I remember pulling up to my halls of residence with a car full of stuff I didn't need and a head full of expectations that were about to be completely wrong. I thought I'd walk in, instantly bond with my flatmates, feel confident and free, and basically have the time of my life from day one. That's not quite how it went.
The first week of university — often called Freshers' Week — is one of the strangest experiences you'll have. It's exciting and exhausting, social and lonely, all at the same time. Nobody tells you that, and I think they should. So here's what I genuinely wish someone had told me before I arrived.
It's okay if you don't love it immediately
Social media and university prospectuses will have you believe that the moment you arrive, you'll be swept up in a montage of laughter, new friendships, and spontaneous adventures. For some people, that's true. For a lot of people, it isn't — and that's completely normal.
I spent the first two nights feeling genuinely homesick. Not dramatically so, just a quiet, low-level 'this doesn't feel like home yet' feeling. If that happens to you, don't panic. It doesn't mean you've made the wrong choice. It just means you're human and you've just uprooted your entire life.
You don't have to go to every single event
Freshers' Week is packed with events, club nights, society fairs, and socials. The pressure to attend everything is real — nobody wants to miss out on the 'best night of their life'. But here's the truth: most of those nights are loud, crowded, and not that memorable.
Pick the things that actually interest you. Go to the society fair and sign up for two or three things that genuinely appeal to you. Those are where you'll meet people you actually have something in common with — which is a much better foundation for friendship than sharing a queue for a club at 1am.
Your flatmates don't have to be your best friends
I put enormous pressure on myself to get on brilliantly with my flatmates. We were going to be inseparable, I thought. We'd cook together, watch films together, become a little family. The reality was more complicated — we were five very different people thrown together by a random allocation algorithm.
Being civil and friendly with your flatmates matters a lot, because you're sharing a space. But they don't have to be your closest friends. Some people do end up best mates with their flat — brilliant. Others find their people through their course, their sports team, or a society. Both outcomes are completely fine.
Sort the boring admin out early
I know, I know — the last thing you want to think about in your first week is admin. But trust me on this one. Register with a GP near your university as soon as you arrive. Set up your student bank account. Make sure you know where your lectures are before the first day of term. Get your student card sorted.
These things take about an hour total and will save you a disproportionate amount of stress later. Future you will be very grateful.
Learn to cook three things
You don't need to be a chef. You don't need to meal prep like a fitness influencer. You just need to be able to cook three or four simple, cheap meals from scratch. Pasta dishes, stir fries, soups — things that take 20 minutes and cost under £3 a portion.
Living off takeaways and meal deals is fine occasionally, but it will drain your budget faster than almost anything else. Learning a handful of basics before you arrive will make a real difference to both your finances and how you feel day to day.
Call home more than you think you need to
There's sometimes an unspoken pressure to seem like you're absolutely fine and loving every minute of it. You don't want to seem like you can't cope. But calling your parents, your old friends, or whoever your people are back home isn't a sign of weakness — it's just staying connected to people who know you.
A 20-minute catch-up call can reset your mood completely. Don't wait until you're struggling to reach out.
The first week is not the whole story
Here's the most important thing I can tell you: the first week is not representative of what university will actually be like. It's chaotic and artificial and everyone is performing a version of themselves they think other people want to see.
The real university experience — the friendships, the routines, the moments you'll actually remember — builds slowly over weeks and months. Give it time. Be patient with yourself. It gets better, and then it gets genuinely great.
