Fresher at the University of Sheffield. Ask me anything!

Oh right, it does seem like it'd be hectic in freshers week so I can see how that could happen lol

I saw some videos on YouTube when I was looking at uni vids I kept seeing things about carver street or someplace like that but aside from those vids I haven't heard anyone from Sheffield talk about it so it can't be that popular.

And thanks for the advice, I'll probably only know what I'm doing once I get there so no point stressing(although knowing me I'll probably find something else to stress about lol) and hopefully so, it'd be horrible to spend my birthday in my room all day. Thanks for the reply!

Oh yeah I know a couple of people who have done Carver Street but its not that popular as far as I'm aware

I stressed so much about going to uni and meeting people and making friends so you're definitely not alone. But once you're there you just sort of go along with things and it goes by really quickly, then you get close to the end of the year like me now and wonder where the time went. Honestly it feels like I only started uni 2 minutes ago not nearly 7 months!

Lol, yeah I can imagine it going so fast, I don't think I'd want it to end since after uni I'd have no choice but to become an adult and I'm trying to delay that as long as possible I guess it all just depends on whether I like the whole university experience.

Do a PhD, then you can delay it for 3/4 years...

There's parties going on in both places, just more people in Endcliffe so you'll run into more people in general (more noise). You could quite happily hide in your room on both sites - so really it's up to you to make the effort. I think you'll be fine at Endcliffe! There's definitely more going on there if you want to feel involved. Most of your contact will be with your flat mates, and then probably the flats above and below you. We had quite a bit of interaction with some of the flats above. Occasionally round to another block. My course friends were actually split fairly evenly over Ranmoor and Endcliffe. You'll find your way and a group of people wherever

The sport societies obviously have a primary focus on sport but outside of their actual sport training they always seem quite keen to go on bar crawls. Just sport team culture unfortunately.

If you're really into a sport then do join or at least check out the society. I'm not sure what a lot of the other non-sport societies do to be honest. Well, there's SLUGS which is a computer gaming society - they do regular LANs at the union so that's quite cool. Pizza and computer games - what more could you want! Bit of an effort if you have a desktop rather than a laptop though. Don't let me put you off having a look at anything, and if you go to the societies fair then actually speak to the people and ask them what they do for socials - you'll get a better answer there.

My club is table tennis so we attract a lot of Asian and International students who don't drink culturally.

International students are good for doing other things too - and that's something Sheffield has a lot of and great support for.

Half of my flat were really keen on doing film nights every week - all coming together in the living area, watching a film and eating popcorn. We used to go down to a pub that did comedy nights as well.

The give-it-a-go programme is quite good for just spending an afternoon doing something different.

tl;dr - If you make an effort to find other things to do then you'll be fine. Ask the societies people what they do for socials and activities and you'll soon find out which ones you'll fit in with. Going to another university won't avoid this.

I barely drink, and I enjoy(ed) my time. Don't worry about it!

I'm not sure if someone's asked this already but how was freshers week like? Did the uni put on good events or was it all just a bit awkward? I heard of something calling "Sheffield Parties?" is that mainly for Hallam students and are the events they put on any good? I'm just curious to how the general week was like, I'm pretty nervous because I'm sure that freshers week is going to be the hardest time for me adjusting to being so far away (I'm just 3 hours but I've always lived down South so moving up North seems so major to me) It doesn't help that my birthday is like four days after freshers week starts so I'm most likely going to be spending it with strangers while missing my family (I doubt they would make the journey up twice that week)

Hi,

Intro Week at Sheffield is a huge event, and there's loads of stuff to do, particularly within the Union, including film screenings, culture evenings, orientation events ( so you can get to know the campus and the city) and trips out the Peak District. There are nights out at the Union if that's what you're into, and these are very good/ popular, but that's only a small aspect of Intro Week and the stuff you can get involved in.

Activities Fair and Sports Fair both run in Intro Week - at these, you can and browse all the different societies and sports teams on offer at Sheffield, meet those involved and see if anything takes your fancy. Our 'Give it a Go' team also run a great (and huge!) programme of events for new and returning students. Give it a Go allows students to try out activities and societies at a beginners level - the sessions are all one-off, but if you like the activity there's the option to go along to more sessions in the future (they also run trips to Alton Towers, Chatsworth House and other places). Don't be worried about going along to a session by yourself, as plenty of people do this - it's a great way to meet like-minded people in a friendly, informal environment. Alternatively, Give it a Go sessions are also a fun way for you to bond with your flatmates and try out something a bit different.

