Hi! I'm Oscar, and I've just finished my third of four years studying maths and physics at Warwick. I'm from London, and I went to a comprehensive secondary school and a specialised maths school for sixth form. As someone who loves both maths and physics, I decided to study at Warwick due to a strong and versatile programme that didn't neglect either of the two fields.

Over the last three years, I've learned a huge amount of really interesting academic content and had countless really great experiences, both on my course and beyond the curriculum.

Warwick's been a very welcoming environment; I put that down to the modern and diverse nature of the university and its student population. On my course, I've met some people with very similar backgrounds to me, including other comprehensive-educated recipients of the Warwick Bursary, and others with drastically different backgrounds, such as international students from a range of different countries. I've loved hearing about the variety of perspectives and experiences of my peers, and I think that it's made Warwick feel much more welcoming and vibrant than what I've heard about other universities.

Beyond my course, the huge range of societies and social events are great for meeting all sorts of people, and in my experience, they're all very inviting of newcomers. Warwick Physics has its own society, and it's a great place to meet with your peers and make friends on your course. You'll also meet people in tutorials, seminars, and examples classes-I recommend meeting up with them off the timetable too, because it can be really helpful to work through course content with peers, and it's a good way of building a network of friends. I really think that Warwick Physics has a community feel to it, between the Physics Society, the shared workrooms and common areas, and a close relationship with staff.

To expand on our good relationships with staff, we often have events where the students can get to know their lecturers, such as departmental lunches, and they can often be found in communal areas in the physics buildings. Most are very happy to answer any questions you have after lectures-I recommend doing this, because even if ethe question isn't directly about the lecture's content, it can be a good way of finding out ideas beyond the confines of the module content. It's a good way of getting to know your lecturers and classmates. As you progress through the degree, you'll increasingly work alongside staff, such as in final year projects, or extracurricular summer projects in the department through our Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS). I did a URSS project last year, and I really enjoyed working with academics to work on real physics research. It’s a great experience, and really improves a lot of valuable skills – I’d definitely recommend it to any Warwick physics student.

Of course, studying a strong course in a technical subject comes with some challenges. At university level, physics is an entirely different beast, and it can get difficult to keep up with the ease you'll probably be used to in school. While this can often come as a shock, it's important not to be discouraged by failing to understand concepts or getting bad grades. For many people, university will be the first time they'll struggle in their favourite subjects, and even with a healthy outlook, this can often lead to burnout looming over them.

For me, the best way to tackle this was to ensure I had a good support network of peers who could provide academic and moral support, and who are going through similar experiences alongside me. I've also found it vitally important to make sure to have fun and take my mind off academics. For instance, getting involved in extra-curricular activities and societies (in my case, the University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra) is really refreshing, and I think it's very important for wellbeing and a sustainable lifestyle while at university.

In terms of more general advice, I think it's most important to keep in mind that no university experience is universal. For instance, many people quickly bond with their flatmates, and will aim to form a housing group for them in future years-that's experience typically told to freshers, but it isn't at all universal. It's perfectly fine not to click with them and make friends elsewhere. The same is true for all sorts of other aspects of university life, so it's important not to be disappointed if you think you're missing out. If you make the effort of joining societies and taking good opportunities, you'll have a great time, and won't feel the need to compare your university life to an idealised stereotype.

For me, the best things I've done have included society tours abroad, a summer research project, becoming the treasurer for the Symphony Orchestra, and doing various medium-term temping jobs, including running and presenting in a conference and being a student ambassador. This has led to a great university experience, but it's also an experience that I've curated uniquely for myself, and it's far beyond what I expected I'd be doing when I was a fresher. It's impossible to plan out your opportunities and challenges, so do what you can to make the most out of your degree, and don't worry about any opportunities you think you've missed (if anything, you might end up doing those later, too!).

Finally, more mundane and specific advice:

-Make a flat groupchat, and don't be afraid of using it to tell your flatmates to do the washing up.

-Go to as many society tester events as you can, and try to stick with any which particularly engage you.

-Resist the temptation to take too many optional modules from experience – it’ll make your workload much higher, and your life much harder.

-Make sure to go on walks around the very beautiful countryside near campus, if you think it'll help clear your head!

-Explore the campus to find the beat study spots early – for me, that's the quiet areas of the library.

-Try to keep up with problem sheets, but don't worry if you fall behind (most people do)

-Lectures are recorded and often have notes, but it's still much more engaging to go in person

-Get enough sleep! Sleeping enough is underrated and being sleep deprived ruins your concentration, as well as generally making everything else harder to deal with.