How to survive freshers week (and beyond)

Freshers week is a feast of firsts. You’ll only leave home for the first time once. You’ll only move in with strangers for the first time once. You’ll only start university for the first time once.

We spoke to people who know all about surviving freshers week and student life; recent graduates. These are people that have not only been there and done that — they lived to tell the tale. Some of them did really well.

You should pay attention to what they have to say.

A bit of history

There are two freshers weeks. The official week’s activities laid on by your university and student union are designed to ease you into academic life, with a series of events, introductory presentations and the virtual paperwork of registration.

Then there’s the “freshers week” that happens outside and around the university — which is explicitly designed to part you from your loan.

It wasn’t always like this. Ask anyone who went to university in the 90s or 80s and they’ll tell you that their freshers week amounted to a gym hall full of society stalls, a poster fair and a very long talk from an old white man.

Something happened that turned this very British, very pedestrian celebration of beginning your time at university into something a little more wild. Two things, actually.

1. The expansion of the higher education system in the 90s.
2. Capitalism.

Before World War 2 just 2% of the population went to university. After the war, successive governments reformed the education system, with the notable introduction of polytechnic institutions in the 1970s.

In the mid-1980s, around 5% of the population went into higher education. The impact that began to make on regional economies with university towns was significant, but small. In the early 90s, Tony Blair’s Labour government oversaw massive expansion of the sector, allowing polytechnics and HE colleges to apply for university status.

The result?

By 2011 40% of all 18–20 year olds in the UK that year had accepted a place in higher education.

The numbers fluctuate a little — with an initial drop when tuition fees were raised — but the overriding trend is still upwards.

Now, imagine the effect that has on a city like Leeds, Bristol or Manchester with several HE institutions and an influx of thousands of young people every September. Thousands of young people, many of them away from home for the first time. Every business wants a piece of the lucrative, transient population that pours into town during freshers week.

Surviving freshers week

Expect club promoters on every corner with the promise of cheap drinks and fast food restaurants trying to reel you in with 2 for 1 offers. Pubs will offer you deals on pitchers so that you stay put and drink their alcohol. We haven’t even mentioned the huge market in organised bar crawls.

All of these businesses are after your loan.

The wodge of cash you get at the beginning of the semester may be the most money you’ve ever had at one time. You’ll land in a city or town full of new students. You’re just about old enough to drink legally. These three things together can be a dangerous combination.

You will, of course, want to enjoy yourself. Just don’t go mad. Fresher’s week isn’t an endurance test. It’s not a week on the Costa del Sol. It’s the beginning of your university career.

Pace yourself — have a couple of nights in. Get acquainted with all that the university has to offer.

Know when to stop

Some students make the mistake of thinking that fresher’s week is what university should be like all the way through university, keeping up the clubbing and all-nighters long after the Autumn warmth of September has faded.

Don’t think you can do that and make it through your first year.

According to figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), around 8% of students drop out of their courses — and many of those were students who enjoyed the nightlife a little too much.

Managing your cash

Your student loan is meant to last, paying for food, bills, rent and books until the next lot comes along. The most sensible students budget from the beginning. Food is a huge expense. Bigger than you might expect.

We suggest that you:

• Cook all your food from scratch — it’s cheaper than using takeaways and buying ready meals
• Take turns with flatmates if you can. Cooking for a group works out cheaper than cooking for one.
• Use the A Girl Called Jack website and Buzzfeed’s Tasty for cheap, fast recipes and advice on saving on food
• Make meal plans so that you only buy ingredients for the food you cook
• Don’t just buy in supermarkets. Check out budget shops like Poundland and Home Bargains for dry and tinned goods.

Graduate Kirsten Thorpe found that student life turned her into a real bargain hunter

“I buy in bulk or wait for items I want to go on sale,” Kirsten told us, “Recently I found a shop that had cans of Monster for 69p. I picked up about 20 cans and saved at least 50% over buying it at a campus shop.”

Making friends

One of the biggest worries new students have is that they won’t make friends. Here’s a secret, all your classmates are worrying they’ll be left out too.

