For those of you who are finishing up on A-Level or Higher (shoutout to my Scots) exams – congratulations! Your time at school is coming to an end and as sad as that is, I’m sure that you are all ready to move on to the next chapter. Whether that chapter be a job, an apprenticeship or university, I hope that you find this post interesting nevertheless!
Freshers at Edinburgh was … interesting. It actually occurred really early in comparison to all of my friends as Scotland’s university term starts much earlier than the English one. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I moved in on the Saturday, and although freshers week officially started on the Monday, we went out nevertheless.
I had always assumed that freshers consisted of simply drinking and going out, and it wasn’t until the time came that I realised that it also meant that there were many events ran buy the university during the day. The University of Edinburgh gave out all sorts of free stuff: from donuts and pizza, to discounts on restaurants and clubs. There were society and subject fairs, and I was really lucky that my flatmates wanted to go to them all, so we all went together. It made being at university suddenly feel real, and we were all so excited.
It is definitely true that for everyone, freshers week means that you put on your best face and crack on desperately making as many friends as possible. You will exchange instagram’s and have many awkward small-talk conversations with an unimaginable amount of people, and the majority you won’t even see after freshers week (maybe once throughout the year, running to a lecture with their pyjama pants still on, or struggling to carry food shopping up eight flights of stairs when the left breaks AGAIN). However, it is so worth it to find the people that you click with, that are worth keeping in touch with as you progress with your studies and realise that university isn’t one big party (at least not all of the time anyway). Making new friends is often a major concern for freshers students and my honest advice is to go in and chat to as many people as possible, it doesn’t matter that it is unrealistic that you remain friends with them all – what matters is that you will remain friends with a few, and these will most probably be your very best during your time as a student.
Now for the important talk – freshers nights out. If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t get as involved in freshers in my first year as I will in second. I am one to never be fazed by any situation, but I also am mature enough to keep my wits about me. We headed out into New Town Edinburgh with a large group (50+) from my accommodation. Whilst it was really handy to be in a large group all working together to find our way around late at night, I was also conscious of the fact that I had never met any of these people before and I was in a large city that I had no knowledge of. Therefore, I made the decision (rather boringly) to not drink too much that night so that I was still in control of my situation. We ended up heading to a major club called Why Not, and I actually had an enjoyable night, despite not being as drunk as I would usually need to be to be dancing in front of a club (lol). Me and my flat mate Aoife spent the night by each others side, we walked home together in an attempt to find a McDonalds (we didn’t, despite it being the next street over. We’re regular customers now).
The rest of freshers was great, albeit not as crazy as I had anticipated. Second semester was definitely the period that me and my friends spent out the most, termed re-freshers. The universities student association club, the ‘big cheese’ at Potterow, held some fun events such as throwback and UV parties, with C-list celebrity guests and cheap drinks.
In all, freshers was a really fun experience for me. To meet new people and spend all of our time just having fun and settling into the city was exactly what I had wanted, and I got it. Me and my best friend Aoife often laugh about how we were meant to be right from the very first night. My best accomplishment of freshers was meeting her, and we’re due to move into our own flat with two other girls come September.
Roll on Freshers! We’re ready for ya.
How was your freshers experience? Comment any tips down below!
just a student ... 