Hi! I’m Lizzie and I’m a second-year criminology student at Bath University. This year I’ll be a Student Living Ambassador, which is a new role designed to help new students transition into university life, with your welfare as the top priority. We will be here to provide support throughout the year for any potential problems and help you to connect with key university services to help with this. Additionally, we are there to help you develop a sense of community and belonging with the new people around you.
These top tips are designed to ease any anxiety and worry about embarking on your new journey, and help you easily build new relationships:
1. Find out who you’re living with before you go into halls: The University of Bath Welcome Week pack gives you an avenue via private social media groups for you to be able to find who will be in your flat for the next year, which should relieve some of the anxiety surrounding not knowing who you’ll be living with.
2. Have an open mind: Be prepared to live with a mix of people, who will all be from different places and backgrounds and who will have had many different experiences – it's a fascinating, exciting time.
3. Go to Fresher’s Week events with your flatmates: Go to as many events as possible that you are comfortable with, both in the day and at night, to build your relationships – the ‘Inflatables Day’ was a great way to break the ice!
4. Try not to rely on friendships from home if you all go to the same uni: It’s important to branch out on this new adventure and you can never have too many friends!
5. Different people take different amounts of time to make friends: It’s okay if you and your flatmates don’t all click immediately. Don’t force it and in time it will come right. Remember you will make lots of friends in sports clubs, societies and on your course, as well as in your immediate flat.
6. Be flexible and mature: People will do things differently to you, so try your best to let everyone do their thing, particularly in communal areas. If an honest and calm conversation is needed, this is okay too – everyone should be comfortable.
7. Get to know each other’s courses, timetables and workloads: Everyone works in different ways, so be supportive of one another and not competitive. Remember, a late night before a 9am lecture is never a good idea!
8. Be mindful of sharing communal spaces: Everybody needs space for their food and cooking equipment, so try to share cupboard spaces as well as fridge and freezer spaces equally.
9. Find a flat activity that everybody enjoys: Regularly spend time together doing something fun, for example watching sport or a TV show (Love Island is always a solid choice!), cooking together or playing Monopoly, as well as going on nights out.
10. BE YOURSELF and ENJOY IT: This is by far the most important. You don’t need to change anything about yourself to go to uni and you must be comfortable in your own abilities to let people get to know the real you. It’s a remarkable opportunity and the sense of community that you will experience is unbeatable.
I hope these tips have helped you to get ready for your new adventure and inspired some excitement about the diverse and vibrant community that you’re about to become a part of. And remember there is always support available should you need or want it, whether it be through us as Student Living Ambassadors, or through the University of Bath welfare services.
Someone will always be there to listen and to help you no matter what the problem is. No worry is insignificant.
We look forward to meeting you all soon!
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