How to… Cope with Starting University

Another “How to” post for you all! My first year of university was now three years ago (which is quite scary really!), however I’m lucky enough to have at least two more years to go. I really have loved my time at university, but I know that leaving home to go to uni is terrifying as well as exciting! Hopefully I’ll help settle a few nerves, and maybe you’ll gain a few helpful tips!

Don’t be worried about being nervous

Some people might not show it, but everyone will be a little bit nervous and it’s not a bad thing. For most people it will be their first experience of living away from home on a particularly long term basis, and for some it will be the first experience of having to “fend for themselves”. You may also be panicking about making friends and whether or not you’ll actually enjoy the course. I certainly did. I was terrified that I’d made the wrong decision; that I was actually going to find out I was terrible at Physics and that everyone would hate me. It wasn’t true, but these feelings are natural. Just don’t let them consume you and spoil the (hopefully) excited feelings too – university is a brilliant experience for the vast majority of people and to enjoy it fully you can’t let yourself worry too much.

Take as many of the opportunities available to you as you can

University will present many opportunities to you that you’ve never had before. This will range from all sorts of societies to other events hosted by your university. Going to lectures for other subjects, attending talks on topics that interest you, checking out some local or student talent at gig nights or giving something completely new to you a try will not only be fun, it really gets you involved. Your first year at university will be challenging (and most likely tiring) but you want to be able to look back on a fantastic year, so if that means stepping out of your comfort zone and saying yes to trying things you wouldn’t have before – why not give it a go? However don’t overwhelm yourself – you have got a degree to do as well!

Enjoy meeting new people

You will meet so many people during your first week at university – some of whom you will never speak to again! I was so shy before I went to university but realised quickly that talking to people and pushing myself to introduce myself and to be friendly to everyone was the best way forwards. Trying to meet as many people as you can means you find the people who you want to be friends with sooner. Don’t limit yourself to your corridor or flat, try and meet people at other social events. A good tip is to find yourself another person to go around with, approaching people as a pair is less daunting, and being able to make an introduction is a good conversation starter! Remembering names can be a challenge too but don’t be afraid to ask people for their name again (well unless you’ve asked loads of times before!) – I used to go back to my room and jot down names and a fact about them just to try and remember them in the future (it worked too!) You will also meet so many different types of people, so don’t expect everyone to be like people you already know. University brings together people from all over the world, with vastly different life experiences. This makes it really interesting to get to know people, but can also be challenging as you may be forced to a) meet people who you never want to speak to again or b) force you to reconsider assumptions you may have made about people before. However treat every new introduction as an opportunity to make a friend and you should have a great time! Meeting new people can also be a great way to challenge yourself to try new things – why not go along with your new friend and try that martial arts class they were talking about? It could be fun!

Top tip: Common conversation starters are “What are you studying?”, “Which halls/ college are you in?” and “Whereabouts in the country are you from?”. These questions get pretty tiring pretty quickly so try and get to know people by asking other questions too and starting a conversation from there. Ask them about their hobbies, whether they plan to try anything new whilst at university, what have they enjoyed at uni so far etc.

Be yourself

University is a great time to try new things, but this doesn’t mean you have to change who you are completely! I got to university and was able to feel more confident in myself as I was surrounded by people who were like me – I was no longer immediately stereotyped as the awkward nerdy “good girl” and so could really be me! So I changed, but it was more about becoming the person I’d tried to hide away which was lovely. But as a warning – don’t turn yourself into someone else. You have to be honest with yourself about who you are and who you want to be. If you don’t want to go out drinking every night – that’s fine! If you don’t know whether you are in with a crowd of people you don’t want to be – be brave and find someone new! You’ll have a much better time in the long run if you’re not keeping up a pretense, and you’ll find your closest friends too by showing the world who you really are and what you are really interested in.

Stay safe and healthy

Make sure you take care of yourself. University does present challenges, some as trivial as surviving your first bout of Fresher’s Flu (as you mingle with everyone elses germs – yuck!) to others that are much more important like getting home safely in a new city after your first night out. Find out who you can go to or call for help, make sure you follow and guidance given to you and stay safe! Take advantage of anything that makes you feel safer too, be it paying a bit extra for a taxi to make sure you don’t have to walk home by yourself or seeing if you can get a free personal alarm from your university welfare service. Most people are fine, but you don’t want to risk it! Also your first few weeks will be hectic, but make sure you take some time for yourself and make sure you don’t completely run yourself down otherwise you’ll probably not make the best start to your actual degree course. Another good tip is to make your room your own when you get there, and don't leave your unpacking too late. It will save you time in the long run and gives you a nice space to retreat to when you need your own space!

Overall though, have an amazing time. I’ve loved my time at university and I wish any Freshers the best of luck! 

