In my experience, you’ll begin to find lots of common ground with these people, whether it relates to your chosen degree subject, a dislike for a particular lecturer, or the surprise at the sudden volume of work that there is to do!
Basically, you need to be prepared to be open and accepting of the other people around you, as well as being prepared to be completely and utterly yourself. Have the confidence to speak and give your opinions, make conversation and party the night through while you have the opportunity!
Love every minute, this is the best time of your life!
By Alison W, 2nd Year from University of Wales Institute, Cardiff