1. Clubs and Societies- Join, join, join!
During freshers week join all the clubs and societies you are interested in and actually go to the meetings and events. Honestly, you may think you aren't missing much by not joining, but you are. Try the things you never have before- go to the rowing club, join the climbing team, do it all!. It is very unlikely you will have as much free time do to these things when you graduate. Clubs and societies are a great way to meet people you will have a hobby and interest with during your time at uni plus, when you graduate you can keep in contact with these people and keep the hobby going. These hobbies also look great on your CV when you apply for graduate jobs.
2. Take control of your learning.
First year is the time that students are given more leeway when it comes to marks and for most people, it is worth a lower percentage of your entire degree. Keep on top of your work, do the readings, enrich yourself with the information you are given. Request feedback for your marks (coursework and exams) and more in depth feedback by meeting with a lecturer, if necessary, and learn from it. Many people don't use their first year as a learning curve and believe me it shows by second year when the marking is harsher.
3. Stay organised.
To be honest, I could write an entire blogpost on staying organised at uni- and I will at a later date. In uni, if you get a week behind in your work it is extremely hard to catch up. Stay on top of it or you will regret it. I don't just mean in terms of the extra work you have to do, by not fully engaging with the topics you are presented with really lowers the quality of your learning experience and your degree cost a lot of money.
4. Go to all of the career fairs.
Going to a career fair may be the best thing you ever do. I recommend going on your own and going to as many stalls as you can. I know people that went in groups of two and three and it meant that instead of looking around them they chatted with each other and missed exciting opportunities that were right in front of them. Speaking with people at the stalls gives you access to people who can tell you what a particular career is really like. They also give an insiders knowledge of what companies are good to work for. You also get so much information on upcoming applications for internships and even helpful hints for your application forms.
The career fairs show opportunities for summer, year abroad and volunteering programmes, which give you added experiences which will be advantageous for your internship and graduate applications.
5. Enjoy it.
Your first year of university is the least intense and most exciting year. Bathe in the glory of the fact that you have so much free time to hang with friends, engage in activities, add to your personal development and learn.
What are your top tips for first year?
