Freshers Fortnight Questions! :)

Hi, i will hopefully be starting at the university of derby in September and i just have a few questions regarding Freshers Fortnight, and it would be great if someone could answer them :smile:

Thank you so much, in advance, to anyone that is able to help me out :smile:

Reply 1

Emmzaa

Original post by mizzmegg

That depends on the University. However to me it sounds like it will be starting before the 17th. Freshers is a week to mingle with new people and give you a chance to settle in, so it's nearly always before the start of a course. You may have inductions and things, but it won't be the formal enrolment of your course.

Original post by mizzmegg

2. I am not much of a drinker (i cant really drink anyway for medical reasons) and so i was wondering if there are other freshers nights or activities which dont involve alcohol?

Again that depends on the University however most do accommodate for non drinkers. A lot of events during the day do not involve drink yet still allow you to mingle with people. As for the nights, I'm not going to lie all of my university events minus a roller disco, were alcohol included. However there's nothing to say you can't go to these nights and not drink. I know many people who went out during freshers and didn't drink, yet they had an amazing time. :smile:

Original post by mizzmegg

3. How many nights do most people go out on freshers fortnight? Is it everyday or once a week? I was only planning on going out 2 nights a week, is this too little?

This depends on who you hang around with and the amount of friends you make. We just had a freshers week and the majority of people went out everynight. If it's a fortnight then I'm guessing people will go out about 4-5 times a week and do other activities on the nights they don't go out.
It's up to you how many times you go out. Once again you could go out and not drink however that's up to you. If freshers also classes with your course starting you may not want/ be able to go out if you're up early. :smile:

You could just sit around for the pre drinks and not go out. That way you're still included.

Original post by mizzmegg

4. How long does freshers actually last? I know for my university it is 2 weeks, but i cant imagine as soon as the 2 weeks are over, people are suddenly going to think 'oh, i am going to stop going out so much now and stop drinking'. So, when do things really settle down, if at all? And whats the difference in the amount of nights you go out after freshers compared to during freshers? (i understand that there are not exact numbers for this, but it would be great if you could think back to when you were a fresher or just give me a general answer)

My freshers lasted the entire first year, give or take a few weeks where there were exams or a lot of work. Me and my friends go out 3 times a week and I know quite a few groups of people who also do this. However others only go out once a week, so it's really down to personal preference and your friendship group. Quite a lot of people settled down just before Christmas and then went mental after Christmas, however I did notice a big drop in the amount of times people went out after the Easter break. Exams and coursework deadlines had an impact there I guess. Like I said, freshers we went out 7 nights in a row. Now it's 2-3 nights a week.

Original post by mizzmegg

5. I am not going to be in student halls, it will be private accommodation, so, will i still know about all the events? Do they tell you about the events at uni, or will it be through halls?

You will miss out on flyer people coming to your halls, however you'll find that probably every club has a facebook page which invites you to it's events everyweek. As for other events, the University will most likely have an event page also on facebook. People are paid to hand flyers to you in the street also, so you won't miss out!
It doesn't matter if you dont go to the University of Derby, just a general overview would be great :biggrin:

Thank you so much, in advance, to anyone that is able to help me out :smile:

Reply 2

Origami Bullets

1. My course start date is 11th September 2012 (i am doing a BEd) whereas most other courses start on 17th September. So, does anyone know when freshers fortnight will start? Will it be the 2 weeks before the 17th start date, or will it be starting from the 17th, or after?
Have you checked your uni's website? This is something that varies from uni to uni, so we can't give you a definitive answer.
2. I am not much of a drinker (i cant really drink anyway for medical reasons) and so i was wondering if there are other freshers nights or activities which dont involve alcohol?
For goodness sakes don't refuse to socialise with people who are drinking. 90% of people will be drinking, and so you are vastly reducing your friend pool - primarily to people who don't drink for religious reasons, and a higher than average number of people who are a bit odd. If you choose to go out with people who are drinking, then there won't be significant pressure to drink once you've said you can't drink for medical reasons.
3. How many nights do most people go out on freshers fortnight? Is it everyday or once a week? I was only planning on going out 2 nights a week, is this too little?
People go out every night in Freshers . . . think of it as being a bit like an endurance event, although it's substantially easier if you don't drink! Two nights a week is too little.
4. How long does freshers actually last? I know for my university it is 2 weeks, but i cant imagine as soon as the 2 weeks are over, people are suddenly going to think 'oh, i am going to stop going out so much now and stop drinking'. So, when do things really settle down, if at all? And whats the difference in the amount of nights you go out after freshers compared to during freshers? (i understand that there are not exact numbers for this, but it would be great if you could think back to when you were a fresher or just give me a general answer)
People tend to go out every night during freshers (although I think most people will have to have one or two nights off during a fortnight!) After that people tend to settle into a pattern of going out once or twice a week.
5. I am not going to be in student halls, it will be private accommodation, so, will i still know about all the events? Do they tell you about the events at uni, or will it be through halls?
It depends on how your uni organises these things - mine has halls committees of people who lived there the previous year that organise freshers events for the new residents. There isn't really much for people outside uni-owned halls, because all first years are guaranteed a place in halls, so very few live in privately owned halls. Yours, however, may be organised differently. It's best to wait until you get there to buy tickets - you want to get the same ones as your flatmates.