Raving With The Fresh… How To Get The Most Out Of First Year!

Charlotte Trefusis helps you get the most out of your first year, starting with Freshers’ Week…

FRESHERS’ Week is said to be the best week of the year. With the student loan coming in, no work (yet!), loads of activities and nights out, it’s the perfect way to start university. But how can you make sure that it lives up to this expectation?

1. Moving in is both exciting and entering into the unknown.

Get posters and photos on your walls early on, but then get yourself out there, and don’t stay in your room too much. Hang out in the kitchen or communal area and get to know each other.

2. You’ll find when walking around in freshers week that everyone already looks like best friends.

This isn’t true – that’s probably what you look like to everyone else too…

3. Keeping your door open during your first few weeks makes you more approachable.

It’s fine to want a bit of time to yourself too – everyone does, so don’t feel guilty for going to relax for a bit.

4. Try and remember your flat mates names early on.

Don’t make the mistake of asking what someone’s name is and then not listening to the answer.

Image Credit – Exeter.ac.uk

5. Nights out are a big part of freshers’ week.

It’s a really good opportunity to meet new people and to bond with your new flat mates.

6. It is definitely worth buying tickets in advance of the night for freshers’ week.

But wait until you find out which wristband your flat mates have bought.

7. Girls – Don’t be too keen, wear flats. Exeter is covered in hills and heels are rarely worn on nights out.  The welcome team (pictured) will be hanging around clubs and campus in pink t-shirts to help you, so ask them if you need advice.

You won’t regret it.

9. Don’t go TOO wild in Freshers’ Week, as first impressions really do count. And try not to be that person that spends their entire student loan in one week…

10. Get involved in societies.

There are around 200 of them so you’re bound to find at least one that interests you! Get along to the Freshers’ fair and get signing up. There are many taster sessions in Freshers’ Week. This is your chance to do it free before you commit, and a good opportunity to invite people to try something out with you.

11. There is free stuff everywhere, so don’t hold back

Take everything you can get! Especially 2 for 1 pizza vouchers… They will be useful all year!

 

Charlotte Trefusis

10 things I wish I'd known before going to Exeter

Two years ago, I arrived in Exeter, with little but a suitcase of clothes, a literary theory anthology, and a four-pack of Carlsberg to my name. Hands down my first year was incredible – from those early days in Arena (obviously thinking it was THE clubbing mecca of Europe), to the last balmy days on Dawlish Beach, watching the sun set over the shimmering Exe – but there are many aspects of Exeter that I only discovered late into my first and second years. A lot of these relate to my developing attitude towards Higher Education, while some are more pointedly taken from direct experiences.

1.    If your accommodation isn’t right, ask to change as soon as possible. Some of Exeter’s halls are subject to ruthless stereotypes. If you don’t feel like you fit in in your flat, it’s much easier to request to change early on in the year. Don’t run the risk of turning your first year into a miserable experience.

2.    More importantly, don’t let the University accommodation services bully you. They work for your benefit, and if they shrug off your request and start making excuses, they’re not doing their job properly. I speak from experience. However…

3.    If you do end up in the halls you don’t want, it’s never the end of the world. I didn’t expect to find close friends and future housemates in a hall full of Sports Scientists, but I did. And the Sports Scientists weren’t bad either. The lesson is to never make judgments before you move in: there will always be a variety of people wherever you go.

4.     You’re not as good at your course as you think you are. Even though most first years don’t count towards degree classifications, it’s never good to get complacent.

5.    Exeter isn’t as small as people will have you believe. Most haven’t explored beyond the Quay, but there’s so much going on beyond the glistening pedalo-studded waters of the Exe. Okay, so Water’s Lane Bowling Alley isn’t exactly the jewel of Devon’s County Town, but it serves the Wild West’s cheapest pints at £1.99. Kayak to Double Locks for the nation’s ‘best pork pies’.

6.    Dartmoor is astonishingly beautiful. Go there as often as you can, there’s really nowhere like it in England. Don’t go in March – if you fall in a river, it’s really fucking cold.

7.    Housing – don’t be conned into thinking you need to have a house secured by November. Year after year, there’s a notorious housing rush in Exeter but there’s really no need. Make sure your housemates are right because the house should come second. Besides, there are always new waves of houses that come on the market in January and February.

8.    Jobs are very hard to keep on top of academic work and volunteering. At the tail end of second year, I was balancing nine hours of work a week with four exams, two important essays and three issues of the student paper to edit. During first year it’s a good idea, but I wish I’d made sacrifices in preparation for tougher second and third years.

9.    Get involved in societies and volunteering from the start and don’t be afraid to make your mark from very early on. Working on the student newspaper has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences for me – not only did it sharpen my career plan, but I made so many great friends. These are good things to obtain from the start and can be a good way of offsetting any negative aspects to University life (see 1).

10. In reality, academia is such a small part of University life. If you don’t get involved, then quite honestly, you’re wasting your time. Hands down, my work on the student paper is the most important aspect of University for me.

If you sometimes forget you’re studying for a degree, you’re doing University right.