Our top tips on how to actually enjoy freshers’ week

Talk to weirdos, join a society and don't sleep with your flatmates.

Freshers’ week is a time to meet new friends and get into the swing of university life.

But it can also be a nervy time with thousands of new and returning students unpacking their belongings in dingy student digs across the country.

To help you get the best out of your freshers’ week, we’ve compiled some of the best tried and tested advice straight from the mouths of Metro.co.uk staff.

Talk to weirdos

Have fun and talk to weirdos. In a new place with lots of different people around it can be daunting but getting yourself out there and speaking to new people is one of the best things you can do.

Those ‘weirdos’ might just end up being your best friends eventually – and you might find you are just as weird yourself.

Metro.co.uk social producer Alex Wilkins said that while you may not remember freshers’ week in three years time, the people you meet in those first few days might just stick with you for life.

Join a society

There will no doubt be lots of different societies of sports teams at your new university, so get involved as it’s a great way to make friends outside of your subject or student halls.

Lifestyle writer Natalie Morris joined in with the netball team at her university and got an instant set of friends without too much effort.

She said: ‘I don’t look back and think about my course, I look back and think about the fun I had with the netball team.’

Don’t sleep with your flatmates

Freshers’ week is a chance to meet lots of new people and your new found freedom may mean you make the most of striking up a new romance, or two.

Your flatmates can be a great set of friends and a shoulder to lean on – but to avoid any awkward run-ins at the toaster, it’s probably a good idea not to sleep with them.

Social producer Elle Rudd warns it can end very badly and if your freshers’ week flirtation doesn’t work out, it might ruin the rest of your year.

As Elle puts it: ‘Just don’t s*** where you eat.’

Do stupid things

Going beyond freshers’ week, university is one of the last times where it is still acceptable to do stupid things – like drinking alcohol into the early hours on a week day.

Its a time to create memorable experiences that make for excellent stories.

Lifestyle editor Ellen Scott adds: ‘University is a time when you can be just stupid and wild and have adventures to tell everyone about.’

Which brings us swiftly on to…

Don’t get into a fight with a drug dealer

If you are going to get involved in drugs at university, try them safely with people you trust.

Another of Elle’s friends got a group together and decided that they would all chip in to try drugs.

None of her friends had any experience in buying drugs so spent around £300 on a big bag of demerara sugar.

She said: ‘There was nothing they could do about it because you obviously can’t go to the police and say “my dealer ripped me off” and you can’t get into a fight with a drug dealer.’

Get help if you need it

Moving away from home and starting afresh can be difficult, but there is help on hand if you are feeling down consistently.

Ellen said: ‘You shouldn’t be struggling and if it’s affecting your degree and your education, you deserve to get help, it’s important.’

It’s also more common than you think and universities will have specialists on campus who provide mental health care.

Be a teacher’s pet

It might not sound particularly cool when you’re in school, but being a teacher’s pet can be game changing at university.

You should make use of all of your consultation hours and you should sign up for lots of extracurricular activities, according to video editor Chris Rickett.

He said: ‘Just hang out with people who are already in the fields you want to be in.’