Tips for the start of uni (Freshers and onwards)

Asking for social and life advice on a gaming forum...this should go well :D

OK, I'm heading to uni on the 2nd October (Warwick to study Management before anyone asks the obvious) and if I'm honest, I'm a little daunted by the prospect, mainly on the social aspect seeing as I have spent the last 8 years of my life as a social recluse at an all-guys school and been out once in that time. That's not to say I'm a complete social tard (most of you know that from the i-series I've been at), but I'm not exactly the most comfortable around...well, people (not knowing what to say, getting kind of trailed off early).

Along with that, you have the bombardment of stuff to take in and adapt - living alone, so being responsible for upkeep and supplies, starting a new course that will likely melt my brain until my body has no head at all, along with trying to balance work/play (something I've never really done well until May this year) and other personal evolutions.

I've asked Chalex a couple times for tips on this (notably freshers week), but I know and I'm not the only person in this situation this year (along with several other nublets in the next few years), and there are a few people here that have been through their first year of uni, and I wondered if they would like to pass down all their wisdom to us nooblets. Any advice would be cool, from the obvious and stated, to the subtle and very unknown surprises. It can be about anything from what to expect from classes, note taking techniques and people you have to speak with in the first week to lame ass chat up lines that got you laughed out of the SU and what not to do with the errent cucumbers in the kitchen – all advice is good advice, assuming it doesn't involve ploughing your way through 10 shots of Sambooka and then ending up in the car park hugging your new best mate.

I got a bit unlucky with my flat mates the first year, in that I didn't really get along with them too well. They were into clubbing, getting pissed every other night, playing rock band on the PS3 and watching lots of football at the pub. Not necessarily something I wasn't interested in doing, but I didn't make as much of an effort to fit in with them in the first few weeks, and I eventually became the odd one in the group who never went out or talked to them much. So there's my first tip, try your hardest to socialize with the people you are living with, otherwise you will be outcast for the rest of the year.

Secondly, join any group that looks interesting to you. I joined the gaming society, which is where I met most of my friends for the year, and the person who I'm sharing a house with this year. Most groups are just an excuse for people with similar interests to go to the pub and get drunk together anyway, though the gaming society did do monthly LANs, one of which I went to (I didn't go to more because it was such a hassle taking my PC).

Try to go home as often as you can, even if you can get home for 1 night at the weekend, mum's food and your own bed will seem like paradise after living at uni (you can also take washing back, I managed to not use the laundry once and washed everything once a month xD). I tried to go back for the weekend every month, though before I came back for summer I had been at uni for at least two months, and got very homesick.

For food (and I'm going to do this in days per week, on average): One day I would have fish & chip takeaway. Three days I would generally try to cook for myself spaghetti bolognese or stir fry (very easy to do). Other three days would be microwave meals. Breakfast was usually cereal (or nothing, but I'd advise against that, going to a lecture with an empty stomach is not a good thing). Lunch usually in sandwich form from the cafeteria or local store. Hmm what else....

I spent more time playing games than I should have, I left coursework to the last minute, the usual stuff. If you have any more questions feel free to ask :).

I don't really have any set questions per se, I just wanted to garner the helpful guiding hand of those who've been through uni. On that point, even if someone else has posted something you want to write, write it again - just means it's something to bear in mind.

(queue loads of comments quoting phant'.

Be confident and people will love you. Be arrogant and you will be fucked off royally. Don't mix the two up. I get along with anyone I meet with pure confidence, having done sales door to door. Trust me, getting free dinners thanks to being in charge is a fantastic feeling.

Turns out I may be getting a helping hand with meeting people in terms of events with two acts I am really quite into - Young Guns and Sub Focus :D

Keep the tips coming in!

Streak and slap people with your penis.

Other than the stuff people have already said my only advice would be to meet people from your course. So that during lectures/seminars you're not just sitting there alone and bored, but rather with a group of friends to talk to. Also helpful for getting essay/exam help from. I didn't become drinking buddies with people from my course, but it just makes the work side of university a lot easier to cope with.

...Is drinking actually required? I mean, will the yobs think you strange if you just... Don't?

(Also: cheers for throwing up the topic Oric. I'm wondering the same things, heading off on the 13th down to Chelmsford.)

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Originally Posted by D_K_Head

...Is drinking actually required? I mean, will the yobs think you strange if you just... Don't?

(Also: cheers for throwing up the topic Oric. I'm wondering the same things, heading off on the 13th down to Chelmsford.)

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If you go somewhere big, from what I know of al my friends that went to various unis around the country to put it bluntly, yes it is required.

Youll find countless student union events organised such as pub crawls and club nights and drinking events.

I might show up to one or two but i dont realy intend to drink myself and if people tryto convince me continuously I;ll just leave.

At my first year in dumfries this wasnt a problem, but dumfries is like 1/5 the size of a normal college, and everyone lives locally, so there wasnt really anything like that there.

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Originally Posted by D_K_Head

Is drinking actually required? I mean, will the yobs think you strange if you just don't?

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Corrected for excess dots.

And even I know that it isn't required. Just say you don't drink that much and you wanna stay on softer stuff. If it's a big deal for them, then you shouldn't be hanging out and making friends with them.

I'd think you were a bit weird if you never drank. You won't have many friends either because people generally don't want to go drinking with somebody who doesn't drink.

