At university, the days may be long but the years are short! When I look back on freshers week, I can remember feeling a small sense of pressure to really make my years at Queen’s count. But there’s so much happening when you first start, it can take a while to find your groove with uni life - so I thought I’d share some of the things I learnt, so that you can make the most of every moment of first year!

1. Say Yes

Your first year of uni is when you’re most likely to have free time - make the most of it. At the start of the year, there will be lots of events and nights out running, and lots of chances to bond with flat mates and course mates. The best advice I can give - say yes! This is valuable time to get to meet new people, find your crowd and soak up new experiences.

Whether it’s lunch between lectures, a movie night, a trip to the pub - don’t be afraid to say yes, even if it’s outside of your comfort zone. When I look back on my early days, the odd things I said yes to doing led me to meet many of my close friends.

^{Plenty of time for spontaneous adventures when you're starting out}

2. Commit to a few key things

Once you’ve explored lots of new clubs and societies in the early weeks of freshers, it’s a good idea to pick one or two things you’ll be a regular attender of - not too much that it’s overwhelming, but enough that you’ll get invested in a community of people with similar interests to you. This really helped give my first year at university some structure, as I had weekly things that I looked forward to and could plan my schedule around, and also helped with building deeper friendships as the year progressed, as I saw the same people regularly.

3. Look at the bigger picture

Your assignments are likely to contribute less to your overall degree in first year than in your later years of study. This does not mean they’re not important! But it can give you some perspective. Early in the term, figure out when you’ll have assignments due, group work to do or exams to sit, and how much they’re worth, and put that in context - that way you know when to plan for more time in the McClay, and can avoid a stressful cram.

^{Prepare for some library stints, but don't let assignments worry you}

Being organised well in advance means you’ll be prepared to tackle your work and leave yourself plenty of time to ask questions and adjust to a new style of work at uni. I also find this helps me to get in the right mind frame for work - I know when things really matter, I can knuckle down, as well as recognising times in the term where I can relax a little bit and have more time to enjoy other parts of uni life.

4. Ask for help early

First year is a busy and exciting time, but there can also be a lot of change. If you have any worries or concerns, nip them in the bud and reach out - lecturers or older students can be on hand to help out academically, RAs in accommodation are on hand if you’re having issues settling in, and the SU offer a drop in service - everyone wants to help you succeed at uni, and the easiest way to do that is to be aware of when you need a little helping hand. It’s also great if you’ve got a good support system of family and friends from home - keep them updated on your life and how you’re finding things. This means issues can be dealt with as they arise and not be a dark cloud over you as you move through term.

^{My family leaving me off to halls for my first day at uni}

5. Take pictures

My friends tease me about my camera roll running to over 35,000 photos BUT I am so glad that I have captured big and small moments throughout my university life - especially my first year. I love having pictures from our first times spent together to compare to now and seeing how much we’ve all changed in four short years - but I also love having random everyday moments from first year in my camera roll too.

As you launch into uni life, take plenty of pictures to document your adventures - they’re nice to look back on, yes, but also help to romanticise even the most mundane everyday parts of your new uni routine, meaning you’re always looking out for nice moments and pretty parts of campus!

^{Take plenty of pictures to document your adventures}

6. Be yourself

Lastly but most importantly, just be true to who you are. That way, the friends you meet will be people who like the real you.  For example, if clubbing isn’t your thing, that’s okay! You’re better being honest about that and spending your time at university doing things you actually enjoy… or if there’s a part of your identity you didn’t get to express when you were at school, use your uni years as a chance to explore that! If you’re true to yourself and know what you want from your time at uni, you won’t go too far wrong.

Wishing you all the best if you’re starting at Queen’s - I hope you have the best first year!

Find out more

Queen's Welcome and Orientation

Clubs & Societies at Queen's

Study Medicine at Queen's

Also from Kathryn: My Experience of Finding Church Community in Belfast

Kathryn Allen Medicine| Undergraduate Student | Lisburn, NI I’m a 21 year old student originally from Lisburn and starting my fourth year of Medicine at Queen's in September- I love my degree because it combines caring for people, learning fascinating things and working as a team. When I’m not busy surviving placement and exams, you can find me in one of Belfast’s great coffee shops with a friend, going to concerts to get my fix of live music, or curling up to read a book with a carefully curated Spotify playlist on in the background!