What I wish I’d known before coming to YSJ

Welcome, freshers, to the better of the two York Universities.

This year will be one of the best years of your life, so you should probably know a few things to make the college/uni transition that bit less stressful.

Spoiler alert: you won’t visit half the people you said you’d visit this year.

Freshers’ week

Everyone is in the same boat. You’re nervous and excitied. You suddenly have money but it won’t even cover your rent.

You want a good time? Abide by these commandments:

Rule 1: After you’ve moved in, talk to all your neighbours and people on your floor and get a pre-drinks sorted, or after week one it’s just gonna be passing smiles on the stairs.

No-one needs that degree of awkwardness.

Rule 2: Don’t be the kid suggesting spin the bottle and truth or dare at 6pm. Calm down. You’re gonna have plenty of time to get into your flatmate’s pants, however bad an idea that really is.

Rule 3: The only acceptable triple is from Stone Roses at £3. That is all.

Rule 4: You will have to choose between food and alcohol most weeks. Wine always wins.

Rule 5: You MUST join a society or sports team. They are worth their weight in gold for fun, friends, and probably a discount at a few of the local pubs and bars.

Rule 5: Make friends with a promo guy/gal. They’ll get you reduced entry or drink discounts. Any money off anything is something you should grasp with both hands, just make sure they aren’t a creepy 27 year old. You know who you are.

Campus

Let’s get the boring bit out the way. University has three main areas you need to know.

Fountains is the three-tiered library, but don’t worry, you won’t need it till second year. Just know that there are bean bags on the top floor for hiding away in if a bit too hungover. There are vending machine’s crammed with food, drink and stationary for any late night library session but get used to typing in your username and password a lot because everything, even the printer, requires you to type it in.

The SU bar is excellent pretty much every night of the week, with emphasis on  the Saturday £1-a-pint Karaoke that really teaches you some people shouldn’t sing after a pitcher of lager and lime.

And last, but by all means not least, is…

Lectures

Your lecture halls are given to you in the format:

Building abbreviation, Floor Number, Room number.

So SK-211, is Skell Building, floor two, room 11. Bring something to write on and a bottle of water, you’ll be good to go.

Lecturers have to reply to you within two working days so if you are ever stuck on something, always shoot them an email – it’s costing you £9000, after all.

It’s also recommended to join your subject’s Facebook group. Just don’t be that annoying knob that posts their high marks or spams it with club promo.

Nights out

The thing you’ll know off by heart by the end of the year, mainly because of the stamps you’ve accumulated on your wrist.

YSJ nights out goes as follows:

Kuda Mondays. Indie music downstairs in the tiki-bar and club music on the second and third floor.

Skint Tuesdays at Salvation. Singles, Carlsberg and Jagerbombs are 75p with club music and 90’s and 00’s upstairs.

Fibbers Frat House. Club music to slosh your stein to with the football, rugby, netball and hockey team.

Thursdays are usually fought over by the smaller clubs like Duchess, Society and The Drawing Board.

Koh Samui at Salvation. Cheap drinks and one of the busiest nights of the week, you’ll get too used to deleting the photos from here on Saturdays.

Saturdays are Ctrl at Fibbers, with £2.50 drinks and Indie and Anthem rooms. You really can’t go wrong and the squad will probably approve.

Sunday you can choose between Revolution and Vudu both offering cheap drinks and a great atmosphere.

Get to know the floor, Stone Roses, join a society or three, Stone Roses, Saturdays’s at the SU, Stone Roses, watch your account balance start to dwindle and don’t forget to enjoy your nights in – when you’re not at Stone Roses.

That’s all you need to know.