Make sure you make the effort to know your flatmates, it will feel awkward at the start but its the same for them, maybe play some drinking games and go out together on the first night :D Try not to go out 14nights in a row and you will feel like death!!! If your flatmates are ass tards then switch asap :P Shopping is hard if you don't have a car so either get it delivered by tesco or asd and get a shit load or ask flatmates to join in or get a couple flat mates and get a taxi if it isn't too far to the supermarket....or be a real student walk their then nick the trolley and wheel it all the way home :P O, and try and make friends on your course, so you have people to sit with in lectures, easiest way is to make friends in your seminar groups or if your lucky and living with someone on the same course. I would say stay at uni in the library or something to get all your work done, you may end up there till 6 but there are too many distractions in your halls :D

My cousin doesn't drink, at all.

And he's not in any debt at all, 'cause he spends all the beer money on his student loans XD

Yeh but he has no friends

At dumfries uni i made very good friends out of 5 of the class of 12, and got on well with the rest, and I only got drunk twice with them the whole year.

I don't see why the non-drinking thing is a big deal - so I decide that my beverage of choice for the evening will be an Orange Juice or an alternative, why does that affect the evening in any way? I'm still hanging around with people socially, I'm still drinking something, it just doesn't have any alcohol in it. Or am I missing some obligation of society that instructs everyone to drink and force all the teetotalers to the abyss.

Although, if I said the above out loud word-for-word, I'd expect to be punched. Hard.

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Originally Posted by Oricalcos

I don't see why the non-drinking thing is a big deal - so I decide that my beverage of choice for the evening will be an Orange Juice or an alternative, why does that affect the evening in any way? I'm still hanging around with people socially, I'm still drinking something, it just doesn't have any alcohol in it. Or am I missing some obligation of society that instructs everyone to drink and force all the teetotalers to the abyss.

Although, if I said the above out loud word-for-word, I'd expect to be punched. Hard.

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Being drunk and socializing with a sober person is not fun, because when you're drunk you say stupid things and act very differently. It's just more fun when the other people are also drunk.

There's nothing wrong with having a few pints when socializing. You'll have more fun, and the people around you will have more fun.

You come out of your shell when your drunk and say and do stuff that you normally wouldn't, although sometimes you make an ass of your self you can never remember and neither can annoy else, also you have a laugh and so does everyone else. Basically if you say "O I don't drink", straight away people assume your different, socially awkward and a bit boring, just get wrecked a few times in the first week and then you can make your excuses later on, like o I'm on anti-biotics and can't drink this week but I will come out :D Tbh its also shit going out sober unless your just down the pub or something, you really can't go out clubbing sober it just doesn't work :D

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Originally Posted by Oricalcos

I don't see why the non-drinking thing is a big deal - so I decide that my beverage of choice for the evening will be an Orange Juice or an alternative, why does that affect the evening in any way? I'm still hanging around with people socially, I'm still drinking something, it just doesn't have any alcohol in it. Or am I missing some obligation of society that instructs everyone to drink and force all the teetotalers to the abyss.

Although, if I said the above out loud word-for-word, I'd expect to be punched. Hard.

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Basically depending on the crowd, there is likely to be a social obligation to drink.

There will be a " LARGE" amount of peer pressure to drink, everyone will bully you into drinking :D

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Originally Posted by Target

There will be a " LARGE" amount of peer pressure to drink, everyone will bully you into drinking :D

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This is what I'm expecting. If it gets to much i will just leave (i hate being pushing into doing things i dont want to), but then again I MUCH prefer to have 3 or 4 good friends than a load of friends who i socialise with but know i couldnt really count on.

I'm just hoping I get shacked up with a couple of gamers, and don't have to get involved with the clubbing scene and shiz.

You will be lucky :) If you do meet gamers at uni, they probably all be console tards

And tbh, you'll be sucked into talking about nothing but games, I dunno, maybe that's ok with you, but personally that's the last thing I wanna do :<

So long as theres someone in my halls with a console, a guitar controller and rock band with some of the good DLC, i'm set for the year to become campus king of games :D

Tbh Oric don't concentrate on the drinking thing, just try and make friends to start with, maybe just have a social drink if you dont want to get wasted, or cheat :D just get coke and say its got vodka in :D

Gamers at uni generally consist of, "omg I was so pro at MW2 last night, I got a 30 kill streak with my wall hax".

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Originally Posted by Target

Tbh Oric don't concentrate on the drinking thing, just try and make friends to start with, maybe just have a social drink if you dont want to get wasted, or cheat :D just get coke and say its got vodka in :D

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That's mainly what I was thinking. I only stayed Teetotal for the first 18 years of my life, but I don't exactly wanna go overboard for the rest of it.

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Originally Posted by Oricalcos

That's mainly what I was thinking. I only stayed Teetotal for the first 18 years of my life, but I don't exactly wanna go overboard for the rest of it.

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Can i ask why it is that you dont / didnt drink?

no need to drink oric just do a bit of crack and u will be fine xD ... and thinner

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Originally Posted by Colonel Mitch

Can i ask why it is that you dont / didnt drink?

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Simply personal choice in that it never really appealed to me.

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Originally Posted by Oricalcos

So long as theres someone in my halls with a console, a guitar controller and rock band with some of the good DLC, i'm set for the year to become campus king of games :D

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This. I roxxor's the plastic guitar (which is probably a good thing, because I suck with the real thing.)