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When I opened up the letter that told me, at long last, that I had a place to live and read the words "house", "court" and "Halifax College" more than anything I was a bit confused. Wasn't I meant to live on a corridor? And what about all those other more central colleges, why wasn't I in one of them? AGHHHH!
As it turned out, for most it doesn't really matter what college you're in, or even who you live with. If you don't like your house/flat/corridor mates, you'll make more of an effort with your coursemates... and if they're not great then you're bound to meet someone at some random event or society along the way that you'll click with.
Here are some of the things I learnt from mine, and others', experiences during the first few weeks of term.
Or if you do, try not to lose things and make sure you can trust someone to help you home at the end of the night. I managed to lose my uni card a day after receiving it thanks to the fast flowing pre-drinks on the night of Fresh Ball. Laughs and stress ensued.
Not meaning to sound like your mother but... do always make sure that you drink water before you go to bed and if possible have one early night during the week to give your body a chance to recover. Even if you're not drinking you're likely to be staying up into the early hours of the morning and having to drag yourself out of bed the next morning for various talks and meetings.
Rather obviously conversation is a key element in getting to know people. I received a great piece of advice before I went to uni: knock on everyone's doors, leave yours propped open and general put on a facade of being the most sociable person ever during the first few weeks. Once people get to know you you can go back to your semi-hermit self, trust me! Oh and queues are a great way to meet new friends, you're bound to have at least one thing in common since you're stood in the same queue.
On that note, be prepared to answer the same questions over and over and over again. “So where are you from?” “What A-Levels did you do?” “What course are you on?” “What college are in in?” “What did you do during summer/your gap year?” Preparing some amusing stories to go with this last question might be handy, or just go with the flow.
Coming to uni can be the most extreme experience of your life, you might feel super happy when you're out and about with new people and then return to your room and be overcome by homesickness. Just try to stick at it. If you find yourself sitting in your room feeling rather lonely someone out there will be feeling like this too so go out and find someone to amuse you.
York has plenty of ways to help you get through the hard times Nightline, the Open Door Team and YUSU Welfare can all offer you great support.
Or do anything else you'll regret for the rest of the year.
Pace yourself as although it seems megabucks arriving in your bank all at once, remember university is expensive and you can't just live on the free food for the whole year!
Fresher's Fair is a good way to start here. Make sure you bring a bag, although you might get one handed to you from some stall or another when you get there. It's your chance to stock up on mugs, pens, food, fridge magnets and much much more! You'll also be able to sign up for clubs and societies, York has well over 100 societies so you'll surely find something that takes your fancy.
I'll give you a sneak preview of how things turned out for me: as far as uni life concerns I think I've done pretty well at getting to a Happily Ever After ending and hopefully you will too. Look forward to it and the journey you've got ahead. Just make sure to think of the shit bits as character building!
This makes me want to start uni all over again - good advice, all new freshers should read it!
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