Welcome to Glasgow: Tips for Freshers from a current student

Welcome little freshers. Congrats on your offer and welcome to the real world. It’s pretty brutal out here, but we at The Glasgow Tab, can help you settle in. It can be tricky to find your feet when thrown into university life head first, so here’s some advice from a current student that I would follow if I had the chance to do it all again (which I defo would). 

Join everything (or at least try) 

Freshers’ week is the perfect chance to sign up for the taster sessions run by many Glasgow University societies. These give you an idea of which ones interest you before payment. It’s a good chance to either try something new, keep progressing with a high school passion or reignite interest in old hobbies. Stalls are found at the main campus Freshers’ Fair. If you miss this, it’s always worth messaging a society page on Instagram, as they can often sign you up for a mid-semester taster. Societies are a great place to meet friends who aren’t on your course or in your accommodation but still share similar interests to you, so definitely give everything a go. 

Talk to everyone (yes everyone)

There are no rules on who your friend group has to be, and sometimes it can surprise you when you meet them. It’s always worth striking up conversations with new people, as you never know who you’ll go on to see in every tutorial every year to come. Moving away is a big deal, and everyone can use an extra person. There is no such thing as too many friends, but be sure to keep in touch with friends from school too, as it can be easy to get caught up in the rush of Freshers’ week. 

Student deals and deliveries

Budgeting is hard, but it’s one of the most important things as a student to ensure you save money where you can and when you’re entitled to it. We can all get carried away tapping Apple Pay, but there are some easy ways to save a few pounds where you can, and it all adds up. It’s always worth it to check student apps like Unify, Unidays, and Student Beans. I would recommend looking up everything on Unify, especially when online shopping; more has a discount than you might think. As for deliveries, I would always recommend using a parcel box or post office; it’s just not worth the risk of getting a parcel stolen or missing the postman. It’s worth the extra time.

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Skipping classes?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed without realising. Sometimes first year can have a slow start. One day it’s all introduction lectures, and then the next time you attend you are in over your head. As much as people tell you first year doesn’t matter, it is still an important year for settling into your university lifestyle. If you can go to every class, you should; the number one mistake people make is skipping a lecture to catch up on previously missed lectures. It sounds silly now, but you’ll consider it. And it doesn’t work.

Find replacements for your favourite things from home

Glasgow is a big city; there will be an equivalent for everything you love doing at home which you can do here as well. This can help with homesickness. Your favourite thing might be your local coffee shop, gym, or park, in which case explore. Glasgow has plenty of these to offer. If you are looking for a more outdoorsy hobby, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are just a free bus ride away (for those of us under 22). Glasgow also has many independent cinemas, and great shopping in town, Silverburn or even Edinburgh.

You have a whole year

First year is perfect to figure out what works for you, whether you prefer the quiet library, background noise of the reading room, coffee shop, or just staying at home; as long as you can study there, there is no wrong answer. Everyone has days when they can’t focus; everyone tells you it’ll go by fast, but it’s still a year. Don’t worry if it feels like you have moved into a flat where everyone already knows each other; they don’t. Even if you miss out on a few fresher activities, friendships can change a lot over the weeks and year, so don’t worry if you feel a bit left out in the first few days; everyone does. That being said, you only do first year once (hopefully), so don’t waste it – enjoy it!

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