The fresher checklist - 10 things you need to survive the first semester

So you got through your A-Levels or college, and you managed to get accepted on to your dream university course – things are feeling really great right now! If you are starting university soon and are leaving home for the first time, you are probably starting to wonder how on earth you are going to fit 18 years of your most prized possessions into your new tiny uni bedroom. Don’t fear, we have compiled our top 10 items you need to survive your first semester!

1. An alarm clock

Gone are the days when your parents were on hand to kick you out of bed and bring you a cup of tea of the morning. The baton has now officially passed to you to get yourself up and out the door, on time! An alarm clock will become your new best friend (or worst enemy). You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your lecturers and tutors by missing your classes!

2. A new pencil case (with all the trimmings)

I’m pretty sure that stationary was never at the top of your shopping list, but get to uni and everyone is whacking out the gel pen collections, piles of post-it notes and oh so many rainbows of highlighters! You will have to get really good at organising yourself if you want to keep on top of your workload – so get down to WHSmith and invest well in a really good stationary collection.

3. A pack of cards

You will learn more card games in your first two weeks of uni than in your whole life so far. Be prepared and bring a pack of cards with you. Your housemates will thank you for it, and you can get some practice in to avoid the loser drinks!

4. A dressing gown (or onesie) and slippers

For those far-too-often 3am fire alarms (yawn).

5. An easy-peasy recipe book

You don’t want to live off super noodles and chicken nuggets all year; it gets old. Get experimenting with some easy and cheap recipes; you might surprise yourself at your cooking skills!

6. Some ear plugs

Believe me, you won’t want to party every night…no, really! When you have that early start, group presentation and 5 hour library marathon tomorrow, and your flat have decided to start the sixth round of ring of fire, these will come in handy.

7. A classic fancy dress outfit

Monday you’re a pirate, Tuesday you’re Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Wednesday you’re head to toe in UV…by the weekend you might even become a rubix cube! The fancy dress will be endless. Get some staple fancy dress items early and avoid the dreaded Primark run to buy face paint and a blow up parrot two hours before you’re supposed to meet at the union for your first social.

8. One of those colour catchers (and 2 in 1 detergent)

You can put off doing your own washing for a couple of weeks, but the day of reckoning will come! Avoid turning all your whites bright pink with a pack of handy colour catchers. And don’t forget the 2 in 1 washing tablets.

9. Mum’s medicine box

Beware the dreaded fresher’s flu. Be prepared with a handy medical supply from home and avoid having to trek to the pharmacy when you are feeling really rough.  

10. A diary

You are going to be invited to lots of socials, nights out and university events in your first semester. You will also have to start juggling multiple deadlines for your course modules. Keep on track with all of the dates and deadlines with a good diary.

Good luck!

5 tips for making friends during freshers’ week

Hi I'm Charlotte, a current editorial intern at GTI Media (the parent company of TARGETjobs). The time has come where you are probably buying pots and pans, searching Facebook for your new flatmates and getting very excited at the prospect of going to university and freshers’ week. I'm going into my final year at university, so have been there, done that and got the t-shirt. I know meeting new people and moving away from home can be daunting, so check out my five top tips for making friends during freshers’ week.

1. Get involved.

During freshers’ week (or freshers’ fortnight, as many universities have) there are lots of events to get involved with, from nights out to poster sales. Go along to the events with course mates, flatmates or anyone else you have bumped into. There will be Facebook events where you can see the nights out that your Student Union has planned for your first week or two, so buy tickets. You don’t necessarily have to buy tickets for every night, but if you arrive and your entire flat is going out, you’ll probably want to go (trust me). Even if a night out isn't your thing, go along to the freshers’ fair, pots and pans sales, and explore campus – you’re bound to bump into other freshers or students.

2. Buy a doorstop.

Chances are you’ll be spending a lot of time with your flatmates, certainly in the first few weeks while you’re settling in. Buy a door stop! This welcoming gesture will mean your fellow flatmates can introduce themselves while you unpack and people are more likely to say hello and chat to you.

