University Halls

So now everyone has their A2 Results and I hope you all got what you wanted. I imagine you will now know what University you are moving on to, or be looking at clearing lists.

For most of us, the first year in University accommodation is the first time we have moved out from living with our parents. There are many things to deal with in first year-new friends, new town, new house, no parents around, new work, new course and new house. New house is the first on that list you will come to, along with new town.

Halls of Residence are fantastic. Yeah, ok, so they cost a fair bit and can be quite scummy, but let’s face it, Halls are still great. You move into Halls and there could be around 10 other people in there, all a bit scared of their new life and all desperate to make friends.

TEN TIPS FOR YOUR HALLS

1. Fill in your survey as accurately as you can. Many Uni’s now do surveys when you choose Halls to try and organise Freshers into flats with people with similar interests. On my survey, my interests were late nights, baking, reading, hiking and first aid. Uni assigned me to the cheapest set of self catered Halls I asked for. On the basis of my survey, I shared with 9 other girls and lived with a medic, 3 english students, an archaeologist, a biologist and 3 transfer students.

2. On your first night, make an effort. I took cake. We all sat round in our kitchen, drank tea, ate cake and started getting to know each other. Even if you REALLY want a bit of ‘me time’ on your first night, go and see your new housemates.

3. If you can, arrive as early as you possible. This gives you time to set up your room, settle in and bag the best cupboard in the kitchen before everyone else arrives. This allows you to help your new flatmates to settle in, making you look extra generous and it gives you time to say bye to your family, have a bit of a cry and get cleaned up before you meet everyone.

4. Take or make cake to share. It’s a great ice breaker

5. Be up for everything! In the first few weeks try as much as you can and go out with your house mates. It will be a great set up for the coming year.

6. You might want to think about labelling your cutlery/plates/kitchen ware. When I arrived, it turned out everyone had been to Ikea and we all had identical things. It’s much easier to sort out at the end of the year if you know what belongs to who!

7. Make your room your own. Pictures of friends and family at home, your favourite poster, a string of fairy lights or a rug. Whatever suits you the best, it will definitely help to make your room in Halls feel like yours and not like one of a block. Brightly coloured bedspreads really help here.

8.  Your Residential Advisors (old folk who live in your Halls and tell you to calm down if you’re making too much noise) are not killjoys. They have a job to do to keep everyone happy. If you have an issue, let them know!

9. Be yourself. Don’t feel like you have to change to fit in with everyone else. Uni is a great time to reinvent yourself if you want to, but you don’t have to change if you don’t want to.

10. You might miss your Mum loads but DO NOT) go home the first weekend to see her. It’ll be really hard to come back again and you will miss out on loads of brilliant fun at the Union.

I hope these tips help you settle in at University, and that you have as fantastic a first year as I did.