stART: Four tips to get the most of your first term
It’s overwhelming. To start at university is exciting and frightening at the same time. You are pushed into a completely new environment – no school can prepare you to university life. Everything feels different and home suddenly seems far away. To navigate you through this first term here are five tips directed to every fresher.
Tip 1: Get out
Don´t hide in your room. Sometimes it may be tempting to lock the door and crawl into your bed, but in order to to experience university life you have to move out of your comfort zone. So be active! This may mean: Walk around the campus, go out in a club and dance the whole night. Or just go to your kitchen and meet your new flatmates.
The opportunities to participate in social life in Warwick are nearly unlimited: There are over 300 societies to join.
No matter whether you are interested in sports, business, music, drama, literature, science or religion – you will always find a society that shares your passion. To get an overview of the various possibilities visit the sports and volunteering fairs. Most sport clubs give you the possibility to try a sport you never exercised before.
Tip 2: Talk, talk, talk
The people you associate with will play a key role in your campus experience. Don´t fear that you won´t find friends – the Fresher´s Week offers you plenty of events to meet people. Just keep in mind that everyone is new, so be open–minded and friendly. A simple “Hey, you´re also first year” is enough to engage into a conversation. You will wonder how many interesting people from different backgrounds you meet.
Tip 3: Smile
Be positive! You have been accepted at Warwick, which is a great achievement in itself. So be proud of you and be optimistic. If you spread positive vibes the people surrounding you will reflect this. Don´t complain about everything. It can be difficult to share a kitchen or a bathroom with others, but before you try to push the work on somebody else tidy up your mess yourself. Change your grumpy face into a smiling one and the people will smile back to you.
Tip 4: Don´t put yourself under pressure
The high hopes you set in your academic future can be pressuring. Remind yourself that it takes some time to adapt to the new life. There will be days when you feel happy and think Warwick was the best choice you ever made, but there will be days when life seems depressing and you doubt about everything. That is absolutely normal! Don´t feel depressed when you have doubts or something does not work out. If you realise that you don´t like the society you´re in, then quit. If you find your module boring, then change it. You can´t expect that all decisions you made in the first weeks will be right, so don´t hesitate to correct them.
With an optimistic and energetic attitude you will manage your campus life easier. Embrace the opportunity to learn so many new things and to meet new people. Stay excited, enjoy your first term!!!