3. Join societies and clubs.

Clubs, societies and extracurricular activities are a great way to meet people who have similar interests to you. Whether you are a football fanatic, you love cocktails, or you are obsessed with Harry Potter, there will probably be a club or society that you can join. Go along to the freshers’ fair and sign up for everything that interests you, as many clubs and societies will have taster sessions.

The clubs and societies you join in your first year can really help your CV. Check out TARGETjobs’ article on how to gain work experience from extracurricular activities. 

4. Smile.

It may sound obvious, but smiling will make you seem much more approachable! Smile and talk to everyone – you never know, these people could be your life-long friends.

5. Relax and be yourself.

You’ll meet lots of people during the first few weeks at university – some will be shy, some will be confident, and some will rarely venture out of their room. Just remember: everyone is in the same boat. Most of you have moved away from home and are probably in a new area. Be yourself, don’t worry and be confident that you will make friends. It’s true what they say: university really is some of the best years of your life!

Article written by Charlotte Wharf, TARGETjobs Editorial Intern. Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn. 

A students’ guide to making the most of freshers’ fairs

Hi I’m Lizzie, an intern at GTI Media (the parent company of TARGETjobs). This month marks the beginning of an exciting time for thousands of students across the UK; the start of university. If you are starting university this month, no doubt you will soon be attending a freshers’ fair. I’m about to go into my third year of university, so as someone who’s been to freshers’ fairs two years running I’m happy to share what I’ve learned and how to make the most of them!

Freshers’ fairs are a great part of introducing you to uni, and can help set you up for the whole year. The exact kinds of fairs will differ between universities, but there are usually at least two – one for companies to come in and talk to students, and one for societies and sports teams to enrol you into their groups if this is something that interests you. There are a few things you can do to make sure you get the most out of these fairs.

Get all the freebies.

Local companies visit to show you what shops and businesses are in town and promote themselves to their new potential customers. Don’t ignore them; they are great for handing out discount cards and freebies – both of which prove very useful as the year goes on! Plus there’s almost always free pizza on the way out, so lunch is sorted.

Don’t stick with your friends.

Turning up to the fairs with your friends might make you feel more comfortable, but you need to branch out on your own. Your friends won’t share all of the same interests as you, and you may feel embarrassed or awkward asking them to wait for you whilst you go to talk to people at various stands. Going at it alone means you can spend as long as you like walking round, you won’t feel embarrassed signing up to stuff they’re not keen on, and there’s no pressure to sign up to what your friends want to do.

Don’t be embarrassed.

At school it always felt crucial to fit in and try and seem ‘cool’, and not have any interests outside of the ordinary. University is so different. There’s no such thing as ‘cool’ and ‘uncool’ – you can literally walk around campus in a teletubbies onesie and people won’t even bat an eye. Don’t be afraid to sign up to a society you think people might judge you for, because genuinely no one will. Do you like circus skills? Disney? Anime? Hip hop dancing? Rock climbing? Acting? Writing? Computer games? Great, there’ll be societies for those – and about a hundred more options if you look for them.

Sign up to everything you think you’ll like.

Realistically you won’t have time to commit to more than a few societies, volunteering groups or one sports team if they meet every week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try a number of things out. Most societies have one or two introductory meetings which are free to attend, so you can see if it’s your cup of tea before you pay your joining fee. Don’t worry about attending the free meeting and then deciding against joining; the whole point of having it is to give you this choice!

There’ll be so many different societies to pick from, I definitely encourage freshers to sign up to at least one – it’ll open the door to making so many new friends and giving you some great new experiences, as well as gaining transferable skills to put on your CV. Societies are one of the most fun parts of being at uni, don’t miss out!

TARGETjobs will be attending a number of freshers’ fairs this autumn, so if you see any of the team make sure you say hi. You can get set up on the mailing list so you’re always in the know about job, placement, and internship opportunities as and when you need it.

