The Student Room Group

what do you do in welcome week

title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?
Original post by twinkle_31
title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?

Hey @twinkle_31,

Welcome week consists of an induction to your course such as what modules there are, when and if you can choose modules, if there are any field trips in the first year and what you would need for them and icebreakers to get to know your course mates. Usually a couple of weeks before you will be able to access an induction timetable showing you all the different activities that your course or department are putting on and whether they are all compulsory or not.

There is then the freshers fair which is where you can meet the different societies and sports clubs and find out which ones you are interested in and you can either sign up on the spot or wait and do it through the student union website. This also usually has different businesses there who usually give out quite a lot of different freebies. The companies who are there sometimes are shared on the uni's student union Instagram and if you go a bit later from when it starts usually stories will have been posted on Instagram showing who are there.

In the evening you would then have the freshers events which are held in your student union bar / 'club'. For the Edge Hill 2023 freshers there were events from the Saturday move in date (23 sep) till the following Sunday (1 oct) these included parties, music bingo, karaoke and a cinema showing.

I would recommend looking on the universities student union Instagram page as this will likely be where the fresher events are shared.

I would recommend the messenger bag or even a tote bag as for my circumstances you just need a pen and paper really for the first week.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any further questions! 🙂

Rebecca
3rd Year Geoenvironmental Hazards Student
Reply 2
Original post by EdgeHillStudents
Hey @twinkle_31,
Welcome week consists of an induction to your course such as what modules there are, when and if you can choose modules, if there are any field trips in the first year and what you would need for them and icebreakers to get to know your course mates. Usually a couple of weeks before you will be able to access an induction timetable showing you all the different activities that your course or department are putting on and whether they are all compulsory or not.
There is then the freshers fair which is where you can meet the different societies and sports clubs and find out which ones you are interested in and you can either sign up on the spot or wait and do it through the student union website. This also usually has different businesses there who usually give out quite a lot of different freebies. The companies who are there sometimes are shared on the uni's student union Instagram and if you go a bit later from when it starts usually stories will have been posted on Instagram showing who are there.
In the evening you would then have the freshers events which are held in your student union bar / 'club'. For the Edge Hill 2023 freshers there were events from the Saturday move in date (23 sep) till the following Sunday (1 oct) these included parties, music bingo, karaoke and a cinema showing.
I would recommend looking on the universities student union Instagram page as this will likely be where the fresher events are shared.
I would recommend the messenger bag or even a tote bag as for my circumstances you just need a pen and paper really for the first week.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any further questions! 🙂
Rebecca
3rd Year Geoenvironmental Hazards Student

cool, thank you!
@twinkle_31 -

Thankyou @EdgeHillStudents ! With regards to the bag, I would say take both normal bag (e.g. satchel, rucker) and a lightweight bag as you will need a good sturdy bag for your laptop, any textbooks you need, paper and freebies from the fair, but probably a smaller bag for going out.

Hope that helps and best of luck!

Holly
University of Bath
Reply 4
Original post by twinkle_31
title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?

Hi!
Welcome weeks will vary slightly depending on the university you attend. However, on the whole, you will have various freshers events, as well as introductory talks on things like finance and university life, and of course introductory lectures where they will explain the structure of your course.
You don't need to take anything in particular except something to take notes/record the information you are given. Whether that is a notepad, laptop or phone notes.

Hope this helps! Faye 🙂
Original post by twinkle_31
title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?

Hi @twinkle_31

I hope you're looking forward to starting university! I know others have already gave some good advice, but I thought I mention a couple.

Welcome Week or Induction Week (depending on what your university calls it) is a great way to get settled and find out in more detail about your university. Typically, you get to attend introductory classes to your chosen course and do a couple of induction tasks so you can expect what to learn over the next couple of years. It is also a great opportunity to make friends and bond with people on your course.

Like others have mentioned, you get to find out about different types of student support services such as finance, student wellbeing, careers, etc just to ensure you are aware of what is available.

Maybe more exciting, Fresher's Fair is typically a big part of Welcome Week! You can find out about the clubs and societies you can join, as well as any sports teams. Typically, local businesses are sometimes in attendance promoting their student deals and giving out freebies!

In terms of a bag for this week, a lightweight messenger or tote would be great! Although, I would imagine you would get a fair few totes are the Fresher's Fair!

I hope this helps & good luck!

Estelle :smile:
Graduate Advocate
Original post by twinkle_31
title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?


You basically go on a bunch talks & induction activities introducing you to your course, faculty core university services as well as the students union (which manage student support, societies, events etc.), there is a lot of introductions & ice breakers, fairs and meeting loads of people.

there is also a lot of activities in the day & evenings (fun optional stuff like bbq’s, bar crawls, movie nights, club events basically a variety of drinking & non-drinking events).

Yes you should take a bag, id get a decent bag (swiss gear do some good ones), a professional style backpack is good (one that goes over both shoulders) but has a laptop compartment and several pockets for notepads, lunch & jacket etc.
Original post by twinkle_31
title + would I need a schoolbag for any of it or should I take my lightweight messenger bag?

Hi @twinkle_31
Welcome week has a broad range of activities, however for the daytime activities a small rucksack or tote bag sized bag will be sufficient. During the day there may be introductions to attend for your course and to meet your department as well as activities like campus and town tours. Then in the evening there will be a range of events like society tasters, quiz and karaoke nights as well as nights out.
Hope this helps!
-Jasmine (Lancaster student ambassador)

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