Rebecca Pedley gives the ultimate fresher's guide to York.
In the concluding part of James Carney's thoughts on fresher living, he debates sex, flu and memories.
In the first part of a two piece feature, James Carney discusses first year life, and the balance between work and everything in between.
University is a time for meeting people, those you will like and those you will dislike. Lizzy Pennock takes you through some stereotypes.
1. Don’t get involved with too many societies
With so many exciting societies on campus, it is understandable to want to get involved with many of them. However don’t bite off more than you can chew. Eventually you’ll find that meetings clash and especially if you take on positions you’ll be letting people down. Also, as you’ll probably enjoy the societies you’re involved in more than your actual university work, as much as you’d like to think you would now, you may begin not prioritising your work.
2. Don’t go out every night
Unless it’s the first or last week of term and you have no exams you should avoid trying to pull several all-nighter’s in a row. Try to plan which nights of the week you’re going to go out, and which nights you’re going to do your seminar work and essays. Going into a seminar without having done the work and then having to talk in front of the whole group is one of the most embarrassing things ever. You’ll still be able to go to every separate night out, but you don’t need to cram it all in one week. Moreover, it doesn’t take a genius to know that drinking is expensive, even at York’s below-average prices, so you’ll save a few too.
3. Avoid getting a job
For many students getting a job is unavoidable and necessary, but ultimately if you can squeeze by without getting one then try not to. Even if your contract isn’t many hours per week you will find yourself missing events and social gatherings, and more importantly time to do work. In addition, employers tend to find it easy to make you prioritise their business over your urgent seminar work for the next day when they want you to work last minute and you’re worried about getting the chop in this vicious economic period.
4. Utilise your facilities
The first time I used the library computer rooms was in August when I was revising for my resits, which is something I am very ashamed of. This whole year, my main use for the library was in fact to borrow DVD’s. Although having to bring them back for the 11am curfew the following day is a good way of making sure you get up before midday. Supervisors and seminar leaders are there to help; when they give you their email at the start of the session write it down, because when you’re stuck with a piece of work nothing good comes from hiding under a rock.
5. Avoid caffeine
During my first term I took pro-plus pills nearly every day to invigorate me after a heavy night out when I had a pre 2.15pm start (it takes me a while to recover) but I found that having so much caffeine makes it increasingly hard to wake up the next morning, even if you haven’t drunk the night before. When staying up to finish overdue work, it’s easy to go to Derwent vending machines and get a coffee or to stock up with energy drinks from Costcutters, but these energy supplements are not the answer! For me it meant missing nearly all my morning lectures and several vital seminars. Trust me, when your entire project is group based, you do not do well, or make many friends, if you don’t actually attend the seminars. Instead try and get enough sleep at night, or have a few power naps throughout the day to keep your brain active.
6. Learn to say no
Don’t let your friends blackmail you into going out when you know you shouldn’t. University is definitely about the experience as much as the qualification for many students at York. However, to be a student at York, you need to actually pass! In first year it is okay to just scrape by, but this still means that sometimes you are actually going to have to work. Definitely don’t run away from your work. Partying it up will feel great in the morning, but when your whole summer is ruined because you have to resit you will have wasted 4 months whilst everyone else is travelling, gallivanting or working for that much needed monetary boost.
Something tells me that the author perhaps made all of these mistakes in his first year!
#1 And learned from them, by the sounds of things. 
The best advice about first year I can give is the mentality you approach it with - don't go into it thinking "I only need to pass, it doesn't matter!" and then put minimal effort in. Use it as a year to experiment the best way to write an essay, or to revise for an exam, which is different to school. That way if you trip up it doesn't matter, but it'll be a very valuable lesson for your second and third years. Most importantly, don't stress too much - just think of it as practice!
I agree with #3. Basically, think of it as a training exercise. Get involved with societies etc. but also take time to learn the standards that your department expects of your work, and find out how you can best organise yourself to meet them. And never forget - the university doesn't owe you an education. Essentially, you educate yourself, and the institution provides the material and guidance for you to do that successfully.
If you don't mind me asking... What course do you folks do? I found it VERY difficult to fail the first year, and I'm talking learning a module in a few days and passing comfortably. I got into York obviously, but I'm not especially smart. I kind of feel you're not meant to fail first year if you know what I mean. Like GCSEs. They want you to pass...
#5 I'm a History graduate. I got a solid 2:1 in my first year, which is also what I graduated with. So first year wasn't really a problem for me, but I can understand its necessity for some people as a learning curve. University is very different from GCSEs and A Levels, and I think that first year is there to transition you to the university style of working.
#4 here. I studied PPE, and having come from a total non-humanities background it was quite a culture shock. I graduated with a 2.1, but in my first year some of my marks were appalling (particularly philosophy of mind) because I didn't really understand how to produce work appropriately. But, of course, it's different for everyone .
As an English student who knows PPE students, I can comfortably say I do a lot less work.
#5, I agree with you and think that in first year the departments want you to pass, but it's precisely for that reason that I advocate staying on top of things - the jump from 1st to 2nd year is big, and it's only made easier if you worked properly for the easier subjects. Also, not to scare anyone, but I got a 3rd in a first-year module despite going to every lecture/seminar and revising solidly for two weeks. It just turned out I didn't know how to answer essay qs in a university exam properly. So yes - practise!
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