It’s hard to know what university is like until you are studying. What we know is that all universities are different and how you personally interact with university will be unique to you.  From what we are told by our students, university is not like school or college, or work, or home. However, some things may seem similar. So, what is university really like?  

“I struggled with the idea of university and living away from home, but I adapted to this big change in small increments and now I am involved in multiple societies and sports clubs, as well as work. There has been a tremendous amount of support for me, whilst still allowing me to be independent. It has been challenging but I have enjoyed all of it so far and am ready for the next couple of years.” UWE Year 2 student.

What has been identified by us at UWE is that it is rarely only the academic side of university life that is challenging. What is known is the transition into university environment brings with it a unique set of challenges which is often, but not exclusively, related to:   

• Navigating an unfamiliar sensory environment  
• Having to try and manage many unknown situations  
• Leaving home for the first time and the loss of family/caring support  
• Living in a shared accommodation with people you do not know  
• Having to manage independent life skills such as cooking, cleaning and money etc.  
• Meeting lots of new people and trying to form relations  
• Not feeling understood  
• Finding it difficult to know who to go to for support and advice 
• Managing a more independent academic driven structure.  

One of the best (and in some ways scariest!) things at uni is that you have a lot of independence and are treated as an adult, so you may not have people telling you what to do or checking in with you. This can be quite challenging especially when not only do you have to manage all the things noted above when at university, you must manage your studies the majority of which is self-directed. This means that you are expected to be an independent adult and learner. So, as well as managing daily living activities you will be responsible for planning when you are going to study, managing your own workload and conflicting deadlines.

This can be hard when you might struggle with: 

• Time management which is one of the biggest problems, especially during the first year when everything is still new.
• Coping with large amounts of learning material, with lots of variation, that needs dealing with quickly and efficiently.
• The new social environment – new tutors, other students, the people you live with, etc…
• Life skills – laundry, cooking simple meals, budgeting, keeping up with uni info (social media channels and your university email once set up – don’t ignore it as it’s the only way the uni will get in touch when you start), sorting out a student bank account, getting a doctor close to uni, managing technology (back everything up!).
• Finding your way around campus – campus maps exist, but sometimes it’s a good idea to use spare time allowing yourself to familiarise yourself with the buildings you need to visit, and getting lost is OK.

“I find it difficult adapting to new environments, especially ones that contain a lot of noise, but from day one I received continuous support from the staff in my department who were more than happy to make minor adaptations to the work and to my timetable which really helped me settle in.” UWE Year 3 Student 

Though university and the thought of coming to study at a university, can be both exciting and fear provoking. However, try to remember that universities are supportive environments. Staff at universities want to support you and are skilled at working with, and supporting, diverse student groups. Their aim is to get to understand your strengths, uniqueness and individual needs.  

• Making the most of the support that is available – At UWE there is lots of support here to help you. From academic and disability service support, specialist mentoring and library support, wellbeing support and student experience coaches (please see Our services Section). What is important is that you try reach out for support or take up support when it is offered.  

• Learn to use UWE Blackboard and MyEngagement – This is essential in terms of studying at UWE and forms the primary source of information related to your studies. If you struggle to use both these systems, please reach out for support. 

• Organise your workspace – use a fixed workplace to study or go to the library. Find a place where you are distracted as little as possible. Make sure that there is only stuff on the desk or table that you need for studying – no distractions! 

• Manage your time – try to figure out on what activities use your time ineffectively and minimise these. Plan your day so that e.g. chatting on social media and web browsing does not take up more than 1 hour, get up and start studying earlier in the morning if you are planning to go out in the evening, etc. 

• Cope with bad days – there are days when nothing works, e.g. you cannot find the solution to a problem in the assignment, you cannot focus on the task, etc….STOP! Go out and get some fresh air, go to the gym or the cinema or something else you enjoy. Sometimes you simply need a distraction or need to speak to someone. 

• Routine – devote regular time periods to your work. It stops things getting too last minute and panicky. 

• Look after yourself – eat and drink healthily and regularly, shower regularly, wash your clothes, get some exercise and make sure you have enough sleep. 

• Get going – sometimes it’s difficult to get started with your work when you know it’s not due in for a while. “Free writing” can help – it doesn’t matter if what you’re writing is rubbish, just make yourself write for 10 minutes and you might find it easier to get on with it. There are other tricks you can employ like filling a Word document with headings, subheadings and bullet points and turning those into sentences and paragraphs. 

• Be part of uni life – Everything is social at uni, which can be tough for some. Your life will feel connected to others outside the family much more than at school or work, and you will see fellow students everywhere, so if you live at home or like to stay in your room then try to spend time around campus outside of lectures. The links below provide information about going to university, life at UWE and social events 

If you have moved out of home, can you: 

• Cook simple meals?  

• Do your laundry? 

• Manage your finances?  

We would recommend you practice shopping for and cooking simple meals prior to coming to university, make sure you have a plan for managing your laundry and housework. If you can, plan your budget and develop a plan for managing your money before coming to university but if not don’t worry, support is available through the  Student Money Service. 

Do you know how to use the calendar function on your phone or computer, and can you synchronise it with the university system? – The Help and Information Point in the Library can help with this if you are unsure. 

Do you need support with time management, note-taking or reading academic material? – If you have DSA in place then be sure to access the 1 to 1 support if it has been awarded to you and make use of any Assistive Tech that you have. You can access workshops and online resources to help with gaining study strategies through Skills for Learning and the Disability Advice team may also be able to provide additional support. 

“I was told University can be a challenging environment for autistic people, however I liked to think positively and looked forward to starting my course. Although, I found getting feedback on my assignments and motivating myself tough, I found the mentoring and counselling support useful.“ Masters student 

UWE studentlife.

UWE LIFE 

About the author 

Rebecca Horsfall, Disability Adviser at Disability Support, Durham University and adapted by Ian Hope Senior Mentor Practitioner, UWE.