- Published
You've got your A-level results and your university place has been confirmed.
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place → publish → results
But while you may be excited about exploring a new city, meeting new friends and studying a subject you love - you might also be a bit anxious about what comes next.
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what → explore → subject
With a record number of 18-year-olds expected to start university this year, BBC News asked current students what advice they'd give to freshers feeling uncertain about the big changes ahead.
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they → expect → changes
For Isaak Hewitt, moving to Cardiff for university - where he knew no-one - was a "completely blank slate".
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he → move → one
The idea of meeting lots of new people for the first time since starting secondary school was nerve-racking he says, but Isaak made friends by talking to people he met at lectures and seminars.
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he → meet → lectures
Now aged 20, Isaak says he was sometimes "terrified" trying to strike up conversations, but the fact everyone was studying English together gave them common ground.
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everyone → age → ground
He advises freshers to act confident - even if you're scared inside - and to put yourself out there.
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you → advise → yourself
As a commuter student in Nottingham, Grace Morrell was also worried about how she'd meet people, when others were making friends through their halls and student flats.
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others → meet → halls
Instead, Grace says she met new people by joining her student magazine, and the radio and theatre societies.
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she → say → magazine
"A lot of my friendships come from putting myself out there and just doing what I love, which I found was a bit hard at times, especially when you don't know anyone," says Grace, 19.
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Grace → come → anyone
Lots of students try to connect with future coursemates and flatmates on social media before they start university, like Mustafa Dassu, 19, who says freshers' WhatsApp chats helped him make friends before he started at King's College London.
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he → try → London
"Everyone was typing on them all the time between that period of results day and freshers' itself," Mustafa says, "and I met friends that I'm still in touch with a lot today.
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I → type → touch
"I really worried about having to be on my own," says Izzy Garcez, 20, who thought she would miss spending evenings with her family and having people to eat and watch TV with.
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she → worry → TV
But in the end she wasn't as homesick as she'd anticipated.
"
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she → anticipate → end
Realistically, you'll make friends so quickly at uni," Izzy says, "and you're going to get to a point where you realise 'I've not called my parents in a week', and you'll realise that suddenly you're not actually missing them anymore - or not missing them nearly as much.
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you → make → them
Journalism student Kieran Miller was worried about money, but he compared student bank accounts and chose one that gave him a free 16-25 Railcard, and signed up for student discount schemes.
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that → compare → schemes
Though it might be exciting to see your first maintenance loan payment hit your bank account in one big lump sum, Kieran, 19, says you need to remember it has to last until the next instalment.
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it → see → instalment
With the help of his mum, Kieran, from Swansea, made a provisional budget before moving away, but warns that it's easy to get caught up in the student experience and spend more than you planned to.
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you → make → more
"When you start uni and you're living away from your family and you've got this new sense of freedom it was also really difficult to stay strict financially because you want to make mates with people," he says.
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he → start → people
"Someone might invite you to go for food or to go for a drink - and you're like, 'I don't really want to say no because this is a chance to connect with someone.'
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this → invite → someone
"
As well as student loans, most universities offer a variety of scholarships and bursaries, and it's worth checking whether you're eligible.
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you → offer → scholarships
Will you be able to juggle it all?
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you → juggle → it
Many students balance classes and studying alongside part-time work, volunteering, sports clubs and societies.
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students → balance → work
Before starting her English and drama degree, Avery Hewitt, 19, worried about juggling studying with working and playing in a university band.
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Hewitt → start → band
She says speaking online to a student ambassador about the workload helped her manage her expectations.
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her → say → expectations
Avery also advises new students to be realistic about their timetable and how much they can take on.
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they → advise → much
"I threw myself into everything in the first semester, which I quickly figured out was too much to handle," Avery says, "so I had to make responsible choices about what societies or club nights I needed to cut back on.
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I → throw → societies
"
Not sure you've picked the right course?
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you → pick → course
Even though your place is now confirmed, it's still not too late to change your mind.
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it → confirm → mind
You can contact your university before you start to ask about changing course, or you can apply for courses at other universities through clearing.
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you → contact → clearing
After she started at the University of East Anglia, Pia Subong, 21, says she realised that biochemistry wasn't the right course for her and so switched to film and English.
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biochemistry → start → film
If you're having doubts about whether the course is right for you, "you're having these feelings for a reason," Pia says.
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Pia → have → reason
You can also take a gap year, as Fatima Qureshi, 19, from London did - because she wasn't sure which course she wanted to do or which career path she'd enjoy.
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she → take → path
Fatima eventually decided to study law, but if she had chosen a course the year previously she'd likely have opted for biochemistry or pharmacy.
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she → decide → biochemistry
"It was the best thing I could have done," she says.
Feeling anxious about starting?
uncertain
she → do → ?
It's natural to feel anxious, according to Mel Kennedy, student wellbeing adviser at Ulster University, who says change "can be scary" and lots of people experience "fear of the unknown".
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lots → feel → unknown
"For many students, starting university is the first time that they're stepping into a genuinely unknown environment," agrees Lindsay While, assistant director for student wellbeing and welfare at Teesside University.
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While → start → University
"Many students do experience anxiety and uncertainty because it is such a major transition, but everybody's experience is completely different.
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experience → experience → anxiety
Universities offer a range of practical and wellbeing services, including budgeting advice, financial support, counselling and study support sessions.
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Universities → offer → advice
You can also reach out to the university if you need support before you start.
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you → reach → support
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
