Don't Panic! TOTUM'S Top Freshers' Week Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

There’s no getting around it really - the move from living at home to striking out on your own at university is a fairly major landmark in life.

Let’s be honest - the prospect of finally living by your own rules is pretty exhilarating, but for the vast majority of us it certainly doesn’t come without its fair share of opportunities for blunders.

In my first week at university my flatmates variously microwaved a tin can (can you not do that?), flooded the bathroom, set their clothes on fire in a tumble dryer and spent over half of their student loan.

Basically, there are some mistakes that nearly everyone will make in their first few weeks of uni, but the important thing is that we learn and grow from them. 

Here’s a list of some of the most common pitfalls, so at least you’ve got a fighting chance of getting through (relatively) unscathed… 

Being a hermit

The first few days of life at university can be pretty intimidating. You find yourself living with a bunch of strange new people who, for all you know, could have absolutely nothing in common with you. 

An incredibly tempting option can be to simply hide away in your room to avoid all that awkward small talk, however the fact is that to get the most out of your uni experience, you’re going to need to make friends!

As you’re going to be living with these people for the whole year, it’s probably best that you bite this particular bullet straight away while everyone is in the same boat, so prop your door open, offer people a brew and be a friendly face - you won’t regret it!

Hitting every single freshers' event 

As anyone who has had a child will tell you, sleep deprivation is one of the cruellest forms of torture out there, attacking the deep biological functions at the core of both your mental and physical health.

So, with that in mind, it’s worth remembering that although Freshers' Week is billed as one of the most exciting weeks of your life, don’t succumb to the pressure to go to absolutely every event.

As well as leaving you pinching pennies for the rest of term, you’ll end up destroying your poor immune system (see 'Freshers' Flu') and sucking the fun out of the things you genuinely want to go to. 

You'll still make friends, you’ll feel a hundred times more positive both emotionally and physically and you’ll thank yourself in the long run!

Not signing up to a doctors

Following on from the last point…

You remember when we said that partying too much will inevitably lead to the dreaded Freshers’ flu, well, here’s an insider tip for you - you’ll probably get it even if you’re tucked up in bed with a hot chocolate by 9pm every evening.

The reason for this is simply that large numbers of people from all over the place will carry pathogens to which they are immune, but you aren’t yet.

So, take half an hour out of one of your first few days to work out where your nearest doctors’ surgery is and get yourself signed up - it’ll make things so much easier when you’re feeling like crap.

Pretending you’re not homesick 

A friend of mine tells me she went to the lengths of sleeping in a tent in a field to get away from her family before she came to uni, but (I’m going to assume) for most people this isn’t the case. 

It's completely okay (and normal) to feel homesick sometimes, especially when you first move away from home. Going to university is a big step on the road to independence and there’s a good chance other people are feeling the same way - so most important of all is to talk to someone! Don’t be afraid to open up to your new friends - ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ as they say.

If you do find that you’re feeling a bit down, you can try being proactive to distract yourself. Round up your flatmates for a game of cards, or if you're not feeling too sociable, try going for a run or a swim.

You can of course always give your family a ring too, there’s always a chance you’ll be reminded why you were so keen to move out in the first place!

Opening your own library

If you’re one of those students who likes their bookshelf to look like a museum exhibit full of smooth-spined shiny new texts... you really need to get over it!

With money tight and the fact that you’re likely to ditch them once the class is over there’s very little need to spend money on brand new books. 

You'll probably find that your uni library carries the majority of the key texts, the only downside being that copies can be hard to come by when 50 people are all after the exact same book. 

So remember to check out second-hand book stores, hit up university students who are in the year above you, share books with friends, check out the ‘used’ section on Amazon and try out book swapping sites like BookMooch and BookCrossing.

And if you do have to buy new, remember to try and keep them in good nick so you can sell them on for a decent price!

Shopping while hungry

Okay, this may not sound like a big deal, but hear me out… Doing your ‘big shop’ on an empty stomach will lead to impulse buys, quick fixes, loads of snacks and end up with you buying more things than you really need.

So, how do we avoid the pitfalls of ‘the hungry shop’? It’s always helpful to make a list before you head off, Supermarket Sweep style, of the stuff you need - just make sure you stick to it! 

To save money try out own/value brands, buy in bulk (you can save serious dough on non-perishable items like rice and pasta if you split it with friends) and try and plan meals ahead.

Not to mention, with TOTUM Cashback you can actually *earn money back* when you spend at leading supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, ASDA and M&S. Yep, you'll get some generous cashback which soon adds up when you're doing a weekly shop!

Joining all the societies

As exciting as the ‘X-Country Skiing Club’ and the ‘Matthew McConaughey Career Trajectory Appreciation Society’ may sound during the buzz of Freshers’ Week, you may soon find yourself ruing the day you signed up to their mailing lists. 

Once freshers’ is over and ‘university proper’ gets into full swing you'll find you don't have as much spare time as you thought you did - and also that those weekly society updates will really start to clog up your inbox…

It’s worth pointing out that some societies do have membership fees, so make sure you only stump up the cash if you're sure it's something you're going to commit to.

Do have a think about which societies will actually provide you with something useful too. If you fancy a career in journalism, signing up for the student newspaper is always a good move, and if you’re already considering a doctorate in ‘The Career Trajectory of Matthew McConaughey’, well, you know what to do…