by Pavitra Panditha
Leaving home and settling into university life can be both exciting and daunting, especially when having to make new friends in an unfamiliar environment. But there’s no need to fear as Freshers’ Week (also known as Welcome Week) is around the corner, which will ensure that your transition into university is as enjoyable and memorable as possible.
During Freshers’ week, you’ll be able to take part in student ice-breaker events – including trips to the most beautiful places in Swansea such as the Gower. You’ll have the choice of enjoy chilling with a pint at comedy nights to partying until early morn’ with Welcome to Wind St and the Skool Disco. You’ll also get a chance to familiarise yourself with your new surroundings with events on campus such as Freshers’ Fayre, where you can join societies and sports clubs (as well as Swansea Student Media…)
They say everyone’s different, and so let it be. There’s a variety of Freshers’ events suited to each individual available on the university’s website. Buying tickets for your choice of events as soon as possible would be a definite heads up. Whatever your interests, it is always taking a nosey around Freshers’ Fayre on Monday 25th (on Bay Campus), Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th (on Singleton) to see if there’s anything that catches your eye.
In a nutshell, Freshers’ Week can be an exhausting experience, as there will be a lot of things to get done within a week including meeting lots of new people. But don’t worry as here are some useful pointers to get you through.
To make the most of freshers’ week, it would be wise to use your daytime to unpack, settle in, discover the campus, give yourself pep talks in the mirror and to overall, just get the essentials done. You can spend your nights partying amongst the other freshers. By playing the game of two halves wisely you can enjoy the best of both worlds.
Everyone wants a new bestie but you can’t be everyone’s new bestie
The first and the biggest challenge that you’ll be confronted with is meeting your flatmates whom you will be living with for a year or even longer if you decide to. Yes, everyone is different, but it is extremely important to try and build a good commencing relationship with your flatmates: introduce yourself even though you might feel like crawling back into your burrow. Invest in a door stopper and take it with you to university, keep your door open and welcome others – they’re all in the same boat as you.
But remember, not everyone will be your new bestie so don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet your new bestie straight away. Pick people who you know you’d maintain a good relationship with. You never know, perhaps you’ll find your bestie for life at uni.
The sooner you organise and familiarise yourself, the better off you’ll be
Take a stroll around the campus, meet the staff, spend time familiarising yourself to the your new surroundings, embark on a day trip with your flatmates or pals to the city centre and allocate yourself some supermarkets, pharmacies, clothes shops etc. that suit your preferences. If you are not a big fan of cooking, why not have group cooking sessions with your pals or flatmates? It would be ideal to sit down with your flatmates and agree to share the chores amongst each other as well as deciding on other mutual agreements since they will technically be your new family from the day you move out of home.
Fulfill the musts and experience the benefits
Opening a student bank account is an essential. Singleton Campus has a bank on-site, so if you haven’t opened one by the time you get to university you can easily get that sorted out. Benefits include railcards and opportunities to win iPads/mobile devices. There’s also an interest-free overdraft of up to an agreed amount so make life easier for yourself by sorting financial plans beforehand.