What's it like studying in Durham?

Well hello there! Today (delayed by a couple of days due to a really busy weekend!) I thought I’d do a post on my experiences living and studying in Durham. I’ve lived up here for 3 years now, and I love it. When I was applying for university I looked round lots of places but Durham was the place I really liked the look and feel of. I’m originally from “Dahn Saarf” so moving “Oop North” was quite a distance to go, but I’ve really enjoyed my time here and would love to stay in this area following graduation.

So Durham. Consistently ranked among the best in the country – what is it like to actually study here? The departments will differ according to subjects so I wont go into them here – but because of the standing of the university you can be sure of high quality teaching and some excellent teaching facilities (including a really great library!). One of the most important things that marks Durham apart from many UK universities is the fact it is collegiate. This means that Durham is made up of colleges as well as the academic departments. Each student is a member of a college and will (usually) live in college buildings for at least their first year, most of which are fully catered. This isn’t quite the same as living in halls of residence as it means you’ll usually eat every meal in a big dining room with everyone else whilst you “live-in” so it’s lovely to be able to get to know other people really quickly.

St Aidan's College and University College (I'm at Aidan's)

College is also central in terms of activities – each college will have its own student societies and sports teams, as well as a JCR committee (JCR: Junior Common Room). These are students who have been elected to help keep college running as the students want it to be run. They are responsible for running events throughout each term from festivals to balls, are responsible for the running of some of the college facilities like the shop (selling a variety of essentials and snacks like sweets, toasties or icecream) and the bar. There is also the college welfare team run by both staff and students so all in all college really makes you feel at home as soon as you arrive at university. Pretty much everyone ends up feeling the same college pride, vigorously arguing about how good your college is compared to the others and enjoying joining in with the traditional college chants and songs. Basically colleges are fantastic!*

College Christmas formal, Traditional Aidan's Chant "Shoes
off if you love Aidans" and Summer Ball

Durham itself is also lovely. The city is small, so you can get everywhere in the centre really easily on foot. In later years when people usually “live-out” of college in privately rented houses these may be slightly further out of the city centre, but lots of students bring bikes or use some of the good bus services. It is also great value for money for students – the North East is much cheaper than other parts of the country but just as good! The city is full of lovely buildings, most notably the cathedral (which you can see from almost everywhere) and castle (which is actually part of the university). It has a good range of shops, with a selection that you’d find in most normal sized towns, as well as a range of restaurants, loads of cafes and a range of nightlife, as well as theatre and cinema. It is also really close to Newcastle which is great for providing access to more shops, concerts and other activities. The surrounding countryside is also really beautiful. Just beware of the cobbles, the hills and the weather!

Durham (lots of Cathedral) and Newcastle

Of course university isn’t just about where you live or the subject you do. It’s about the people you meet and the things you get up to, and in this respect Durham is great. As said previously the college system is great for meeting people particularly in your first few days – I had a large group of friends I have remained friends with by the end of Fresher’s week whereas I know people at other universities who found it a lot harder (as they were separated into random flats and it was much harder to mix with new people). However Durham also provides lots of other opportunities to meet people and enjoy things you love. With a huge number of societies (from music groups to language societies to the cheese tasting society), sports teams (which compete both at an extremely successful national level to casual inter-college level) and other student groups there really is something for everyone. Whilst I’ve been here I’ve enjoyed being a part of:

·      A choir and orchestra

·      First Aid society

·      Yoga, Aerobics and Archery

·      Folk society (both music sessions and Morris dancing – so cool! :P )

·      The Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society

And had a go at a lot more! Societies are a great way to try something new and meet new people with similar interests.

IVFDF Ceilidh with Folk Society, DASH and St John Ambulance

I’ve loved uni and all of the opportunities I’ve had and the people I’ve met. I’m really glad that I ended up at Durham as I think it has been the perfect place for me, however I would recommend to anyone looking at applying to university to actually go and look at the university before you accept an offer. There’s no point accepting somewhere you’re going to end up hating. Prospectuses are also not always a good source of information – lots of universities will just have lovely glossy photos of a very small part of the campus (which you might never actually get to go to). Open days are better, but also make sure you get away from the tours and go and explore a bit for yourself – it should be about what you like and are looking for, not what the university want you to see. Get a feel for the campus, the city and if you can talk to some current students to get a clearer idea. However do bear in mind most people love uni in the end so wherever you end up, I’m sure you’ll have a great time!

Which universities do you go to/ are looking at going to? What do you like most about them? Any questions about Durham?

*It’s worth noting that while quite a lot like the collegiate system at Oxford/Cambridge, it’s not quite the same as no teaching is done in college. Instead teaching is done in lectures that everyone attends and tutorials where the groups are students from a mix of colleges.