Features / advice
Freshers’ tips
Venture beyond your comfort zone
Get to know your surroundings and enjoy the rest of diverse and vibrant Bristol. Walk past Cabot Circus and onwards to Stokes Croft, for more alternative city centre clubs and independent shops, cafes and restaurants, or try Spike Island and Southville for charity shops and cultural centres. Though Bristol may seem initially difficult to navigate, anything worth seeing is walkable, and you ensure you scope out more than just the student areas.
Have a wonder around one of Bristol’s biggest shopping centres.
Attend university taster sessions
Try your very best to make an appearance at university taster sessions and enrolment activities. Though they will probably seem like a slight waste of time and not worth waking up early for, you will meet course mates and have a few friendly faces for when classes begin. You’ll also complete the admin and feel more comfortable with the course outline and your tutors. The new style of teaching and more challenging course material will seem far less daunting with some friendly faces and all the essential information.
Study begins after freshers week
Make a social effort from the onset
Though you will be continuously making friends throughout your time in Bristol, it is important to start early and make friendships from the beginning – time counts for a lot. Do not fret if you are not a particularly confident or outgoing person. Pair with an extrovert and let them help you meet people, and try to remember that everyone is in the same boat as you.
Prepare for mood swings
Freshers’ Week and first term at university are fun but (unless you are very lucky) will not be the best weeks of your life, as is the misconception. Be prepared to feel lonely and do not panic at the onset of inevitable home sickness. Again, a lot of people feel this and it is completely normal. Try to immerse yourself fully and make the most of being in a wonderful, animated city full of students. You will most likely love university within a few months; everything takes time.
Start budgeting after Freshers’ Week
The more carefree student will never start budgeting and will spend the sum of their student loan on a month of nights out. Whether or not you intend to be careful with money, don’t bother budgeting through Freshers’ Week. You need to allow yourself a teething period and the chance to settle in comfortably without adding to pre-existing stress. Treat yourself to that £4 bottle of wine if it’ll improve your first week away from home.
Budget for university life once settled
Eat and sleep healthily
Do not be fearful of putting on the freshman 15 or of missing out on fun because you need a nap. Eating healthily and sleeping the recommended amount will make a tremendous difference to your mental and physical wellbeing, and as a result will improve your freshers experience generally.
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