What is it like to be a first year at a university?

Perspective from a computer science student

I am a fresher at King’s College London, studying computer science with management. My major is computer science, and my minor is management. The credits are shared at a 9:1 ratio.

Currently, I am in my 6th week of study, and there is nothing that academically challenges me. At least, they largely overlap with the A-level content, so it is a smooth shift from a sixth form to a university if you have been managing your time wisely.

1) Challenge: Time Management

It is shocking to hear many people failing to catch up with the lectures, not because they are academically challenging, but because they procrastinate.

KCL now provides 100% recorded lectures. This means that students need to dedicate themselves to watching the lectures before coming to the tutorials and lab sessions. Therefore, we can’t consider online lectures to be more or less important than in-person lectures as they function the same.

I use a weekly planner to ensure I use my time efficiently wherever I am. For example, I live quite far from the Strand campus, so if I am at the campus, I try to finish all the work like printing, reading, and note-taking before going back to my accommodation.

I highly recommend people use a dedicated planner for their university life.

2) Challenge: Overwhelming Events

During the fresher’s week, I was introduced to a lot of societies at King’s and participated in various kinds of social events. Due to the FOMO (fear of missing out), it was difficult to say no to their invitations.

Ultimately, I gained valuable experience, especially in developing a positive mindset for networking and making the most out of each connection. However, it was emotionally draining and even a bit discouraging at times to introduce myself, knowing we might never see each other again.

3) Challenge: Academics

As I mentioned earlier on, the first year is not challenging. And therefore that is a new challenge for us. What should we do in our free time?

It is important to acknowledge the fact that the next year is going to be merciless. From people whom I met, they all advised me to expect no free time in my second year. This suggests that the first year is the only time where I can explore without burdening academics.

This boils down to a matter of self-directed learning. I am working on a project called “Let’s be famous” and made this WordPress blog, and YouTube channel, and was elected as a first-year student representative. This week, I also have my first job interview for the KCL Blockchain society’s first-year representative role.

This is something I believe to be the most challenging as there is no right answer to resolve this problem.

What should we do as a fresher at university?

Join multiple societies!

By joining societies, you would get an opportunity to meet people outside of your discipline and cohort. As a computer science student, this is important as we have a lot of potential to collaborate with different people.

Also, this is the only (in my view) way to be in touch with seniors. Thankfully, they were open to share their experiences with me, so I learned a lot from them.

Join their Instagram, WhatsApp, and newsletter to get information on upcoming events and potential committee roles like mine!

Read all the emails you get from the university!

This is something I would like to highlight because I applied to the first-year student representative of my degree by reading the email quicker than others. Most of the time, when it is hard to differentiate candidates, they tend to choose on a first come first base.

Especially if you are a person who is quite shy to make a friend first, then participating in the university’s event is a great way to start making friends.

Record your progress!

It is a great idea to start writing your progress in any form you prefer. When I was writing my resume, it was ten times easier as I documented my rewards and experiences. This also helped me to understand my current ability and aim higher to improve myself.

Conclusion

Although I haven’t yet completed my first year, there’s already so much to share about making the most of university life. As I continue to experience more, I’ll be documenting my journey and tips right here on the blog. Follow along for ideas on navigating university life, finding balance, and making every moment count!