Friends, finances and finding your feet - advice for this year's freshers

BBC News · collected 2026-08-16 · by Grace Dean
Read the original at BBC News ↗

Summary

Current university students are sharing their advice with freshmen who are feeling uncertain about the transition to higher education. A record number of 18-year-olds are expected to start university this year, and many students are nervous about meeting new people and managing their finances. Students like Isaak Hewitt and Grace Morrell advise freshmen to act confident when meeting new people and to put themselves out there by joining clubs or societies. Many students also recommend making a budget and using student discount schemes to manage finances wisely.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-16, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
50
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
10%
5 of 50 hedged
Leaning
not scored
needs a local LLM pass
Publisher trust
95.5
red-flag proxy, not a credibility rating
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-08-16 · how these are computed

AI analysis (generated at analysis time, not now)

Story summary

Freshmen at universities across the UK are starting their studies this year, with 18-year-olds expected to make up a record number of students. For many, it's not just excitement about meeting new people and studying a subject they love, but also anxiety about what comes next. Some current students who spoke to the BBC shared their advice for freshmen feeling uncertain about the big changes ahead. Isaak Hewitt, a 20-year-old student at university in Cardiff, recommends acting confident even if you're scared inside, and putting yourself out there by talking to people in lectures and seminars. He found common ground with his classmates studying English together. Similarly, Grace Morrell, a commuter student in Nottingham**, was worried about meeting people, but advises freshmen to be open-minded and not compare themselves to others who seem more outgoing.

Written for “University Freshmen Orientation” on 2026-08-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 836 · logged 2026-08-26

Story

📰 University Freshmen Orientation
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event. This is the one the site leads with.

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Publisher

BBC News · 588 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
SignalValueWeight
Correction rate 0.000 0.4
Uncertainty density 0.090 0.25
Assertive mismatch rate 0.000 0.35
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Grace Dean
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 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.
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

BBC News Cardiff King's College London Nottingham uni

Subjects

Grace PERSON · 2× Isaak PERSON · 2× Kieran PERSON · 2× uni ORG · 2× BBC News ORG · 1× Cardiff GPE · 1× Grace Morrell PERSON · 1× Isaak Hewitt PERSON · 1× Mustafa Dassu PERSON · 1× Nottingham GPE · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-16
🔮 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.

Claims (50 extracted, 5 hedged)

- Published You've got your A-level results and your university place has been confirmed. asserted
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. uncertain
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. asserted
they → expect → changes
For Isaak Hewitt, moving to Cardiff for university - where he knew no-one - was a "completely blank slate". asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
everyone → age → ground
He advises freshers to act confident - even if you're scared inside - and to put yourself out there. asserted
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. asserted
others → meet → halls
Instead, Grace says she met new people by joining her student magazine, and the radio and theatre societies. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
she → worry → TV
But in the end she wasn't as homesick as she'd anticipated. " asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. uncertain
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. asserted
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. asserted
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.' uncertain
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. asserted
you → offer → scholarships
Will you be able to juggle it all? asserted
you → juggle → it
Many students balance classes and studying alongside part-time work, volunteering, sports clubs and societies. asserted
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. asserted
Hewitt → start → band
She says speaking online to a student ambassador about the workload helped her manage her expectations. asserted
her → say → expectations
Avery also advises new students to be realistic about their timetable and how much they can take on. asserted
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. asserted
I → throw → societies
" Not sure you've picked the right course? asserted
you → pick → course
Even though your place is now confirmed, it's still not too late to change your mind. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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". uncertain
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. asserted
While → start → University
"Many students do experience anxiety and uncertainty because it is such a major transition, but everybody's experience is completely different. asserted
experience → experience → anxiety
Universities offer a range of practical and wellbeing services, including budgeting advice, financial support, counselling and study support sessions. asserted
Universities → offer → advice
You can also reach out to the university if you need support before you start. asserted
you → reach → support
…and 10 more, not listed.
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