The University of Kent

Good freshers fair at the beginning of the academic year. There were so much societies to join, I was overwhelmed. And of course lost of goody bags I joined the tennis and kickboxing society and so I am prepared for a also relaxed time at university. The only criticism I have is that the fair was too crowded so I couldn’t discover all the societies which were available

The events weren't the kind of events I would usually go to but the university's advertisements made them look fun and I wanted to meet new people so I went to about 3/5 of them. I was pleasantly surprised.

Freshers week was full of daily activities, most of them were centered around alcohol and the local SU: Venue. The university does advertise drinks deals all over campus, and in essence promotes the over-consumption of alcohol. Freshers fair is full of many who turn up for the free food from the likes of dominos and Nando’s, and many societies were lacklustre and disorganised.

Freshers week was amazing. Freshers events were so fun and really well organised. Met loads of friends and would definitely recommend for new freshers.

Kent goes all out for their Freshers week, trying to get students involved from the get go. There are welcome helpers on the door of each accomodation ready to help you get settled and find your room, which can be really difficult to find if you are living in places like Eliot or Rutherford! They leave you a few hours for teary goodbyes and to stick pictures of your beloved pets on your new bedroom wall, and then the epic pub crawl. I say epic, it is kind of a mess to be fair. Imagine a hoard of nervous Freshers ready to attack anyone who even half looks at them to make their first friend at University. Don't worry if you don't find your soulmates tonight, or if you meet to many people you aren't even sure about, there will be so many more opportunities and so many more people you will meet in your three years as an undergrad. In fact, the next week is packed with Venue nights, foam night being the most terrifying out of the lot - whoever thought foam inhalation was good for Freshers was not too smart. But also many things to do with your new course mates and friends during the day and not to forget the fayre, whee you will be introduced to the societies that will carry you through the toughest time of your student career. And if you are not that kind of person, you have time to explore the area with your dormmates, housemates, or random strangers you meet on campus, because everyone is in the same boat and everyone wants to make friends. My last piece of advice is: don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, don't go anywhere with anyone without telling the people you are with, stay safe, drink plenty of water, call home if you need to, have fun and keep plenty of aspirin ready for when Freshers flu kicks in. Good Luck!

Moving in was very easy and well organised there was no delay or long waits for getting my key and unpacking. The week was packed with something to do EVERYDAY of the week. It was lovely to be able to walk around campus and go different places and see new faces.

The university offered plenty of activities both day and night, the only disappointment was the freshers ball which was over crowded and over priced. The freshers fair had plenty of societies and freebies. The university made sure there was alcoholic and non-alcoholic activities going on and there was lots of advertising for the clubs on and off campus. Moreover, there was plenty of second and third years around to help with direction and give advice. The environment created was friendly and inviting. Meeting new people was made easier with movie nights set up by the university and themed nights at the club.

Overall move in experience was very good. The university organised the whole weekend particularly well with numerous support staff available to help events move smoothly. Freshers week itself was great I would recommend going to as many events as possible and trying to step out of your comfort zone to meet new people.

Park wood accommodation was perfect for freshers week, house parties were everywhere and semi encouraged by campus security. Meeting people was very easy. Only downside was that freshers nightlife events were pretty much concentrated at the student union so the queue took up to 2 hours to get in. Also, the events were all very similar in style. A useful tip would be to make sure you make the effort to socialise with the neighbouring houses almost immediately, this spurred the massive group of friends I had across uni for sure as you meet lots of people from different courses and then in turn they’re course mates.