Your First Year and Freshers’ Survival Guide!

Going to University is definitely a challenging experience, and a totally unfamiliar environment for most people. Most students have never lived away from home or had to financially support themselves, so it is certainly a daunting task. However, after completing my first year, I can confirm that once you are settled, it is worth the difficulty for the experience of learning about what you love and meeting new people. This blog will detail how to settle in to University Life and enjoy your first year!

Getting to know your flat and course mates

By far the most important thing to do during your Freshers’ Week is to get to know the people you are going to be living with for the next year and studying with for the next 3+ years. That’s why I recommend attending as many events as you can, and inviting as many people as you can. This is a great way of getting to know people and finding out who you have things in common with. The Waterside Bar on the University of Northampton campus is particularly good, as it is close to the Student Accommodation, usually hosts three events a week, has a laid-back environment and is mostly only visited by students, so it’s a great place to meet other people.

Remember that everyone is in the same position as you, so don’t worry about asking awkward questions to make conversation!

Great conversation starters are just asking for someone’s name, what their interests are, or what course they are studying.

Finding a Job

Whilst some people may be lucky enough that they do not need a job during their studies, I strongly recommend getting one anyway, as extra money to treat yourself with is always great! It’s also a great way of gaining important life experience and skills.

In a student town, finding a job can be a challenge. Luckily, the University offers plenty of positions, such as being a Student Ambassador, an Ambassador for your Course and a Student Influencer, as well as jobs in the campus facilities, such as bar staff and cleaners. These roles are mostly advertised at the start of the University year, so if you miss these opportunities, use websites such as Indeed or Unitemps to find other jobs, or go to different retail shops and take a CV!

Excelling at your Degree

In all of the excitement of coming to university, it’s quite easy to forget the reason you’re actually going – to study! The workload is like that of a college degree and is usually less than A-Levels as you’re only focusing on one subject, but it does differ from course to course. That being said, the work is naturally at a much higher level, making it more difficult. It’s important to stay up to date with work outside of lectures, which the university recommends can be achieved by dedicating the same number of hours a week to each module in your own time as you do in scheduled lessons. If you want to go above and beyond, each module will have a reading list of books you can access for free in the UON Library that you can use to increase your subject knowledge. This has helped me to understand my modules in much greater detail, and I would highly recommend it. I have an Audible subscription, so quite often I listen to audiobooks when doing tasks around the house!

Navigating Accommodation Challenges

If you choose to live in University accommodation, it is inevitable that you may face some challenges with your flatmates. After all, moving in with up to 11 other randomly-selected strangers is always going to have its difficulties! However, this shouldn’t deter you from living in student flats, as I met some of the best people I know at University in my flat. The first way of managing issues is by ensuring you have a form of communication with your other flatmates, such as by creating a group chat. Agree with others a platform and create the group yourself if nobody else seems willing. I can’t count the number of times people have just directed any issues in my flat to our group chat, and they’ve been resolved with relative ease.

If you do feel the need to take things further or have any queries, you can contact accommodation services at the reception desk, by email at accommodation@northampton.ac.uk, or by telephone at 01604 892482.

Budgeting and Managing Finances

One of the greatest challenges at University for most people will be managing finances. For many, Student Loans won’t be enough to cover rent and other living expenses, such as food, so it’s best to budget where you can. I recommend shopping for non-branded products in cheap supermarkets. Local supermarkets to the Waterside campus include Aldi, Asda, B&M Bargains, and the Food Warehouse. If you don’t have time to cook yourself dinner, I recommend grabbing some £1 ready meals from the Food Warehouse. If you do have time to cook dinner, pasta with frozen sausages, and tinned tomatoes is the cheapest meal you’re going to get!

I also recommend getting a student bank account, as many offer different perks such as an overdraft in case you find yourself in financial trouble; a railcard; a bonus for signing up; prize draws and more. To maintain savings, the “penny-a-day” challenge is great, which essentially has you put into savings 1p on day 1, 2p on day 2, 3p on day 3 etc., saving over £600 in total. If you require additional financial support, the University of Northampton can support you in other ways, which can be found here.

Overall, the first year of University can be a challenge, so it’s very important to make friends who can support you along the way. If you follow these tips, hopefully your first year will be one of the best years of your life!

Find out more about student life at the University of Northampton

Learn about adjusting to student life in Northampton

Joe Glover

Joe is a second-year Popular Music student, with a particular interest in creating scores for film and television, as well as writing and performing alternative rock music.