Mentally preparing for university

The prospect of moving out of home, having to cook for yourself, doing your own washing, and moving into a flat with people you have never met before is a daunting task. On top of that, questions around your course and how learning works at university can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be as terrifying as you may be making it in your head. Here are some top tips for preparing to go to university.

Print photos of your family and friends

The idea of leaving behind your family, friends, and school you have grown to be so comfortable in is a bittersweet feeling. But printing out photos to put on pinboards, making scrapbooks, and bringing your journals helps to recentre yourself during the madness of freshers’ week. Plus, making scrapbooks is a great activity to do with your friends, so set aside an afternoon, boil the kettle, and get crafting!

Look at your accommodation on the website

Once you have been informed what accommodation you are moving into, look at the Warwick accommodation website to familiarise yourself with your new surroundings and get designing. Planning how I was going to make my room cosy and personalised really helped to alleviate some anxiety of moving to university. Also, use Google Maps to trace your walk to your university buildings and Cannon Park (where most students living on campus shop). Knowing the vague routes around campus definitely helped to erase my fears of being completely lost.

Look at social media

The unknown of moving to university is especially daunting, but thankfully social media is filled with uni content. Look at university outfits or people’s room tours for inspiration – TikTok and YouTube vlogs are great for this. Seeing the positive experiences people have had at university helps to alleviate the natural fears of being lonely and not finding your people. Look through the social media of societies you might want to join – often there are ‘meet the exec’ posts with tips for freshers. It also helps to familiarise you with people you will meet!

Practise cooking some meals

Perhaps the most daunting prospect before starting university is that you have to cook all of your own meals. For some, you might consider yourself an adequate, or even great, chef, but for those who are not so confident, I recommend looking online – BBC good foods has some great simple recipes – and TikTok also has some scrumptious ideas. The most helpful thing is to perhaps make your own recipe books, writing down family recipes and those you have found when researching.

Prepare academically: pre-reading

If you have been set pre-reading, make sure to familiarize yourself with its content. University readings may be very different from what you are used to, so be kind to yourself. Sometimes it doesn’t make perfect sense, and that’s okay! Often, the readings are just an introduction to a topic that you are going to explore in more detail in lectures and seminars. For those who haven’t been set pre-reading, reading books or articles about your subject is a good place to start. The extended summer might make you feel like you have forgotten how to read academically, so find an introductory book or articles to immerse yourself in your subject. For those who are starting subjects they have never studied before, then don’t worry about feeling behind. Read an introductory book or two on your subject, and you will be in the perfect starting position for university.