1. Don't go in with any expectations.
This is possibly the biggest life lesson I've learnt this year - very few things are going to turn out exactly as you expect them to, not just in freshers and your first year, but in life in general! Everybody talks about freshers and everybody tells you uni will be the best years of your life, you'll have friends who will start before you and they'll look like they're having the most amazing time...it is really difficult to see and hear that and not formulate expectations. Also, it's the start of a whole new life and who doesn't have hopes and stuff they want to happen that ties in with that? It's just really important to not expect anything that you're not sure of, I mean don't expect to make a certain group of friends or to find a certain situation very hard or easy - you'll thank yourself in the long run!
2. You are not going to have the 'normal' student experience.
As much as I've just said don't have any expectations, one thing to expect is that your uni experience is not going to be the same as that of most students. Medical, Veterinary and Dentistry students have an entirely different schedule, with entirely different hours and responsibilities. The likelihood is that a lot of your friends will have much fewer contact hours than you, and if you're very into partying and going out, in the long run you might find it difficult to keep up with them (if you don't at first, you will after a while!). Also, you're expected to act a little differently, we were given a talk about professionalism in all areas of our lives and didn't think much of it, but then on the Medics' Bar Crawl a group of 5th year medics had an official complaint lodged against them by a member of the public for drunken antics, and they were referred to fitness to practice, so it's definitely something to consider next time you're vomiting into a shower (definitely 100% not something that I did that night..)
3. Not everyone doing Medicine is going to be like you.
This might sound a bit weird but it's so true - I thought going into medicine that medics would all get on and be fairly similar, and I could not have been more wrong. Walking into that lecture hall for the first time was like walking into my VI Form common room. All types of people are represented, and although that's great in that you are sure to find someone you like, you're not going to identify with everyone, as much as you might want to.
4. Do not let yourself be intimidated by any other students, no matter how much it looks like they know.
I'm sure that you will know exactly what I mean by this when you start, as there is always that one person in the first lecture that sticks their hand up to answer or ask what feels like a ridiculously advanced question with words that you don't understand. In my first week we had an introduction to renal medicine in which one guy stuck his hand up and said something endlessly convoluted about stenosis and fistulae...I swear I saw every student in that room get out their pen and write down 'stenosis' to google later, haha. That guy was known as 'stenosis guy' from then on, but he was not the person who ended up winning the 1st year prize. The people who got it this year were quiet people I know vaguely who are not part of the sizeable cohort of students who love preaching at length about how much work they've done. :P
5. That said, do not let yourself fall behind.
Right before I start, let it not be said that uni isn't for enjoying yourself, because a part of it is. It's so important to have a social and extracurricular life, but don't make the mistake I did in my first term and let the work fall by the wayside. By that, I mean that coming to the lectures and tutorials and practicals is not enough. Nowhere near enough. You NEED to consolidate everything you've learned that day in the evening. You NEED to go through and write up your practicals BEFORE you do them. If you can, it will help you IMMENSELY to thoroughly pre-read for all your lectures, but if you can't you should at least look at the slides at least twice. Seriously, from experience, you'll thank me and save hours of time if you do this.
6. Don't be tempted to hang out only with medics, but don't neglect them either
I sound a bit like a hypocrite here, as I'm living with only medics this year, but it's important not to totally neglect your first year flatmates (the likelihood is they won't be medics unless you're not at uni). On the other side of the coin, as medicine is such an immersive course that will take up the majority of your time, you need to make medic friends that will help your through the course, that you can bounce stuff off. It's a difficult but important balance to get right.
Finally, make sure you enjoy every moment and involve yourself in as much as you can.
Good luck!
3. Not everyone doing Medicine is going to be like you.
This might sound a bit weird but it's so true - I thought going into medicine that medics would all get on and be fairly similar, and I could not have been more wrong. Walking into that lecture hall for the first time was like walking into my VI Form common room. All types of people are represented, and although that's great in that you are sure to find someone you like, you're not going to identify with everyone, as much as you might want to.
4. Do not let yourself be intimidated by any other students, no matter how much it looks like they know.
I'm sure that you will know exactly what I mean by this when you start, as there is always that one person in the first lecture that sticks their hand up to answer or ask what feels like a ridiculously advanced question with words that you don't understand. In my first week we had an introduction to renal medicine in which one guy stuck his hand up and said something endlessly convoluted about stenosis and fistulae...I swear I saw every student in that room get out their pen and write down 'stenosis' to google later, haha. That guy was known as 'stenosis guy' from then on, but he was not the person who ended up winning the 1st year prize. The people who got it this year were quiet people I know vaguely who are not part of the sizeable cohort of students who love preaching at length about how much work they've done. :P
5. That said, do not let yourself fall behind.
Right before I start, let it not be said that uni isn't for enjoying yourself, because a part of it is. It's so important to have a social and extracurricular life, but don't make the mistake I did in my first term and let the work fall by the wayside. By that, I mean that coming to the lectures and tutorials and practicals is not enough. Nowhere near enough. You NEED to consolidate everything you've learned that day in the evening. You NEED to go through and write up your practicals BEFORE you do them. If you can, it will help you IMMENSELY to thoroughly pre-read for all your lectures, but if you can't you should at least look at the slides at least twice. Seriously, from experience, you'll thank me and save hours of time if you do this.
6. Don't be tempted to hang out only with medics, but don't neglect them either
I sound a bit like a hypocrite here, as I'm living with only medics this year, but it's important not to totally neglect your first year flatmates (the likelihood is they won't be medics unless you're not at uni). On the other side of the coin, as medicine is such an immersive course that will take up the majority of your time, you need to make medic friends that will help your through the course, that you can bounce stuff off. It's a difficult but important balance to get right.
Finally, make sure you enjoy every moment and involve yourself in as much as you can.
Good luck!
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