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If you’re off to university in September then no doubt you’ll have thought ahead to freshers’ week. Often termed “the best week of your life” (spoiler: it probably won’t be) freshers’ week is your opportunity to meet new people, get to know your new home and explore what university has to offer you for the next three years.
Done right, freshers’ week can be a lot of fun, but it also comes with a few risks which lots of freshers don’t think about, so make sure you follow the following checklist of ways to stay safe, so that you avoid any trouble...
1. Write your address down
One thing you’ll quickly learn during freshers’ week is that you’ll soon get mixed up in the many tours, activities and socialising on offer, and before you know it, it’ll be 3am on your first night and you’ll suddenly have to find your way back to a room you’ve only spent an hour in.
To avoid being stuck without a clue how to get home, it might be worth storing your new address on your phone or a piece of paper in your bag/wallet – just in case you can't remember and get lost.
2. Find a reputable taxi company
Same as above... if you find yourself after a crazy freshers' night out stuck in the middle of a brand new city/town with no idea how to get home, then a bit of pre-planning will help you.
So, when you first arrive at university for freshers' week, put a local taxi firm number in your phone. Try and do this ASAP, so you don’t have to worry about finding a taxi when you need one.
It also means if you get lost in the daytime you have a backup to get you home and having a taxi number on hand is also useful for emergencies.
3. Practise the route back to your halls/house
Depending on when you arrive you might not have time to do this, but it’s a good idea to get to know your way around as soon as possible. Practise the route from uni and the town centre back to your place of residence a few times during your first couple of days.
4. Try to stay in a three
This is mainly advice to take heed of on a night out. For obvious reasons you shouldn’t end up on your own and the ideal is to stay in a group of no less than three people.
As much as you might feel like best friends after a day of knowing each other, it’s good to keep in mind that you’re in essence strangers and you don’t really know what the people you’re sharing halls with are like yet.
A lot of people can also overdo it during freshers’ week and in a three you’ll be more equipped to deal with any emergencies.
5. Don’t feel pressured to say yes to everything
Everyone arrives at university wanting to make a good impression, get along with people and fit in and this means students can sometimes end up doing things they wouldn’t normally do during freshers’ week.
There’s nothing wrong with this, and for many a big part of freshers’ week is having a few funny stories to tell, but if you genuinely feel uncomfortable in doing something, then you’re entitled to say no.
This is massive part of looking after yourself at university, and if the people you’re with react badly to it, then you probably aren’t going to want to be friends with them anyway.
6. Be careful with your personal information
You arrive at university and you’re desperate to make friends. That’s pretty normal, but it doesn’t mean you should give out your phone number to everyone you meet and become Facebook friends with anyone who adds you. That can make you vulnerable to fraud or worse.
Be sensible and limit the amount of information you give out. After all, if you meet people who are really going to be your friends then you can get their details later on!
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Five things every student should do when they start university
