Freshers Week

The hangovers from hell, the memories of whatever ridiculous bet you and the person from your course made or the silly arguments you got into with the person studying a Film degree about whether or not Han or Greedo shot first (by the way, it was Greedo, you were right, George Lucas just messed the film up, it's not your fault).

Regardless of what your experience of freshers week is, you'll need to know all the tips for staying sane during freshers week!

What is freshers week?

Freshers week is a welcome period for new students starting out at UK universities. It’s a chance to make friends, blow off steam, and learn more about your course, campus and clubs.

It’s really a ‘getting to know you’ time for you to meet your new town, campus, course-mates, and flat-mates.

When does freshers week start?

Freshers week typically begins towards the end of September, though it might be closer to the middle of the month (especially in Scotland, or for unis who run it for two weeks rather than one).

This is down to you. You choose how much to spend at freshers week, so be careful not to blow your entire term’s maintenance loan in seven days.

What happens in freshers week?

Your university will have several activities, workshops, taster sessions and things to do for you to meet new people, try out new things and to generally get to know the area a bit more.

Plenty of the nightclubs, bars and restaurants in the local area will have fresher’s events on if people want to attend them as well.

Which university has the best freshers week?

Each university and their freshers week are subjective, and every uni thinks they do the best ever freshers week. Your job is to get involved and have a great time, so forget what people are doing on the other side of the country!

How much money do you need for freshers week?

This is down to you. You choose how much to spend at freshers week, so be careful not to blow your entire term’s maintenance loan in seven days. Free entry and cheap drinks can be really tempting, but you’ve got to eat for the next few months too.

Many unis now offer a wristband service to include entry to all the different parties and events on offer. A pass can cost anywhere between £15 and £150, including varying levels of entry and perks to clubs and parties.

If you’re worried you might overspend in all the excitement, try setting yourself physical barriers to blowing your budget. Keep most of your money in a savings account and transfer just enough for the night out into your debit card account before you head out the door.

How to stay healthy in freshers week

The best thing to do in fresher’s week is to do everything in moderation. Make sure you’re offsetting the night of drinking with a day of healthy eating and plenty of exercise.

Freshers week may even give you the chance to visit the on-campus gym facilities, which means that you’d be well prepared for the days ahead if you can get a quick session in!

Staying healthy during freshers week is no different to living healthy at university in general, just make sure you look after yourself, know your limits and don’t do anything in excess.

Freshers week is a welcome period for new students starting out at UK universities.

How to make friends in freshers week?

Bring crisps, teabags and biscuits to share on moving-in day. Ask people where they’ve come from and what they’re studying. Laugh about how none of you have ever operated a dishwasher before.

The anticipation is the worst part of a big change like this: once you’re actually chatting to people, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about. Every other student is in the same boat as you, remember. None of them have any special university inside experience that makes them cooler or more confident than you. Everyone wants to make a friend, so go on and break the ice!

The best advice anyone can give you is to be yourself. Let your personality shine through and you’ll easily find some people that you gravitate towards.

Freshers week for non-drinkers

It’s fair to say that much of student culture - and freshers week especially - revolves around boozing. There’s a perfect storm of factors for freshers to get whipped up about drinking: you’ve all just turned 18; student loans have just dropped into everyone’s bank accounts; and no parents are watching. Oh boy.

But this can be boring, frustrating and excluding for students who don’t drink. If much of the campus is at a huge party one night, then everyone else you meet at that time (in the campus coffee shops, launderettes, library, or halls of residence) is - like you - not too fussed about going out and getting wrecked. So don’t hide away in your room: go out for a walk, get a coffee and do some washing while the big events are happening, and you’ll meet like-minded folk.

If you don’t mind being around noisy drunks, join your housemates for a night out and stick to juice or tonic water. You’ll still have fun with them, and they’ll all be so grateful when you’re the only one clear-headed enough to work out the bus times home!

Another big side of freshers week is the freshers fair, where dozens of societies at your uni all market themselves to new students. You can sign up for LGBT+ organisations, Dungeons and Dragons, extreme frisbee, lacrosse, drama society, salsa, rock climbing… whatever you’re interested in, sign up, and you’ve got a ready-made posse of people with shared interests right there.

And hey, who knows, you might even get to do a bit of dressing up, which means you'll need some fancy dress ideas to make sure your fresher's week goes down smoothly!