Your department will also run orientation events for new students, allowing you to meet people on your course, your lecturers and the people who run your academic society. If you're living in university accommodation, there will also be events going on around your residency for you to get involved with (which you can find out about on moving weekend).

I also had my birthday in Intro Week, and I felt exactly the same as you - a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to celebrate it properly! However, I needn't have worried at all - even though I had only known my flatmates a couple of days, they decorated the flat for me and baked me a cake, and then we all went for a meal and to the Union, and I had a brilliant birthday. I would suggest picking something you would like to do for your birthday (maybe something you wouldn't do at home, just to avoid those major homesick feelings), and then inviting your flatmates (or whoever you meet in Intro Week) along. Remember, everyone is just as scared and nervous about making friends when they come to university, so I am sure whoever you are living with would be very happy to celebrate your birthday with you.

Hope that helps you out a bit, if you've got any more questions then just let me know!

Best wishes,

Georgie, Student Communications Team at the University of Sheffield

Oh right, that sounds pretty interesting. Probably won't know where to start lol. When do they generally give you info about intro week like the events going on etc, do they usually start announcing the freshers timetable after results day?

Aw that's really sweet of your flatmates, makes me feel better since I really don't want a lonely birthday. I just hope I get along with my flatmates and everything goes smoothly but I guess i'll never know until I get there.

Thanks for the information!

Oh right, that sounds pretty interesting. Probably won't know where to start lol. When do they generally give you info about intro week like the events going on etc, do they usually start announcing the freshers timetable after results day?

Aw that's really sweet of your flatmates, makes me feel better since I really don't want a lonely birthday. I just hope I get along with my flatmates and everything goes smoothly but I guess i'll never know until I get there.

Thanks for the information!

They send you a booklet in your 'Yay! You've made it to Sheffield' envelope of stuff that's so heavy your postie will hate you (Or this is what Chemistry does at least) and it's full of EVERYTHING that the university is putting on during fresher's week. If you can think of it, it's probably happening.

Your course will probably have a 2014/15 [Subject] Fresher's group on FB. Definitely mention that your birthday is during freshers, and they'll do their best to get you drunk. On lad in my year has his 19th the sunday at the end of Freshers. How he made our 9am on the monday, we do not know.

Oh okays, fingers crossed that I actually do make it to Sheffield lol.

I didn't know they had subject goups, I thought they just had a main freshers FB page and that was it, I'll have to look for that closer to the time then.
Lol, okay i'll make sure I do. I'm praying I don't get any 9am's though

Hi,

There is quite a lot to choose from, it's true! You should get some information through the post after results day, which includes a Welcome Pack with a guide to Intro Week from the University and the Union. The Union will also be putting stuff on their website prior to Intro Week, so it's always a good idea to keep you eye on on that. You'll get loads more stuff when you arrive on Moving Weekend too.

I am sure your birthday will be great - as I say, just make sure you tell everyone about it so they can all rally around and celebrate with you.

If you have any more questions, just let me know.

Best wishes,

Georgie, Student Communications Team at the University of Sheffield

haha. What are you going to study?

Politics and philosophy hopefully

-pulls weird face- Not sure about how many 9am's you get actually. If you were doing a stem subject, you DEFINITELY get them.

Hi, I was wondering if you knew anyone who lives in Sheffield, but not in student accommodation. So, at home or with other people? I'm debating between Loughborough and Sheffield, but if I were to stay in Sheffield, I'd move into a city centre flat with my boyfriend.

Or would student accommodation first year and living with him second year be better?

I'm really torn between moving away or being in Sheffield and close to my boyfriend and family

Hi, I was wondering if you knew anyone who lives in Sheffield, but not in student accommodation. So, at home or with other people? I'm debating between Loughborough and Sheffield, but if I were to stay in Sheffield, I'd move into a city centre flat with my boyfriend.

Or would student accommodation first year and living with him second year be better?

I'm really torn between moving away or being in Sheffield and close to my boyfriend and family