New Students
Top Tips
Moving away from home for the first time and going to be Uni can be both exciting and really stressful – don't panic! There's loads of help available to you, whether it's from your Union, friends, family, or even lecturers; everyone is either going through the same thing or has been there before! Take a little bit of time to read our top tips for freshers (some second and third years could learn something too!)
Watch your money
Your student loan can make you feel very rich, very quickly. Don't make the mistake of spending everything in the first couple of weeks, as it will run out quicker than you think! Budget what you can buy and be careful on what you splash out on. £10 here and there at a cash machine soon adds up to zero in wallet.
Make sure you visit Student Finance for some advice on how to manage your money if you're struggling, and pick up an NUS Extra card from the Union to make the most of those discounts while you can!
Attend lectures
Try and make it along to all of your lectures – it can be tempting to lie in for an extra hour, but it all adds up. You'll hear it a thousand times but the more lectures and seminars you attend the more likely you are to be successful in your degree.
Be yourself
Make the most of all the opportunities to get stuck into what interests you – there's always likely to be a society or sports club that caters for you so make sure you check out Freshers Fayre – you might even find you sign up for something crazy like the Dodgeball Club and it ends up being the best decision you ever made! The main thing is that you do what you want to do – Uni should be the place where you can really be yourself.
Pace yourself
It will be the Christmas break in no time at all and you'll be back home telling school and college mates about everything you've been up to – so make the most of the time you have at Uni. Enjoy yourself but realise that you're there for the degree. If you don't hand in work you will fail automatically, so plan your time wisely.
Stay safe at night
Don't walk around on your own at night. You're in a new city so don't take any chances. The free Uni bus runs til late, but if you're coming home from a night out you can always use the Union's GET Home Safe card.
Before you arrive
Make sure you've packed everything – don't leave anything important behind!
Do a bit of research – Go online and find out a bit about your Halls, or the area you're living in. Try and learn your way around before you get there – so the late night run to the shops doesn't end up being a trek!
Say goodbye to family and friends properly – take a bit of time to see everyone before you go
Make a budget – Sounds boring? Probably, but if you know how much you've got to spend you won't end up blowing it all in the first week!
Make sure you've packed everything.....
First couple of weeks
Hopefully you've been going along to lectures, have joined up to a load of clubs and societies, registered to put in some volunteering hours with the Union, decided you're running to be a course rep, and maybe even been out a couple of times!
It's not always super exciting though, and there will be times you're sat in your new room thinking about friends back home, or wondering when you're going to get a nice home cooked meal next. Don't worry about feeling a bit homesick – everyone goes through it, and while it's not nice, it doesn't last forever. Chat to your friends, even go back home for a bit if you need to, but don't make a habit of going home every weekend because it just becomes harder to leave each time. You can always get in touch with your Welfare and Community Officer, Stephen Roberts, if you want to have a talk about the support that's available to you.
Union Activities
Whatever you're interested in, there's something for you to do at the Union!
Volunteering – Every student group is run by our student volunteers, but these aren't the only volunteering opportunities available to you. If you want to meet new people, have fun, and make yourself more employable then make sure you get involved at volunteering whilst you're at Uni. These days it's not enough to have a good degree – employers will want to see that you've got actual work experience, and what better way to get this than with other students?
Sports Clubs – Almost any sport you can think of is represented here at the Union, and if there's one missed out then it's easy enough to start your own! You can try anything from the conventional sports like rugby and football, through to some of the crazier ones like dodgeball and ultimate Frisbee! With some of the best socials, and a chance to either compete regularly in BUCS leagues or just play for fun, there's something for everyone to get involved in.
Societies – Again, pretty much everything you can think of has its own society set up! Societies are a great way to meet likeminded people, and build networks of people studying the same subject as you. Make sure you take time to check everything out at Freshers Fayre – take a chance and sign up to something new!
RAG – Are you a little bit crazy? Or like raising money for charity? If your answer to both questions is yes, get yourself along to Freshers Fayre and sign up to our RAG group. They're involved in everything from RAG raids in Portsmouth and running crazy nights out, to climbing Kilimanjaro and Everest – all for charity.
