What to Expect from Your First Year at University

By Olivia Fowler

At some point shortly after you arrive at uni, someone will tell you “first year doesn’t count” – you might already be hearing it from peers at home.

But whilst your final grade at the end of year one is not as important compared to the later years, first year is perhaps the trickiest because it’s time to figure out the balance between studying and the rest of your life.

For many people, the first year of university is the most responsible for yourself you have ever been. You might be moving to a completely new area where you don’t know anyone, you have to cook for yourself everyday, buy the right foods, do enough exercise, clean up after yourself, do your own laundry, put special effort into making new friends and, yes, even clean the toilet.

All of this can be challenging to balance and that’s completely normal! Especially when you are mainly there to study. With an approach to teaching that’s more “hands-off” than Sixth Form or college, and all your new responsibilities, it can be easy to fall into the mentality that studying is not a priority during your first year.

Do I really need to go to all my lectures?

First year is purposefully less intense to help you settle in but this does not mean that your final grade is unimportant.

The better foundation of knowledge that you build in your first year, the more of a headstart you have when it comes to the more serious second, third and later years. If you come out of the year with a 2:2 or 2:1 average and an understanding of how to write essays or answer exam questions to university standard, it takes a lot of stress out of the more advanced years.

So yes, going to lectures, seminars and workshops is the best way to build this knowledge. Even if your lecturer makes the class material available after, it’s best just to go along to ask questions and build a relationship with your lecturer and coursemates instead of writing notes up on your own.

In my first year, there were mornings when I would literally roll out of bed and go to my 9AM classes – which I should note is far better than just not going. 

In my second year, however, I made more of an effort to eat breakfast, put on makeup and an outfit other than leggings and a jumper. I would then be much more awake and attentive because I got out of bed sooner. I also saw a positive change in my mental health because I woke up earlier and spent those extra 90 minutes getting ready.

Of course there will be mornings when you really don’t feel like going, but you will feel much better even if you crawl out of bed at 08:42 than if you skipped it completely.

Do I really need to join a society?

As someone who didn’t join a society in their first year, yes!

I was making plenty of friends in halls in my first few months so I didn’t think it was necessary but by the time spring came, I was wishing I had more hobbies and activities because you can get lonely very quickly in halls. 

University is the best time to try new things, no matter what year you are. You get to try that one sport you always wanted to have a go at, get involved with something you are passionate about, or find your home-away-from-home by continuing something you already do.

It’s also one of the best ways to make friends and gives you a legitimate excuse to get your head out of your books.

Plymouth University has so many to choose from so whether you’re a budding journalist or a pro-ultimate frisbee player, there are like-minded people waiting to meet you.

Am I a bad student because I love a night out?

First year has the most flexibility with how you spend your time, as long as you put the effort in and get your head down where it counts. It’s important to play just as hard as you work, whether or not that involves alcohol and loud music.

However, you have to be sensible about it; in my experience, tearing up the SU dance floor and drinking vodka redbulls until three in the morning is a terrible idea if you have a 9AM the next day or an unfinished essay due next week.

Just the same, staying up and rewatching Gossip Girl all night will also leave you in a rough way for the morning after – it’s all about making the choices that make it easier to go to that morning lecture.

In my first year, I was notoriously easily convinced to go out and I still love a night out and cheesy chips afterwards. But now I partake less frequently and not at all if there’s anything important to do the day after. Sometimes it even takes an afternoon nap to ensure I make it to the club.

Studying in second year gets much more intense so make the most of your free evenings whilst you have them, you are not setting yourself up for academic failure just because you like drinking.

Compared to my first year, when I couldn’t turn down the offer for “a few chill drinks,” this second year, I’ve completed an internship in my desired career and have a permanent position there now. All my grades have gotten better and I've joined new societies. 

This has all gone to show that you can be successful at university even if you’re a self-proclaimed club rat in your first year.

Besides, staying out late is only endurance training for the inevitable all-night study session in the library.

The idea that the first year is comparatively less serious than later years is both true and untrue. Your grade at the end of both semesters is not the be all and end all when it comes to your performance in second and later years – by settling and adapting to independent life you have already had a successful year.

But it is also true that the more work you put in academically into first year, the better your chances of a successful second year.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this piece by the author are their own – they do not and are not intended to represent the beliefs and opinions of Plymouth University, University of Plymouth Student Union or the Plymouth Gazette.

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