Ask a University Student!

Hi @mierdart
I’m a student at Lancaster university ! I’m not an introvert but I have some friends at university who are including one of my flatmates and they have said they found it easy to make friends at university ! During freshers it’s a good time to socialise but this doesn’t have to be going out, just hanging with flatmates whilst they are in their house or doing day activities with them is a good way to settle in. As my flat is a mixture of introverts and extroverts we do a range of things we are all interested in when we hang out like day trips, shopping but we also chill in the flat ! My uni also has day activities that you could do during freshers which is a good way to settle in and throughout the year and the college system means there’s easy ways to make friends. For me I tend to go out with other friends but I do other activities with my quieter friends like going out for food ! There’s also a range of people at university so there will be other introverts and people with the same interests as you ! Societies are a good way to make friends, there’s a range of different types at Lancaster and they don’t all do drinking activities so there’s definitely something to suit everyone’s interests ! This is our page with the societies on so you can check out what might interest you https://lancastersu.co.uk/groups
Hope this reassures you, remember people will be in the same boat and people are eager to settle in and make friends too !
Student ambassador Holly at Lancaster university

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 9

Wik.R

1

Original post by barror1

Hey everyone! :hi:

I hope that we find you safe and well :hugs:

Welcome to Ask a University Student 2.0!
In these uncertain times, we want to do our best for anyone applying to university who may have had their open days cancelled due to the current pandemic (or may just want to ask a current student a question!). As a result, we have reached out to a bunch of legendary people who have offered to help answer any questions you may have as applicants :heart:

So, without further ado, here we go!:

Subjects
Accounting and Finance-Dentistry-Chemistry-Early Childhood Studies-Egyptology-English-Graphic Design-History-Modern Foreign Languages-Law-Linguistics-Maths-Medicine (international study)-Music and Sound Recording-Neuroscience-Nursing-Operating Department Practice (ODP)-Physics-Politics-Psychology-Sociology and Criminology-Veterinary Medicine

Universities
Angila Ruskin-Aston-Bath-Birmingham-Bournemouth-Bristol-Chester-Cranfield-Edge Hill-Edinburgh-Glasgow-Imperial College, London -Kent-Lancaster-Leeds-Liverpool-Liverpool John Moores-Middlesex-Newcastle -The Open University-Royal Holloway-Sheffield-Staffordshire-Suffolk-Surrey-Swansea-UCLan-Warwick-West of Scotland (UWS)-York

If you have any questions please feel free to tag in either me or @04MR17, and please post in this thread if you want to contribute :love:

Hi!
At the start of the pandemic I was planning on taking a gap year to travel and had already differed my applications (Leeds Psych). But I got scared that I wasn’t going to be able to travel this year so I changed my entry to this year... and now I’m completely freaking out that all of uni is going to be over video, and fees aren’t reducing and first year is gonna suck... and the uncertainty of everything is so scary.
Do you have any advice. I don’t know if going this year is worth it. I don’t know if I made the right choice.

Thank you!

Reply 10

Original post by Wik.R

Hi!
At the start of the pandemic I was planning on taking a gap year to travel and had already differed my applications (Leeds Psych). But I got scared that I wasn’t going to be able to travel this year so I changed my entry to this year... and now I’m completely freaking out that all of uni is going to be over video, and fees aren’t reducing and first year is gonna suck... and the uncertainty of everything is so scary.
Do you have any advice. I don’t know if going this year is worth it. I don’t know if I made the right choice.

Thank you!

Hi Wik.R,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had to change your plans!

I'm a first-year student at Lancaster University and I understand completely the nerves and concerns about going to uni, particularly in the current situation.

In terms of your choice of not doing a gap year, it's such an uncertain time that it's difficult to say whether or not it's the right decision. We don't know when borders will reopen across different countries and when travel will resume as it would have done, if COVID-19 hadn't happened. Looking at the current situation now, I would personally have made the same decision, to not do a gap year for travelling this year, as I wouldn't want to have a different experience.

I also understand completely your concerns about your first year being online. All universities are having to consider contingencies plans for the next academic year, but I would recommend that you get in touch with Leeds and find out what they are planning to do (bearing mind, of course, that they may not have an answer straight away).

I've had my summer term in online classes, which was a sad way to end the first year, but it was still managed really well and allowed me to complete the year at home.

If you are concerned about missing out with the first-year experience at university, but don't want to or can't go travelling, could you perhaps take a different kind of gap year? Could you get a job or do an internship for a few months, and then reevaluate the situation? Are there particular places that you did want to go travelling?

I would suggest that it would be worth waiting, if possible, until you have more information, before changing your decision. Remember, all students who would be starting uni this year are in the same position, and universities are trying to find ways of being more flexible and considerate of the current situation.

I'm sorry that I can't be much help, but if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help!

Maria
1st year English Literature, Creative Writing and Practice (placement year)

Reply 11

Original post by mierdart

Is it easy to make friends as an introvert/when you don't like clubbing/drinking? Especially with flatmates?

Hi mierdart,

I'm a massive introvert in my first year of Lancaster University, and I was absolutely terrified before going!

I don't like clubbing or drinking and was worried that I would be the only person like that. However, I was incredibly lucky to have flatmates who were extremely similar to me - and who prefer to stay in and watch Harry Potter! Of course, you can't guarantee that your flatmates will be similar to you, but everybody is extremely friendly and respectful of your own likes and dislikes. Some universities, when applying for accommodation, may ask applicants to specify whether they are quiet/extroverted, early birds or night owls, etc, so this might be a good way to find similar people in your accommodation.

