Starting uni next week

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 3:52 pm

And I'm a bit looking forward and a bit scared shitless. I move in on sunday and start on the monday so it's unervingly close and I've not started packing yet.

Still York is a nice city and I know some people who are starting aswel so I'm not going at it entirely alone wich puts me at ease a bit. It's just going to be wierd living away from home for the first time because I won't know where anything is so I'll have to find a new newsagents, barber and everything, just little things that scare me a bit.

Did any of you worry before going to uni or leaving home?

Sixswitch · Post by **Sixswitch** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 5:09 pm

No, but I went to uni in Cardiff and lived in Swansea - only 40 miles away.

Even if I had gone further I wouldn't have worried. Uni == Awesome.

-Ss

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:17 pm

Not really, but I knew a handful of people who were either starting at the same time or already there. Half the Midlands seems to end up in Aberystwyth.

Regardless of whether you know people, throw yourself into getting to know your flatmates.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:15 pm

I went right across the country and didn't know anyone. I wasn't scared until my parents left and I sat in my dorm room for five minutes wondering what to do. Then I went into the communal kitchen and never looked back.

Uni is brilliant fun. I never wanted to go home!
I did exactly what Denyer said in the last line of his post and it was the best.

As for all the little things, well everything is a new world and it'll be your world and it'll rock. Christ, I wish I was doing it again.

Most importantly, vive la difference!

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 5:50 pm

Haha I think I'll have to go in head first and have the shyness kicked out of me.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 3:29 pm

I didn't have time to be that worried when I started college over here in the States. I was at college about 2 weeks ahead of time since I was playing football (the American version) and camp started then. All the nervousness was gone once my ass was whipped into shape by the time classes actually started. That said, it is quite nerve-racking to be out on your own for the first time, but you get used to it. You have to remember everyone else is in your same position!

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 4:37 pm

You never struck me as the jock type ganon

Was your time table P1 football, P2 wedgie nerds, P3 frat party, P4 play with transformers?

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:10 pm

Well, the important thing is to make sure you're doing something you actually stand a chance of getting a job in. Else you're just finding a very expensive way of getting a hobby and a few "Crazy times man" anecdotes for when you spend the rest of your life flipping McDonald's burgers. Anything with the word "Media" in it should be avoided especially, I don't know anyone who's actually managed to get a related job after one of those courses.

Indeed, the most successful people I went to school with are the ones who didn't bother with Uni at all and all had a three year head start on building a career on anyone who did.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:31 pm

Mmmm - a part-time job won't hurt in that regard in 2nd/3rd year. We turn down anyone who hasn't worked since before university on principle - okay, so we're only One Stop, but the amount of people with a vaguely useless degree who apply is interesting... Plus there's something mildly amusing about three old classmates who I despised being interviewed for a job by me when I walked off the course midway... The most important thing in the long term is learning independance and (later) responsibility (for your self if no-one else), as opposed to a lot of the courses out there. In the current climate, a fair few degrees, especially the more populist "fun" ones, are basically worthless, so it's best to make the non-educational side work for you.

I liked having a bit of distance TBH, no safety net, no temptation of nipping home for most weekends and hanging out with the same people. The social side was a blast, and it's a great excuse for parachuting into your own life. The important thing to remember is unless you're really unlucky, everyone else is in the same boat, and chances are no-one in your halls is going to be brimming with confidence about being on their own. As the Auntie says, best thing is to go out and mingle right from the start, never tell yourself you'll settle into your digs for a couple of days first.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:24 pm

electro girl wrote:You never struck me as the jock type ganon Was your time table P1 football, P2 wedgie nerds, P3 frat party, P4 play with transformers?

You hit the nail on the head!

I played football through highschool, went to a small Division III (that means no athletic scholarships) college and played one full year. I went back to camp for my second season and wasn't enjoying it, so I decided to hang up the cleats. Funnily enough, I did join a fraternity and had a blast, even held some officer positions like VP, Treasurer, etc. Now I've just gone full geek and collect TFs. Though I did have a sizable Star Wars fig collection throughout college...

