How to survive your first year at university as a fresher

What happens now that all the fun of Freshers' is over?

Keeping on top of your workload will ensure a smooth first year (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

With Freshers’ well and truly over and the first lot of assessments due pretty soon, a deluge of (very helpful) articles have been cropping up, offering advice about how to tackle those fateful first few days and weeks.

However, what about the rest of the semester? There are another three months after Freshers’ to go until the Christmas break. What happens then? Let’s talk:

1) Remember: nobody cares about who you were

Nobody cares if you were in the football A-team at school. Nobody cares if your family has a holiday home in the Alps. Nobody cares if you were a straight A student. Nobody even cares about that time you tripped up in the canteen and smashed a tower of plates.

University really is a fresh start. Don’t be held back by what has happened to you in the past 18 years or so. Consider the playing field officially levelled out now.

When you start university, you start your adult life, so start behaving and doing what you’ve always wanted to. People will love you for it. Unless what you’ve always wanted to do is watch Masterchef boxsets all week. Gregg Wallace is amazing, but that’s weird. Don’t do that.

2) Join clubs and societies

They’re fun and it’s an easy way to make friends outside of your normal circles – simple. Plus, from a networking standpoint, clubs and societies are essential. You can make friends with students one or two years above you. By the time you’ve graduated, they may well be useful contacts in that industry you’ve been dying to get a job in.

3) Be healthy

Healthy eating is a mood-improving must. For the past two years, I’ve been eating nothing but pasta, tomato sauce, and meat. But don’t be like me, there’s no need to subject yourself to that kind of torture (no offence to pasta). Learn how to cook a variety of simple meals. Not only would this benefit your health, but your meals will taste better too. There are some great, easy-to-make recipes that are perfect for students.

Another tip for boosting your mood is to get a good night’s sleep. Researchers from Harvard University recently discovered evidence that mood is closely connected to sleep – a lack of sleep can cause stress, while good sleep can enhance well-being. Just sleep normal hours.

4) Do some work

You might be the sort of person that breezed through secondary school without really trying (I hate you). That might have worked out okay for you back then, but it just won’t cut it at university. A moderate work ethic is not good enough.

This is a major step up from your A-levels, and you need to work hard to make sure you don’t flunk everything. Even if your first year doesn’t count, there’s no reason why you can’t balance work and that hectic social life of yours.

This may sound stupid, but don’t forget that you’re here for a degree. You’d be surprised how many people seem to forget that when all that freedom gets dumped on their laps in September. Don’t bow to peer pressure and go out and get drunk constantly.

Here’s some sage advice somebody told me: “Sleep more than your study, study more than you party – and party as much as you can.”

5) On top of that, attend your classes

A lot of people are going to try to wean you off of the tuition you’re paying ludicrous sums of money for: ‘C’mon, it’s just one drink’ or ‘Don’t be boring’. Ignore all these people. You’re here for you. Go to your tuition. If you can’t deal with leaving your room for ten to 20 hours a week, then you shouldn’t be going to university anyway.

6) Don’t procrastinate

You’d be surprised how much guilt and stress you can avoid, simply by keeping on top of your workload. Stay up-to-date and neutralise all that anxiety. All that ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’? No, you won’t Do it today.

7) Use condoms

Condoms are your friend.

8) Explore your city

Believe it or not, but there’s more to being a student than getting really drunk in sweaty rooms, so go to gigs, comedy nights, museums, plays, sporting events, restaurants and, of course, nightclubs. There’s so much that I can’t list here, so try as much as possible.

Also, about clubbing, inevitably a lot of students will be going out this term, but aren’t you bored of Tiger Tiger yet? Try a funk and soul night. Anywhere that doesn’t play Pitbull should work.

On the whole, have a fantastic time and don’t waste this opportunity. You’d be surprised how quickly this is all going to finish.

@lucasfothergill