What is uni actually like?

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Maybe my views will change when I actually arrive but, as it stands, I’ve got little hope that I will do well.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Anonymous

Maybe my views will change when I actually arrive but, as it stands, I’ve got little hope that I will do well.

I don’t know whether it’s because I feel insecure that I’ve done mostly vocational subjects so I don’t know how big the jump to uni will be.

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by Anonymous

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Your sense that everyone will be more intelligent or better organised is misplaced. What you will probably find is you may be going from routinely being at or near the top of your class, to being in the middle more frequently - this is not unusual or unexpected though, as in school a lot of people there were not especially keen to be there, whereas at unis often you have people who are more academically motivated and so they also had a similar background to you and so now you're in the middle of the pack! That's not a bad place to be though - you just need to remember to focus on your performance, not other people's.

Also remember, usually in uni first year counts for little or nothing towards your final degree classification as unis are aware that it's an adjustment period. So try and focus on engaging with the material, and with the feedback you get on assessments. Don't just focus on the numerical grade, look at whatever comments and feedback are provided and think about that outside of the context of the grade and reflect on how to improve on that.

And bear in mind that grading scales at uni are completely different to at A-level. 60% and above is good; 65% and above very good; 70% and above is excellent. Even if you land in the 50-59% range that's not a bad outcome and as noted, since it counts for much less to your final degree classification you can focus on any feedback and try and improve to get yourself into the 2:1 range (60-69%) or 1st class (70% or above - and bear in mind in many subjects it's virtually unheard of to get above an 85%, so don't be expecting "top marks" to be 90-100%; in many cases 80-85% is truly exceptional).

If you do fall below the 2:2 level of 50%, and get 40-49%, then it's still a pass so you are ok in continuing, just make sure to pay close attention to feedback and make sure you are utilizing all resources available to you - including office hours and your personal tutor. If you are getting marks in that range it's worth having a chat with your personal tutor earlier rather than later about what might not be going so well to improve. If you are not getting passing marks (below 40%) then definitely try and speak with your personal tutor ASAP and look at the feedback you're getting, go back over the assignment and see where tings went wrong so you can try and make sure to course correct early.

In terms of making friends and being nervous, literally every single other school leaver student will be in exactly the same boat. The only difference is some may manage it better and some may be more gregarious to start with. Even if not though it's absolutely possible to get to know people quite easily at uni as basically everyone is looking to get to know someone. There are also normally a lot of events for you to meet others on your course, in your halls, and with similar interests in freshers week.

Moving away from home can be a significant change though and it's pretty normal to feel homesick at first - even quite significantly. In my experience though moving farther away kind of actually helps as you can't then lean on a crutch of going home on weekends or similar if your parent(s) lived nearish to where you are at uni. It forces you to go out and engage with people and start developing your independent life, which is a good thing :smile:

There are also usually support systems available at uni if you're finding you're struggling emotionally/mentally so do reach out to those if needed.

Reply 4

Ashinski

3

Good luck I am sure you will be fine. All of your fellow students will be feeling exactly the same. You have been accepted on to the course so the University think you have a great chance of succeeding.

Original post by Anonymous

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi there, the jump to University studies can be quite large, and I know seem confusing or overwhelming at the start of your year.

There is no compulsory work or preparation that you need to do before going to University. As long as you have familiarised yourself with the Uni's system e.g. where to find work, where to find the reading materials, and complete these to the best of abilities then it will be fine. :smile:

As an introvert, I know that talking to new people can be difficult. But try to put yourself you there, join different societies, talk to people in your course, at this point friend groups are still very flexible, with people moving between groups. Most people will be in the same position as you and I am sure you will find a nice group of friends too! :smile:

I also made the decision to move to a University far away from home. It is normal to get homesick, always feel free to call your family, and if you would like to, you could always return home on the weekends.(Keep an eye out for reading week too! It should be coming around quite soon, and you can return home if you like!) :biggrin:

Whilst it may seem off putting when people answer questions in lessons that you do not know, it is not true that everyone is more intelligent and better organised. You managed to get into your University degree, and you deserve to be on the course. (Most people will fall behind on Uni studies at some point, and that is absolutely fine, just try to catch up on the workload to the best of your abilities. Take time to figure out a study-life balanced schedule that works for you. University is an enjoyable experience, take your time to settle in, best of luck! :smile:

Chloe
-University of Kent Student Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Hello,

I’m a BA Dance student from the University of Lincoln.
I completely understand that you are feeling overwhelmed about the prospect of starting university but believe me you’re not alone! It is completely normal to be anxious about starting your course, making new friends and moving away from home but everybody is in the same boat and probably feeling just as worried as you are. Making friends is not like ‘speed dating’ whereby you’re going to have to find which friends are suitable to your interests…. You will find who you get along with… this may be your flat mates, your course mates or even new people you meet at societies or sports teams! You must also give it some time, I remember I didn’t find my friends for the first couple of weeks but your real friends will be the ones that look out for you and share common passions. In regards to your course, yes you will probably be a little scared on your first lecture or welcome talk but that’s completely natural- if it was going to be easy then there would be no point in being there. You’re here to learn and everyday will be different, you can’t expect yourself to instantly be amazing because it is all about the learning curve. Homesickness is completely normal and you are likely to to miss your home comforts but it is all about making your ‘new’ home feel more homely. I suggest getting to know your flatmates and maybe seeing if they would come to some of the freshers events with you or perhaps you could all cook dinner together one night. Remember everybody is here to support both you and your learning and there is always student wellbeing hubs that you can turn your direction to if you feel like you need some advice.
Starting University can feel like a very daunting process but once you’re over the first hurdle I can assure you that you will love it!

I hope this helps,
Abigail

Reply 7

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

16

Anon,

How did your first day go?

Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield

Original post by Anonymous

I start uni today and, if I’m being honest, I feel so unprepared. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the material nor do I have a clue how I’m going to make friends. I’m shy and the prospect of going up to presumably a group of people is so off putting. I have a sense that everyone will be more intelligent than me and better organised. I’m also staying in accommodation on the other side of the country so I don’t know how I’m going to cope away from home. Are my worries unfounded? Any help would be appreciated.

Hey there!

You're definitely not alone in this and a lot of people feel this way before they start. My advice is to try and find out if there's any groupchats going on. Try look at some Facebook groups for freshers at your uni to see if there's any groupchats for your course. That way you can message people over social media first and grow a relationship with them that way. It's a lot easier to reach out to people digitally than in person. If you're stuck with what to do in person then even sitting with a group of people is a great place to start rather than going in and sitting by yourself. Sometimes you'll find that other people on your table will strike up a conversation with you. If not, during seminars there's often opportunities to collaborate and chat to one another which can be a great start point for friendships and you can gradually shift to other conversations outside of uni work. You have to think of it like, you've already got something in common with them because you picked the same course. Use that as a starting point and go from there.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU

What is uni actually like?

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