1. You’ll spend so much more in Freshers’ Week than you think

Freshers’ Week is essentially the first week where you move into university. You’ll move into your halls and meet your flatmates, and probably say hi to every other person you pass by! Freshers’ is a very social time, a lull between moving away from home before the hard work starts. You’ve earned it, so make sure to have the time of your life – but be sensible and budget your cash.

2. Get it done, and get it done early

Assessments will creep up on you quicker than you expect. Be prepared and keep a note of the dates of your hand-ins or exams when your teachers tell you them. Planning in advance is less work than it seems, and breaking things into small parts actually means you’ll feel like you are doing less work overall. Nothing will be better than feeling smug that your work is done early!

3. Get a good bag

If you are going to lectures or workshops, whatever your course, you’ll need a good bag to carry all the things you need – even if it is just for your laptop, some books, your lunch and a few pens. Invest in a good bag that is going to fit all of your stuff and be comfortable too. Backpacks are great, and you can personalize them too!

4. Your working environment is more social than you think

This is true for courses that have group work integrated into assessments, and it is a great way to meet new people. But, even if your course doesn’t have any group work – you might have seminars where you can discuss the material you have learnt together (or even debate it). You can even be the person that suggests a course WhatsApp chat, where you can organise to study together for exams. A definite motivation booster!

5. Utilise your Library Champion

Each School at the university here at Salford has a Library Champion. These are representatives who have an annual budget, you can contact them and request for books to be ordered into the library – great for those niche dissertations or projects! They can also raise issues you may be having with the library and take suggestions for the improvement of services for your needs.

6. Don’t leave your referencing until last

When you come to university, you’ll be thrown into a possibly new world of referencing. But don’t worry! The library, along with your lecturers, are on hand to make sure you have all the resources to understand it, and ensure that you reference your essays correctly to get those important marks. Make sure you don’t leave it until last though! When researching, keep track of the sources that you are going to use – whether that is bookmarking those online pages, or writing down the relevant details in a notebook. By your last year you’ll be a referencing pro, we promise.

7. Everyone is in the same boat

You may think before you move to uni, that you are the only one that might be feeling nervous or worried that you might not make friends. But everyone can feel like this, so it is important to know you aren’t on your own. Help yourself and those around you. They will probably tell you they felt the same at first too.

8. Enjoy every moment

Those three (or more) years go fast. So enjoy every moment and make sure to utilise everything that is on offer to you. Make the best of it.

And those are our 8 tips of what we wish we would have known before we started university, and now you already know them! You’re welcome 😉