Here are 10 things you need to know before you become a King’s fresher

September is only around the corner. The chaotic sounds and disturbing smells of London are becoming less and less distant. So how can you get yourself ready for the big move?

The truth is, you can’t. Nothing can you prepare you for navigating the maze of the library or for the towers of books you were supposed to have read but didn’t quite get round to it.

But that’s what we’re here for, to give you a few essential things you need to know before you embark on the journey that is Freshers’ week.

GCs are important (in moderation)

Finding out who your living with and how everything is going to run on move in day is essential for settling some nerves before you move in.

After that everyone will be trying to impress each other with out-of-date memes and unnecessary stories about their friend from home Alex’s so-called hilarious night out at ‘Spoons. That notification sound will haunt you like Freddy Kreuger if you don’t mute it as soon as you get the information you need.

Catfished by your flat?

The pictures of your room that you might have seen are most likely deceptive. Do not get your hopes up for an exciting room with plenty of space because that will not be what you get.

You’ll need to hone your Tetris skills to fit everything into your cupboards and you’ll want to make the most out of any poster or house plant sales going on in order to snazz up your room enough to give it a little bit of character.

You’ll learn to live with it and love it over time because if Harry Potter could live in a tiny room then so can you. Who knows, you might get lucky with your view.

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Familiar introductions

Every conversation is going to sound exactly the same at the beginning of Freshers’. “What course are you doing? What A-levels did you do? Where are you from? What accommodation are you in?”

There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s inevitable. You’ve just got to deal with it and take it as an opportunity to network.

Make plans in pencil

It’s always good to be prepared and to know what you’re going to be doing and when, but Freshers’ week is a different beast entirely.

If you’re vibing hard with some new people but they’re going to a different club event than you, don’t be afraid to switch up your plans and join them. Don’t stress about having to find someone to buy your ticket off of you either, those GCs I mentioned are like crazy auction houses when it comes to club tickets.

Money seems to disappear like Houdini

Whether you’re used to London prices or not, your first maintenance loan will be gone before you’ve even checked your bank account. The realisation that you might have to prioritise grocery shopping over shopping on Vinted will slap you like a fish.

It is a big adjustment but you’ll get used to it… right?

Rinse the Freshers’ Fair

People think the Freshers’ Fair is there for you to find a group of like-minded individuals and join their society. Those people are wrong.

The Freshers’ Fair is about freebies and nothing else. You shouldn’t need to acclimatise to the prices of London to know that freebies are everything to students.

Don’t worry about home all the time

Homesickness can be tough and is a completely normal thing to experience at uni.

Don’t let that consume you though. You’re never going to feel more at home at uni if you spend your evenings on facetime to your mum or your sixth-form partner when you could be out partying and getting to know people.

Even if FOMO doesn’t swallow you up, then you’ll regret it when you come to second year and the only people you want to go out with are scattered at other unis or still at home.

Flats require etiquette

This one should be a given but you’d be surprised. As tempting as someone’s snack cupboard may be, filled with the finest delicacies you can find in Lidl, it is not your cupboard! Imagine yourself walking back from an extremely interesting lecture and finding that those crisps you’ve been looking forward to are gone.

Milk and bread become fair game after week one, but have some courtesy and tell people that you had to nick some because you’ve run out yourself.

Campus is campus, not Fashion Week

You have to give credit where credit is due, King’s is a fashionable university (especially being the most central university in London). Everyone will be wanting to meet those high standards, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll notice that the fashion will slowly drop from high end drip to comfy fits.

That’s okay! Deciding on an outfit that will slay when you’re already late to a seminar is one more stress that you don’t need. Throw on your comfiest tracksuit and get to campus. Literally everyone will understand the struggle at some point.

Enjoy it!

University can be incredibly daunting and its impossible to avoid stress entirely (especially with the uncertainty from strikes), but you’ll soon find out that its never as bad as you think it is, and your best memories and friends are just a few months away and they’ll keep you going through even the toughest of times.

Embrace the fact you’re going to be in London for the next three years and enjoy it.

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