WHAT TO EXPECT AT UNIVERSITY

So I was scrolling through blog posts online earlier and I noticed somebody had done a blog post about what to expect from university in your first year. As a student who has moved from not only the outskirts of a city to the middle of nowhere, but also to a different country I felt maybe my experiences could help prepare others moving away for university. Moving away to university is both a terrifying and exciting experience but there are many things I did not even consider when I went to university.

Change of Environment
First and foremost the area you are moving from and the area you are moving to is obviously the biggest change being made. I live on the outskirts of Birmingham, England and I chose to go to Aberystwyth University in Wales. I knew moving to small town on the Welsh coast would be a change but I was not prepared for how much I would be hit by this change. First and foremost the nightlife is completely different. Whereas I'm used to a choice of big pubs and many clubs back home, in Aber there are a total of 2 nightclubs, and although there are approx 50+ pubs they just cannot make up for this. When you move you may want to check out events and the best places for nights out beforehand, I wish I had gone in with lower expectations! There is also a drastic lack of shops in Aber, the Mcdonalds is 20 minutes out of town and it is 2 hours to the nearest city. All these things I really did not even consider when I moved and now going into my third year I ensure I do all necessary clothes shopping before I leave home.

Change of People
At home most of the people I know are much like me; very sarcastic, love drinking and nights out and probably a bit too into the latest music/styles/gossip. In Aber, majority of the people there come from countryside towns/villages/middle of nowhere backgrounds, and due to this are all rather alike each other; never drank, no nights out, basic fashion, scared of cities etc. So it was easy for these individuals to adjust to life in Aber, however for me not only was it hard to adjust to the area but also to the people, especially when they could barely understand what I was saying and did not get when I was being sarcastic at all. Not the best start to making new friends. Prepare to be around people completely unlike you who do not share the same interests or backgrounds, you do have to adjust slightly to how others live and maybe will have to live differently to how you do when at home. You will probably if in a similar situation to me miss your friends from home a lot, but at least you're only actually required to be at uni for about 6 months a year. Another thing to note, especially if you are from an area with a distinct accent such as myself, you will be bullied for this, people will pick up on it and attempt to copy it and this will haunt you for your entire three years believe me, they do not stop.

Change of Studying
One thing I blame my sixth form for is not preparing us enough for how to work at university. Because I went to a sixth form and not a college, there was a lot more help available to us which was a positive but they were also as strict as teachers/heads were at high school. Clothing was monitored, registrations were taken daily, there was a weekly assembly and you had to stay in sixth form 8:50am-3:20pm daily, even during free periods. Although they felt these rules were aiding our education, I went to university completely unprepared. At university no-one will voluntarily help you, no-one checks you've done the work correctly, that you submit it on time, that you have the correct cover sheets, that you attend lectures and do the correct amount of reading you should. Everything you do at uni you have to do all by yourself, if you need help you have to ask for it, and if lecturers choose not to reply you must keep asking and asking and asking. You arrange meetings to discuss progress and what you need to do to progress further etc. The only time your work level is monitored is in seminars (only if your course includes these) and if you attend one of these having not done ALL of the required reading then god help you. Basically you want this degree, and you want to do well in this degree you have to work for it.

Change of Life
So in summary your life is now going to completely change and you'll find it won't just be whilst you're at uni, you will change in yourself. If you're like me and before uni rely on your parents for quite a bit, i.e. washing/food shopping/cleaning/travel/bills etc then this could be quite hard to get used to. You have to do everything yourself obviously, be prepared for carrying your laundry around town to find a laundrette. Be prepared for carrying bags of heavy food across town when food shopping. Prepare to have to force yourself to get up for your lectures/seminars on time because no-one and I mean no-one is going to check you have and you're only going to be ruining your education that you're paying around £27,000 for. You may find you come home after a term or two and feel like you need to or should be doing things because you barely get time to think at uni between work load, shopping, washing, clubs, nights out etc. You will probably love uni, hopefully a lot more than I do and it does have a lot of good points including the freedom to do literally whatever you want, but things are likely to get a lot harder from now on I warn you!