These are the 10 obvious signs that you’re a fresher at King’s College London

Freshers’ Week has officially and very sadly been and gone and I very much miss my obligatory round of nights out at Egg. Freshers’ Flu is rife and the unavoidable amounts of small talk are slowly but surely dying down.

As we are now halfway through the second month of university, it seems this year’s silly little freshers are finally settling into their new environment. They might be becoming more lowkey, but I can still spot them from a mile away.

So, these are all of my insights to be a verified fresher spotter too.

1. The Lanyard

We’ve spoke about this a LOT previously at The King’s Tab, but it is the most definitive sign that you’re a fresher or just a bit proud to be at King’s. Nothing screams fresher more than wearing your lanyard like a necklace.

As a fresher myself, I can confirm that by not wearing your lanyard 24/7 around campus, you will be mistaken for being a second year at least twice. If you don’t want to be easily identified as a fresher, the trick is to keep your lanyard in your bag or carry it in your hand.

2. Getting lost

Let’s be honest, we’ve all got lost before. Whether you’re trying to find the Macadam Building or mistaken the King’s Building for the Strand Building, I feel your pain.

As a fresher, you go from being able to walk around your entire school in less than five minutes to having to navigate your way around a building that is twice the size.

You’ll find the freshers looking as though they are completing their DofE Gold – campus map in hand and walking around in circles with a look of sheer confusion on their face as they try find the classroom for their next seminar.

3. Eagerness

There has to be some unwritten rule that freshers must arrive to their lecture at least 15 minutes before it actually starts. They will even beat the lecturer to the lecture theatre and stand outside in huddles whilst they wait to be let in.

Good luck getting past us, Masters’ students.

4. Joining every society

Whilst we’re on the topic of eagerness, Freshers somehow feel obliged to join every society that the uni has to offer. They leave the Freshers’ Fair showcasing their freebies in awe of what King’s has to offer.

5. Adding everyone on social media

Are you even a Fresher if you don’t ask anyone and everyone for their Instagram or Snapchat? Freshers treat this as if it’s some kind of competition of who is able to gain the most amount of Instagram followers in a week. They will stand in a circle of people they just met as one by one they put their socials in, never to be heard or seen of again.

6. Taking photos

Being in a new environment, freshers naturally feel inclined to take pictures of virtually anything. From the scenic views of London, to the brutalist architecture of the campus itself. They take it upon themselves to become the resident campus photographer from day dot.

Don’t doubt that they will make you late to your 9am as they walk slowly to try to capture the perfect shot.

7. Freshers’ Flu

Have you ever met someone that hasn’t suffered from Freshers’ Flu before? This one has to be the most glaring signs that you’re in close proximity to a fresher.

Freshers’ Flu spreads just as quickly as Covid, and all it takes is for one person to get infected, and then the whole year falls with them.

Forget using lofi beats when studying in the library, the chorus of coughing and sneezing will act as white noise.

8. The Freshers’ wristband

Yet another blatantly obvious sign. Take it off, Sarah.

Freshers wear this to show off they went to every Freshers’ event in London and as a marker of their achievement of managing to successfully get through Freshers’ Week in one piece and will continue to wear their wristband well into October.

9. Being stressed

Whilst everyone wants to make good first impressions and no one wants to get into bad habits. Freshers will stress about every minor inconvenience that they face. Whether it’s not doing the reading or arriving to their lecture a minute late, you’ll find them having a mental breakdown in the toilet as they contemplate dropping out in the first week.

Don’t you lot know first year doesn’t count?

10. Overspending

You freshers have not got a single clue where the hidden gems of London are. Freshers will end up going to the first best café that they see near campus and inevitably fall victim to the daylight robbery that is the £5 Pret sandwich.

Overall, freshers are just unaware that their maintenance loan is meant to last for the whole semester, rather than for the first two weeks of university.

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• The five types of people you’re bound to meet during your first semester at King’s