Worried about taking that next step....

I have to say I didn't find it tough, but I had started travelling around the world by myself in my teens so I was quite used to looking after myself.

It's always going to be daunting to those with little life experience, but you'll quickly make friends and realise a lot of people haven't had the exposure to the world that others have. Don't let that get in your way - it's going to be a lot of people's "1st time".

You'll be told where to go what to do etc... You'll fall into a group of people, you'll be excited bout the lectures and activities. Make sure you go and see all that the uni has on offer to you, join some clubs, say yes to new things and go out and meet people.

The first week everyone will be finding their feet, and who knows you may meet some people from the same part of the world, or have some friends in common, or get ravaged by some beautiful women (don't you just hate it when that happens? :p).

Thing to remember is you're not alone, thousands of people do this every year, thousands of people do it every day starting a new job etc...

You'll be so busy getting to know your environment you'll soon forget your worries and soon forget about home! I didn't go home for 4 years solid - but was actually away from home a total of 6 years before moving back in temporarily for a few months.

You'll have a great time. Enjoy yourself. :)
 
What is there to do at uni if you don't like drinking/clubbing/hanging out in bars?
 
Klo said:
What is there to do at uni if you don't like drinking/clubbing/hanging out in bars?
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There are so many social clubs and societies you can pretty much name anything and you can do it. Loads of sports teams if that floats your boat. A couple of my friends used to be avid rock climbers. People joined the drama society as well I seem to remember.

There's loads to do!

And if you find time you could go to lectures.

EDIT

The LAN party club was good as well!
 
doddsy105 said:
relations with women? OMG i hope they have LAN events etc for gaming, that would be ace :P
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There will be LAN clubs no doubt which probably use the uni network as well. IT's possible if you get a router you can infact do it in your dorms, but the uni's dont like you setting up wireless.

Moses99p said:
Hahahaha, JUST LET THE TRUTH OUT, MAN!
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Haha i shall do don't you worry, but there are better ways to do it. That is a fairly sly way.
 
Oh, more advice.

Bin / uninstall any MMORPGs you might have on your computer. Any gaming should be social. If you find yourself playing games by yourself for a large amount of the time, you will have tripped yourself up.

You can play games anytime, don't waste your first year at university.
 
8igdave said:
- IF your in a city dont go out to the city on a friday. It is locals nights and not only will it be more expensive but it will be packed.
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Best advice ever!

(along with the one on DONT see your pre known friends for as long as possible other wise nothing new will ever happen)

My real one other than dont go home EVER (i went back home twice in 1st year) is to enjoy your self as much as possible ;) some of the best moments involved being hung over and having no idea what you are doing or why it seemed such a good idea at the time :D
 
Nitefly said:
Oh, more advice.

Bin / uninstall any MMORPGs you might have on your computer. Any gaming should be social. If you find yourself playing games by yourself for a large amount of the time, you will have tripped yourself up.

You can play games anytime, don't waste your first year at university.
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Indeed. Dont throw best few years of your life on gaming. No matter how much you may think TOR looks good, which it does, but it's just suisidal. Best thing to do is to take a laptop that doesn't game too well.
 
Moses99p said:
Yeah, well it's not like maths, or a science, where I'm under the impression they spend a while getting everyone to the same level at the start... with law it's taught to everyone from the start.
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Well I just failed my first year (currently doing resits). Law is a really hard subject and I was very good at A level in my other subjects. The jump really is quite big.

The problem I found is that with my uni at least there was no real practice essays throughout the year. Just one piece of coursework and the exam so not really anything to climatise yourself with.

Obviously this might be different at different uni's but as far as I know all LLB law courses are quite similar in style.

And don't fall into the trap of "only" needing 40% as if you fail one module by one percent in your exams/resits you get the joy of doing your first year again.

Just a little bit of advice for all the budding lawyers out there.
 
I imagin the pattern you follow in first year is set for the rest of your course. By that i mean, lets be honest. No one did any work in year 10. Come year 11 i found it IMPOSSIBLE to work. I learnt my gcses in the month before, which is lucky they are so easy really.

I would try hard in the first year so you don't fall into that trap.
 
doddsy105 said:
So second year and thrird years are a big jump from the first then?
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Yes and no. It depends on your subject.

1st year was similar to A levels in my science degree - it requires a lot of knowledge recall but not much more.

By third year, you were expected to discuss much broader and more theoretical issues intelligently and use a lot of evidence to back up your own ideas. For example, I actually came up with a new idea of why the turtle ear is so ancestral compared to other reptiles, and found that new, previously 'unrelated' genetic evidence actually contradicts our understanding of reptile phylogeny. As you can imagine, this is much more lateral thinking than just recalling information.

It does get harder, but you also get much better at coping with the workload. It also becomes much more interesting and enjoyable. Playing god is fun.

Law is much different in my experience - you expected to know everything about everything from the word 'go'. You can understand a case like Donoghue v Stevenson at many different levels. Appreciating the neighbourhood principle is one thing, but relating Lord Buckmaster's dissent to negligent mistatement and the effect of donoghue on Rylands v Fletcher is something else entirely.
 
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Moses99p said:
Yeah, my first year doesn't count towards my classification, but I still aim to do as well as my ability allows me to! It seems kinda crazy when people don't do any work in their first year as they only need 40%... surely they're laying the foundations for their second and third years :\. Meh!
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Yeah, but I learnt my lesson even if the hard way so at least some good has arisen from the situation.

I shan't be making the same mistake again.

What university are you off to?
 
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