Starting university was a big change for me, having no siblings to get guidance from and also having parents that had never been to university meant that this was all new territory. The experience itself has been mainly positive, naturally, there have been a few moments where I’ve felt out of place or questioned what I was doing. But all in all my first year at LSE has been largely enjoyable. So here are the main few things I’ve learnt from my first year.

It’s okay to ask for help

There is a great level of independent work at university, at times this can feel overwhelming – especially when you’re used to the constant guidance and structure from your teachers at A-Levels. However, this does not mean that you cannot ask for help when you need it. Whether you’re unsure about a key concept in your module, or if you just need a bit of support with adjusting to university life, there is always someone to go to.

Your academic mentors are there to support you, it’s their job. If you’re unsure of who to speak to, then your academic mentor is always a good first call if they cannot help with your issue then they will probably know someone who can.

Office hours are extremely useful

The idea of office hours was definitely new to me when I first started at LSE. Having dedicated hours to help students with their queries comes in extremely handy, especially when you receive feedback for formatives or any assignments. At first, I was a bit hesitant to use office hours as the idea of being in a one to one meeting with a teacher did not seem fun to me. However, many of my teachers let us come in groups or with a peer to discuss any questions we have about our course, so in this way, it becomes an extremely useful tool as you can also get new ideas from classmates.

It’s not going to be perfect

Naturally, everyone hopes that when they first start university they will immediately make masses of new friends and have the time of their lives. Of course, this is not the case for the majority of people. Settling in takes time, and so does finding your friends. You spend 3 or 4 years at university so there is no need to rush and expect everything to work out perfectly at once.

These are just a few of my main take-aways from my first year of university, and there are things I wish I knew before I started. I hope they help prospective students and current offer holders understand that university is a big change from what you’re used to, it takes time to settle in and there is always someone or somewhere to go for help.