“Even if you’re not a really outgoing person, join in as much as possible,” says Alice Booth, who graduated a couple of years ago, “Remember that everyone else is really nervous too, it’s not just you.”

The scramble to make friends is so primal that you may even end up making more friends than you want…

The first people you sit near are in danger of becoming your special “freshers friends”. They’ll invite you to lunch and you’ll be so afraid that you won’t meet anyone else that you’ll hang-out with them for a day or two.

A few weeks down the line, you’ll have hooked up with people you have more in common with — and you pass your freshers friend in the corridor. You’ll both look the other way… This is both horribly embarrassing and perfectly normal. You are a terrible person, just like everyone else.

So, making friends will probably be easier than you expect — but you have to ensure you meet the right people. Especially if you’re naturally shy. That means making the most of opportunities to choose your friends.

“Get yourself out there,” says Kirsten, “A big mistake I made was not being proactive in meeting people and joining clubs. When I had a bad patch later on, I didn’t have very close people around me.”

Living in halls

Most students with a conditional offer will be allocated halls at university. These days even private student accommodation resembles the “living in halls” experience — with shared kitchens, bathrooms and communal areas. It’s a safe student bubble and you should make the most of it.

Recent graduate, Amy Johnson, offers a tip for making friends when you arrive.

“Leave your bedroom door open if you’ve just moved into halls and you’re just chilling out. People are much more likely to pop their head around the door and start a conversation if you do!”

Finding your way around

You’re not just starting a new life away from home when you go to university. Lots of students are experiencing a new part of the country for the first time. Erik Selby, who graduated a few years back, has an idea for getting to know your surroundings while bonding with your new friends.

“Explore the city with your new flat mates,” says Erik, “Work out your bus and train routes to university. Depending on what city you’re in, lots of colleges do cheap bike rental schemes with pre-planned and mapped routes between campuses.”

Another thing to remember; if you have a smartphone you have personal sat-nav. Open up Google Maps on an Android phone or Apple Maps on iOS and you’ll never be lost.

Do something new

There’s a fresher’s week “fringe” of beery delights and club nights, but students cannot live on Jaegerbombs alone.

As well as your course of study, university gives you a chance to try things you may never have thought of. Hannah, a young student from Stoke was homesick and ready to leave her course three weeks in until a tutor suggested she join a society or club. She took up climbing and never looked back. Or down.

Edward was another student who found it difficult to get talking to others. He joined the university Lacrosse team, learned a new sport and got to travel with the side as it played in tournaments all over the country.

‘Take advantage of all the opportunities that are given to you,” says Jessica Balme, a graduate who now works with Leeds Beckett University’s Student Union, “Try something that you wouldn’t ever dream of, join a society and get as much course related experience as you can. But be careful not to burn out!”

Getting ready for study

And finally — the main reason you’re actually at university during fresher’s week at all is so that you can start your degree.

While freshers week is going on all around you, with its shiny special offers, poster sales and society fairs, a parallel thing called “Induction Week” is also happening. That’s the official stuff the university want you to go to. Here’s our best piece of advice:

That stuff is not optional.

It’s the actual reason you’re there and if you miss any of it, you’re going to be mighty confused. Don’t believe us? Ask Polly Wilson who recently graduated with a first from Leeds Beckett University:

“New students should make sure they attend everything they’re required to, right at the start,” says Polly “All the inductions that are needed, tours of the University and the Fresher’s Fair. This really helped me through the first semester of my course because I felt I was prepared.”

We asked recent graduates what advice they would give their younger selves. Two overwhelming themes emerged:

• Do the work you’re asked to do.
• Turn up for all your lectures and workshops.

Sounds really obvious, right? It’s amazing how many students end up disappointed at the end of their degrees because they didn’t stick to those two very simple rules.

There you have it — straight from the mouths of graduates and students who’ve been through freshers week and survived. Now it’s your turn, soldier. Keep your head down, don’t buy cocktails by the jug and never, ever get a tattoo when you’ve had a few. You’ll be fine.