What surprised you the most about being at uni?

Hi everyone!

Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!

For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...

Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Reply 1

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Manchester Metropolitan University

Hi everyone!
Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!
For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...
Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Hi!

The main thing that surprised me when coming to uni was how much there was to do. There are so many different societies that you can join and there were so many that I never would have thought would be a society! There are also so many different events, whether this is things the uni has put on or just other things in the town/city that you are living in!

There are also so many different ways of meeting people that I wouldn't have thought of. For example you meet lots of people in the building you live in, even if they aren't in your flat. You also meet lots of people on your course and just through other friends too.

Cooking also surprised me! I didn't realise how much of a big change it would be cooking for myself all of the time and it was definitely a big adjustment from living at home. Its a good idea to practice cooking some meals before you come to uni as this is a lot easier and you will have some easy meals you can make after being at uni when you don't really feel like cooking.

Lucy- SHU student ambassador 🙂

Reply 2

YSJstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Manchester Metropolitan University

Hi everyone!
Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!
For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...
Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Hi!
What surprised me the most about university, as someone who doesn't like drinking and nights out, is how many others felt the exact same. I was nervous, prior to coming to uni, that the only way to make friends was to get involved with the drinking culture (as this was all I had heard about uni life), so I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived and found so many people feel the same way!

Faye 🙂

Reply 3

CardiffUni Rep 2

Original post

by Manchester Metropolitan University

Hi everyone!
Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!
For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...
Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Hiya!

This is a brilliant question :biggrin:

For me, I would say just the sheer amount of people at uni! This might seem like the obvious haha, but it was definitely a massive change from secondary school and sixth form, where you were surrounded by the same people almost everyday.

I would say the amount of independence you're given as well 🙂 Its something everyone tells you about uni before going to uni itself, but I was surprised to find that there's a lot of independence to managing your social life as well! I found that its quite important to make an active effort to, for example, go to society events, to really make some friends. For me, it was a massive shift from secondary school where you're, again, kind of forced to see the same people everyday, without trying at all.

~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

Reply 4

Liverpool Hope University

Official Rep

Hi!

One of the things that surprised me the most was how much support you can get. I was always told that university is a lot more independent and I kind of assumed that meant I wouldnt get as much help when I needed it but its the complete opposite. My lecturers always help me when I need it and there's a student support team that will help too. And they help with more than just academic problems. If I had any personal problems I know that there are multiple people who I can go to talk to and get some advise.

Lottie, Graduate Advocate

Reply 5

LancashireRep1

Official Rep

Original post

by Manchester Metropolitan University

Hi everyone!
Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!
For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...
Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Hi everyone!

Siobhan here, 3rd year at UCLAN. This is an amazing question and one I wish I asked before i started uni.

For me, it was definitely the big shift from A-level to Uni life and how much more independent you are in your own learning. You go from having things given to you in every lesson in A-level to having to go and research things on your own straight off the bat. I really found this challenging at the start but luckily my uni was really supportive in this and I was able to reach out to a student coach for one to one mentoring. I would recommend seeking help if you ever do feel overwhelmed as you’re not alone in it!

All the best everyone! 🙂

-Siobhan (student ambassador at UCLAN)

Reply 6

Stacy De Souza12

Original post

by YSJstudents

I know I literally felt the same but my university RGU had enough societies that I can join where I built connections so I never really felt lonely for not hanging out with my pals on night out

Reply 7

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Hi!
One of the things that most surprised me about university is the amount of opportunities there are outside of my degree. This includes the range of societies and clubs you can get involved with, there are so many covering so many interests that run great weekly events and trip. Also the amount of opportunities there are in terms of exploring future careers, I went on a trip to London with the uni where i got to meet a wide range of employers, and ask for their advice with applications, which i never even when was an option. My best advice would be to try new opportunities that come along as they can lead to great things like making new friends or even possible job options.
-Jasmine (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 8

WrexhamUniReps

Official Rep

Original post

by Manchester Metropolitan University

Hi everyone!
Is there anything you didn't expect, surprised or even shocked you when came to uni? This could be about your studies, student accommodation, student life... Anything you can think of!
For me it was realising I didn't know how to cook a lot of the food I'd eat at home. I'd never prepared a full meal that wasn't from the microwave before so making substantial meals that were cooked properly and tasted nice was definitely a learning curve...
Can't wait to hear your responses :smile:

Hi

I think the thing that surprised me the most at University was the volume of people that all study at the same place and within the same building. As well as this I think I was surprised by how far some students had travelled to get to the Uni.

Another thing that surprised me was the age range of the students as I expected everyone to be of a similar age range as in school however this isn't the case there is a whole host of ages on my course which is great as you can all learn from everyone's experiences.

Thanks for the great question!!

Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps

Reply 9

gjd800

I don't think that I was particularly surprised by anything other than the comme ci, comme ca attitude of many of my fellow undergraduates. I laboured under the (mis)apprehension that everybody had the same motivation(s) as me - not the case, and thinking back, why would it be?