However, there are so many students at university that it is impossible not to make friends. You'll make friends on your course, because you'll have similar interests there, and joining societies is a really good way of finding people like you, too. Universities will offer events other than just clubbing and drinking when you first arrive - for example, I went to a cinema night in my first week, and on a castle tour, which was a good way to meet new people. Before starting uni, you can always join group chats to see if you can find similar people to yourself - but this is on your personal preference. I found them quite stressful myself, because (as you'd expect) the introverted people were very quiet and left the talking to the louder ones!

I've written a blog on my first week at uni as an introvert, which you can find here.

If you have any questions about the introvert life at uni, I'd be happy to help!

Maria :smile:

1st year English Literature, Creative Writing and Practice (placement year)

Reply 12

Wik.R

1

Original post by Lancaster Student Ambassador

Hi Wik.R,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had to change your plans!

I'm a first-year student at Lancaster University and I understand completely the nerves and concerns about going to uni, particularly in the current situation.

In terms of your choice of not doing a gap year, it's such an uncertain time that it's difficult to say whether or not it's the right decision. We don't know when borders will reopen across different countries and when travel will resume as it would have done, if COVID-19 hadn't happened. Looking at the current situation now, I would personally have made the same decision, to not do a gap year for travelling this year, as I wouldn't want to have a different experience.

I also understand completely your concerns about your first year being online. All universities are having to consider contingencies plans for the next academic year, but I would recommend that you get in touch with Leeds and find out what they are planning to do (bearing mind, of course, that they may not have an answer straight away).

I've had my summer term in online classes, which was a sad way to end the first year, but it was still managed really well and allowed me to complete the year at home.

If you are concerned about missing out with the first-year experience at university, but don't want to or can't go travelling, could you perhaps take a different kind of gap year? Could you get a job or do an internship for a few months, and then reevaluate the situation? Are there particular places that you did want to go travelling?

I would suggest that it would be worth waiting, if possible, until you have more information, before changing your decision. Remember, all students who would be starting uni this year are in the same position, and universities are trying to find ways of being more flexible and considerate of the current situation.

I'm sorry that I can't be much help, but if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help!

Maria
1st year English Literature, Creative Writing and Practice (placement year)

Thank you for the reply!
Yes I’ve had a job for 2 years and I was saving to go volunteering around Europe and then to Australia for 4 months 😥 but I can go to Australia on a placement year i hope...

The internship sounds really interesting. Im not sure how I’d get one for psychology thought as it’s quite a private and sensitive area but I could look at some broader ones. Do you know how I could get one?

Also was wondering what laptops you would recommend for uni and how much storage id need?

Thank you again!

Reply 13

Original post by Wik.R

Thank you for the reply!
Yes I’ve had a job for 2 years and I was saving to go volunteering around Europe and then to Australia for 4 months 😥 but I can go to Australia on a placement year i hope...

The internship sounds really interesting. Im not sure how I’d get one for psychology thought as it’s quite a private and sensitive area but I could look at some broader ones. Do you know how I could get one?

Also was wondering what laptops you would recommend for uni and how much storage id need?

Thank you again!

Hi @Wik.R,

I would recommend checking out websites such as Rate my Placement or specific internship websites, but bear in mind that many of these may be directed for students after the degree, or may not be running due to the current situation.

I hope you do get to go to Australia and do your volunteering! Perhaps, in the meantime, you could find other ways of volunteering locally? It's the best of a bad situation, I'm afraid - and hopefully more opportunities will start to appear soon.

In terms of the laptop, I see students with many different types. I have an 8GB HP Pavilion (but I have extra storage on the side) and I see lots of students with the same kind of laptop, or a Macbook. For storage I think it depends on whether you intend to make all your notes online - lots of students use OneNote for everything, but I prefer to write in lectures, so probably need less storage.

As long as the laptop can access Office 365 products and can connect to the wifi, I think any reputable one would be good!

Maria :smile:

1st year English Literature, Creative Writing and Practice (placement year)

Reply 14

Chipp_yy

3

Original post by barror1

Hey everyone! :hi:

I hope that we find you safe and well :hugs:

Welcome to Ask a University Student 2.0!
In these uncertain times, we want to do our best for anyone applying to university who may have had their open days cancelled due to the current pandemic (or may just want to ask a current student a question!). As a result, we have reached out to a bunch of legendary people who have offered to help answer any questions you may have as applicants :heart:

So, without further ado, here we go!:

Subjects
Accounting and Finance-Dentistry-Chemistry-Early Childhood Studies-Egyptology-English-Graphic Design-History-Modern Foreign Languages-Law-Linguistics-Maths-Medicine (international study)-Music and Sound Recording-Neuroscience-Nursing-Operating Department Practice (ODP)-Physics-Politics-Psychology-Sociology and Criminology-Veterinary Medicine

Universities
Angila Ruskin-Aston-Bath-Birmingham-Bournemouth-Bristol-Cardiff-Chester-Cranfield-Edge Hill-Edinburgh-Glasgow-Imperial College, London-Keele-Kent-Lancaster-Leeds-Lincoln-Liverpool-Liverpool John Moores-Middlesex-Newcastle -The Open University-Royal Holloway-Sheffield-Southampton Solent-Staffordshire-Suffolk-Surrey-Swansea-UCLan-Warwick-West of Scotland (UWS)-York

If you have any questions please feel free to tag in either me or @04MR17, and please post in this thread if you want to contribute :love:

Hi,
I'm finishing year 12 now and am searching for degrees/ degree apprenticeships in architecture for applications Oct 2020-2021:
- And was wondering how did you know what to look for when choosing Universities/ Degrees? - cause I have no idea what i'm meant to be looking for when comparing and choosing different Universities.

- Also what do you think are the best ways to enhance your chances of being accepted into a University/Degree apprenticeship without Work Experience? - since of the current situation were in.

Many thanks.

Reply 15