August 13, 2015, by Jennifer Scott
So you’ve got into uni… Now what?
Results day 2013, I went to my sixth form to collect my A Level results, convinced that UCAS had an error when it told me I’d got in to university.
Results day was more than a bit stressful and the run up to it was an absolute nightmare, with too much time spent marking my essays in my head, each time the grade getting worse. I’m pretty sure I hadn’t even passed the GCSE version of my course by the time I’d finished overthinking.
It’s fair to say that I was very nervous as I walked through the doors. I even went as far as to thoughtlessly tell press that “I thought they must have lowered the grades for me” when I saw I’d been accepted into uni. Of course, that quote made it into the paper. My moment of local fame might have been destroyed, but it does sum up how I was feeling at the time!
Totally embarrassing photo to accompany the embarrassing quote
If you’re in the same position as I was (minus the ridiculous quote) then it’s finally time to take a deep breath and get ready for uni. You did it! Fail to prepare and prepare to fail, right? So now what?
My first tip is often forgotten but worth the extra effort: take a decent photo for your student ID! This will be your library card, will get you discount and the photo will be stored in the university system. Otherwise, it’ll come back to haunt you, especially if you leave it until you register at uni and they take an awful photo for you. No selfies allowed, though. You’re not a Kardashian.
Once you’ve got your gorgeous ID photo, buy yourself some fantastic stationary. And a few other bits, too… A Levels are stressful and you deserve a treat. Student loans don’t stretch that far, so treat yourself to a pen with a cute animal design while you can.
After that, it’s time to get serious. Start your reading early so you can actually get to know campus when you arrive – you’ll need the spare time to join a ridiculous amount of societies that you’ll only ever go to one event for.
Learn to cook and wash your own clothes before you leave home. Again, it’ll give you extra time for more interesting things and you may well become the fountain of knowledge to others living with you who have forgotten these simple steps. Showing off your new snazzy cooking skills could make a friend or two along the way.
Most of all, enjoy yourself! Catch up with friends back home before everyone moves away and connect with people on your course through Facebook groups and Twitter before you start. Well done!
For more (much better) advice, check out the University of Nottingham’s information for new starters here!
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