4 things to expect during the first week at a foreign University

If you think life at a foreign university is all about studying and socializing, you’re right but that stuff doesn’t come until the second week at the university. First of all, you need to get all the registrations done, you need to find your way around huge campuses and you need to create a group of friends to hang out with. Every student’s university experience is different, but to help you prepare for your first week, we have made this guide which covers the main challenges you’ll face.

1. Handling the paperwork

You need to register for your classes, work out your timetable, meet your advisor, register with the university doctor etc. All this means a lot of paperwork and running around. However, the biggest challenge isn’t paperwork but handling everything on your own. Unlike colleges in India where teachers remind you the important dates and tell you where you need to be, at a foreign university it is all up to you.

Our advice for handling all the paperwork is to be calm and ask the university staff or other students for assistance if you are stuck with something.

2. Freshers’ week

The first week is dedicated to learning about the activities, clubs and societies you can join on campus. During this week, you will accumulate a lot of flyers, discount vouchers and free pens. It is a good idea to join some kind of society or club as it will help you with meeting more people and make friends.

3. Managing finance on your own

For most international students, being abroad for the first time means handling their finances on their own, that too handling foreign currency. Getting a hang of the conversion rates and understanding average cost of things can be a long and time-consuming activity.

For obvious reasons, you will be required to live on a budget, and that means living within your means and keeping track of the money you are spending. Most students find that in their first week, they spend more than they had planned. That’s totally fine, however for the remainder of your studies, you’ll have to ensure that you’re spending sensibly.

4. Lectures and tutorials

In most universities abroad, lectures are teacher-led and students take notes and carry out their own additional research side-by-side. Tutorials are supposed to be more interactive and are meant for much smaller groups. Tutorials provide you with the opportunity to share your opinions on topics you learned during lectures and learn more about specific aspects of the topic.

At some universities, you will be graded on your performance in tutorials and your weekly participation in the group.