Fresher’s is one of the most exciting times of your life! You’ve worked so hard to get here and now it’s time to enjoy all of the wonderful experiences there are to be had at university. It is still absolutely normal to be worried as it is such a big transition so, in this blog, I’ll be giving you my top tips for Freshers week!

Making Friends

You’re basically guaranteed to make friends for life at university! Whether that’s meeting people from a sports team, other students on your course or your flatmates in first year – just to name a few of the options. Not making friends is one of the biggest worries people have when moving to university and the most important thing to remember is that everyone is in the same boat. It’s all a brand new experience to everyone. With this in mind here are my top tips for making friends!

1. Buy a doorstop. Having your door open in accommodation will mean more conversations with your flatmates and a closer relationship as a result. This is my number one tip as I’m pretty sure it’s the reason I ended up living with my first year flatmates for 3 whole years!
2. Spend time with lots of different people. There’s a saying that you won’t know who you want to be friends with at university until 6 weeks in, so spend time getting to know everyone from your course mates, flatmates and other students trying out the same sports as you.
3. Be yourself! People want to get to know the real you and this is how you’ll form the bonds that will last years. A good way to get started is by having photos on your door or walls of nice memories you want to share and any hobbies that you already have. 

Getting Involved with Societies

There are so many (over 160!) clubs and societies to choose from at Surrey, you’ll definitely be able to find one that is the right fit for you! There are so many benefits to getting involved (keeping active and the social life are just a few!) and all of the teams at Surrey are welcoming for beginners. Here are my top tips for finding the right society for you:

1. Go to Freshers Fair! This is such a fun event where you can meet the students running the societies, sign up for taster events, get free food and lots of freebies. It’s a really great event with an amazing atmosphere. I’d recommend having a few societies in mind to speak to and then seeing what takes your fancy on the day. 
2. Take part in Active Freshers! Active Freshers is the weekend of Freshers week and is where all of the sports teams put on free sessions where you can meet new people, try the sport out for free and just have a great time! You can attend as many sessions as you like to be sure to take part in something completely new for you. If you already play a sport, you can meet returning team members and get more information on the team tryouts. 

Nightlife 

Freshers week is famous (or infamous) for the incredible nights out you will have. To see the official University of Surrey Freshers line up, have a look here! Here are my top tips for making some incredible memories:

1. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to drink to have a good time and there are loads of other options available! My favourite is the annual Team Surrey colour run which is always such a fun event as well as a whole line up for Freshers week you can check out here! Keep an eye out for events at the Hive which are often movie and board game nights which are definitely a more chilled out way to have fun and meet new people. 
2. Have a look at events going on in town! Whilst it’s true that you won’t have a better night out then at Rubix, Freshers week is a great way to see what the clubs in town are all about. My favourite is a bar called Slice where you can drink, dance and play ping pong! Here are some of the events going on in Guildford.

These are all my top tips for having an incredible Freshers week! Remember that it’s absolutely okay to feel nervous and home sick and that there are so many people at Surrey waiting to support you. Be sure to check out the Centre for Wellbeing for more information on how to cope with these feelings and if you have any questions at all, the Hive team are ready to help! Be sure to check out our Student Instagram to keep up to date with everything going down in Freshers week! That’s all from me and I hope you have a fantastic time. Welcome to Surrey!