Settling into uni life

Hello and welcome from me — Charlotte McGinley, your Wellbeing & Sports Officer at the University of Sheffield’s Students Union.

I hope you are looking forward to settling in and finding your feet upon coming to university! The first few weeks will be a lot of change for everyone and for some this will be welcome and exciting but for many it can feel daunting and take longer to adapt. If you find it a lot to come to terms with, know you will not be the only one having these feelings.

A big thing to keep in mind, especially for the first few weeks at university is to not put too much pressure on yourself — be that academically or personally. It took me about a week to find friends on my course which is not uncommon and for others it can take longer. You will be here far longer than welcome week so there is no rush to make friends or settle immediately. I have made close friends in every year I have been at uni, there is no time limit or rush to get to know people!

A couple of tips which helped me meet people, firstly in terms of your course — my advice would be to ask if there is a course group chat you can be added to as these can help you stay in contact with others far easier. You can also use these to ask questions you have about your course too. Another massive thing which helped me meet people outside of my course or housing was joining a sports club or society! I joined rowing in my first year and rugby in my third year, I then went on to live with my close friends from rugby in my fourth and fifth year of university.

Most clubs and societies will host socials every week where you can get to know people outside of a training setting — these are not always drinking socials and clubs often have sober socials so you should not have to worry about pressure to drink. There are also countless Give It A Go’s where you can try something new in a safe, beginner friendly environment — you can find out about these on the SU website or make your way to our welcome fairs and the committee members can explain what they’re all about to you there. Getting involved in sport has immensely improved my wellbeing whilst at university and helped me attain my current job through the experience I gained, so don’t hesitate to give something new a try, now is your chance to give it a go!

Wishing you all the best of luck during your time at University and cannot wait to meet many of you in the coming year.

Best wishes

Charlotte

If you do find yourself struggling please reach out for help. You can get in touch with the Student Advice Centre which is a professional, impartial, confidential and non-judgemental service, providing advice, support and representation to help you resolve your problems whilst studying at the University of Sheffield.

To find out visit our Advice and Support pages