Post by **Denyer** » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:01 pm

inflatable dalek wrote: Well, the important thing is to make sure you're doing something you actually stand a chance of getting a job in. Else you're just finding a very expensive way of getting a hobby and a few "Crazy times man" anecdotes for when you spend the rest of your life flipping McDonald's burgers. Anything with the word "Media" in it should be avoided especially, I don't know anyone who's actually managed to get a related job after one of those courses.

Popular opinion, but doesn't hold true for the group of people I went to uni with if you accept there's not much difference between politics/journalism/photography and media.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Sep 17, 2010 4:14 am

Denyer wrote:Popular opinion, but doesn't hold true for the group of people I went to uni with if you accept there's not much difference between politics/journalism/photography and media.

It seems the people you were with were luckier than my friends. I'd still say it's more likely to veer towards the impossible end of the spectrum though, especially in the current climate. My one friend wasn't helped by the fact his journalism course focused mainly on the newspaper side of things when that's dying on its arse (unless you're lucky to get straight into one of the big boys/the ones that sells on tits).

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:26 pm

I had a couple of friends in college that finished with history/political science/theater/business/marketing/communications degrees that do have jobs, however these jobs have little to do with their actual education. If you're a science type of person (chemsitry, biology, engineering), there's usually a better chance of getting off to a good career; currently these markets don't have as high of unemployment rate, at least here in the states. Not sure what the climate is over in your guys' neck of the woods...

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Fri Sep 17, 2010 2:19 pm

Well as a fine arts student I don't think my career will be very lucrative now that arts funding has been cut

optimusskids · Post by **optimusskids** » Fri Sep 17, 2010 3:55 pm

The first couple of weeks are key in getting out and meeting people. You will probably forget 90% of their names and have all sorts of interesting conversations where you have to pretend you know who the hell you are talking to

Also the societies /sports fair is a good way of meeting people who share an interest in anything from circus skills to Korfball.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:13 pm

Just told my parents I'll miss them, that was wierd and all it took was picking up an old Power Ranger. The dog has been acting funny aswel shes been following me around loads and being generally unsettled.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:01 am

electro girl wrote:Well as a fine arts student

As I'm guessing it's to late to change or drop out without paying the full fee at this stage: Enjoy the social side of it. And just accept when it's done you'll be working for me or Cliffy, depending on how low you fall.

Seriously, however lucky Denyer's mates have been, you're doomed. [And that's not completely flippant, it's not just my school friends who've failed at this sort of degree, in the last decade my place of employment has had a good few people every year who did a basically worthless degree who ended up not being able to put sausage rolls on a shelf properly].

Post by **Denyer** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 12:15 pm

A lot of universities give you the choice (or mandate) taking modules outside of your main subject in the first year, and it isn't too late to opt for joint honours (so maybe the related subjects of History, English, etc. or a language.)

But honestly, I take issue with the idea that a fine arts degree is inherently worthless. You may not end up doing something directly related to it, but I think the fact my peer group have by and large gone into fields other than sales has less to do with luck and more to do with them having aspirations and more than a few braincells to rub together. Higher education, assuming you don't spend it just arsing around, is about developing skills that're applicable to a range of fields, and a CV should be built from things additional to the basic academic course anyway.

(On a related note -- you've improved since you first turned up, IIRC, but try to fine-tune your writing as early into university as possible. First year marks and impressions with tutors often dictate grades going forward. It's like drawing or any other medium insofar as for most people there's no substitute for practice.)

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 3:33 pm

Denyer wrote:You may not end up doing something directly related to it, but I think the fact my peer group have by and large gone into fields other than sales has less to do with luck and more to do with them having aspirations and more than a few braincells to rub together.

I'm fairly sure my peer group had aspirations, and some even had a few brain cells rattling about. Didn't do them much good. And that was before the whole massive unemployment and cutbacks thing. It's good for your friends they did well, but unless I'm living in some sort of freakishly stupid part of the country (and based on Cliffy running into the same sort of thing at his work I guess not) it's an extreme minority.

Post by **Denyer** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 4:56 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:unless I'm living in some sort of freakishly stupid part of the country

Most haven't settled in the Midlands, true.

http://www.wmro.org/noncms/instantatlas ... atlas.html

Where you've got affluence in our shared neck of the woods, it tends to be older generation and property investment.