This autumn, TARGETjobs will be attending the following fairs:

• University of St Andrews Freshers' Fair: 13/09/2015
• University of Edinburgh Freshers' Fair: 14/09/2015
• University of Glasgow Freshers' Fair: 15/09/2015 - 16/09/2015
• University of Strathclyde Freshers' Fair: 16/09/2015
• King's College London Welcome Fair: 18/09/2015 - 19/09/2015
• University of Exeter Freshers' Fair: 19/09/2015
• University of Birmingham Freshers' Fair: 21/09/2015 - 22/09/2015
• Cardiff University Freshers' Fair: 21/09/2015 - 22/09/2015
• University of Nottingham Freshers' Fair: 21/09/2015 - 22/09/2015
• University of Manchester Welcome Fair: 22/09/2015 - 23/09/2015
• University of Reading Freshers' Fair: 23/09/2015 - 24/09/2015
• London School of Economics Freshers' Fair: 24/09/2015 - 25/09/2015
• University of Liverpool Freshers' Fair: 24/09/2015 - 25/09/2015
• University of Bath Freshers' Fair: 25/09/2015
• University of Bristol Freshers' Fair: 25/09/2015
• University of Southampton Freshers' Fair: 25/09/2015
• Aston University Freshers' Fair: 27/09/2015
• University of Leicester Freshers' Fair: 28/09/2015 - 29/09/2015
• University of Sheffield Freshers' Fair: 30/09/2015
• University of Surrey Freshers' Fair: 02/10/2015
• Lancaster University Freshers' Fair: 02/10/2015
• UCL Welcome Fair: 03/10/2015 - 04/10/2015
• University of York Freshers' Fair: 03/10/2015
• University of Warwick Freshers' Fair: 03/10/2015 - 04/10/2015
• Loughborough University Union Bazaar: 04/10/2015
• Newcastle University Freshers' Fair: 05/10/2015 - 06/10/2015
• Imperial College Union Freshers' Fair: 06/10/2015
• University of Cambridge Societies Fair: 06/10/2015 - 07/10/2015
• Durham University Students' Union Fair: 07/10/2015 - 08/10/2015
• University of Oxford Freshers' Fair: 07/10/2015 - 09/10/2015

Article written by Lizzie Akass, TARGETjobs Editorial Intern. Connect with Lizzie on LinkedIn. 

Freshers Week : Six things to think about

It's almost that time of the year again: ‘FRESHERS WEEK’, the time to party, enjoy being young and take advantage of the 2 for 1 cocktail!

It’s safe to say as a first year student, you will use far too much of your student loan on alcohol, you will buy clothes you will never wear again and you will leave yourself little money for anything else so you survive on Super Noodles and baked beans for the majority of the year.

I remember those days, and as fun as it was, there are always alternatives to Super Noodles and baked beans. So here is my advice…

1.       Budget properly

You need to work out your finances. I know it’s thrilling seeing that large sum of money in your bank account. However, it’s there to pay your rent, buy your food and support you through your university course for the term. I know it’s exciting and you want to be out with your friends, but having a clear idea of where your money is going will enable you to have a great first year.

2.       Attend freshers fair

Now, I am not just telling you this because our marketing team at TARGETjobs will be attending, although we will be and we hope you say hello! I advise you to attend because you will be given a variety of freebies such as money off vouchers and even the odd kitchen utensil. You will also be able to join societies that may one day help with your career.

3.       The first year does count

You may have heard many people say ‘first year doesn't count, so my grades don’t matter’.

Your first year prepares you for the work load in your second and third year. Use it as a practice run and organise your work schedule. Balance your study and social life and you will have a great university experience.

4.       It’s not all about alcohol

Don’t feel the pressure to drink if you don’t want to. You can still have fun and not drink!

5.       What happens in freshers… stays in freshers

Don’t let drunken stupidity rule your year. We all make mistakes, and in freshers week there will be plenty of people doing things they will regret. But you will get over it, and move on. Of course, these foolish antics are best avoided, but if you happen to be in this particular situation just know you won’t feel embarrassed forever and it will soon be forgotten.

6.       Love every minute of university

Three years at university flies by, so make sure you enjoy yourself. Put your studying first and remember why you’re at university in the first place! That doesn't mean you can’t go out and have a good time, it just means you’re being responsible and prioritising your future. 

By Roxanne Chand
Digital Marketing Executive