What to expect from the first day at university
I wish I’d known what to expect when starting at Warwick. So I thought I would write about exactly that.
- Arrive! Sometime around mid-September, you should expect to receive an email about booking your arrival slot at Warwick. There are a variety of days and time slots available to choose from (often Thursday-Sunday before Welcome Week) but I would recommend choosing a morning slot if you can (I do appreciate that not everyone lives 1 hour or less away!) That way, you can spend more time unpacking without feeling rushed and like you’re missing out on getting involved with everything else!
- Move into accommodation/ goodbyes. After arriving at the car park assigned when you booked your arrival slot, someone from the Arrivals team will give you a map, directions to your accommodation, your student ID card, and most importantly, your key! Luckily, the key system in Warwick is all electronic and very simple: there’s just one key to unlock your flat door and room door. As soon as you get in, unpack at least some of your things, especially the kitchen items, as it will help you get used to your new environment — as well as giving any emotional parents a bit more time before saying a final goodbye…
- Meet people!I don’t think I’m ever going to be 100% relaxed about jumping into the deep end and meeting a lot of new people in one go, but once you’ve taken the first step everything gets a lot easier! I was very nervous coming into the kitchen at lunchtime to meet my first other flatmate (I’m pretty sure my first panicked sentence to him was “Hi, I’m using this cupboard”, which was of course far from the ideal opening line that I might have planned…) but after spending some time breaking the ice and making general conversation, you start to feel a lot more at ease and realise that, actually, everything will be okay, The first day is also a chance to get to know people other than your flatmates. I remember plucking up the courage to go to the Meet and Greet at the Oculus, where you sit at a table with a bunch of other Freshers, mostly ignore the cringy game ideas provided on the table and end up just chatting, making some potential friends, and enjoying yourself!
- Giveaway fairs!If you arrive sometime during the Welcome Weekend just before Freshers Week, there are often at least two giveaway fairs going on in Central Campus throughout each day. Whether you want an ice-breaking activity to do with your flatmates, an opportunity to start touring campus and talking to some current students and staff, or you’re just after getting as much free stuff as possible (guilty) they’re well worth attending! You can expect to find key-rings, pens, highlighters, tote bags, and several other types of Warwick merchandise, but whatever you do, make sure you take one of the free lanyards for your key! It will save you the unnecessary expense of buying one later from Rootes grocery store when you realise you would actually quite like one…
- First party of Welcome Week/get to know your flatmates. Finally, on the Saturday and Sunday evenings before Freshers Week fully commences, there is usually a club night at the SU’s nightclub The Copper Rooms, or you could just spend the time chilling with your new flatmates, maybe by cooking together, playing some games, watching something, or exploring campus! As I mentioned on a previous blog, Warwick’s personality survey that you complete when applying for accommodation has, to my knowledge, been very successful at matching similar people, so you are very likely to find activities you can do together!
Overall, if you’re nervous about the first day, all I can say is: I know it’s daunting but it’s more doable than you realise, and rest assured that you’re bound to find (at least) one person that you get along quite well with, which makes everything easier!