Settling into University

A mix of excitement and anxiety starts to build as the idea of attending university turns into a reality, particularly when you start receiving emails or letters that provide more details, helping you to prepare for your upcoming adventure!

Typical characteristics:

• Enthusiasm and desire to meet new people
• Wanting to move away from home
• Homesickness mixed in with all the fun and energy of starting university

This phase can happen a few weeks after you have started your studies. It happens generally when the realisation of having moved and undertaking studies hits and you might find that certain aspects of university life are not what you expected. You may start to feel under pressure as you head towards end of semester assessments, and it is also typically the coldest and darkest time of year in Edinburgh.

Typical characteristics:

• Difficulty finding your way around and feeling lost
• Initial excitement about living independently and with flatmates wears off
• Difficulty in adjusting to new surroundings and academic expectations 
• Homesickness; some students may deal with this by going home often 

As you start to understand more about the academic expectations of university and receive positive feedback on your progress, you may start to feel like you are adjusting to your new way of life and environment. Things start to make sense and it is during this stage that students feel more “at home” on campus. 

Typical characteristics:

• Students begin to make friends outside of their initial connections
• You may fall into a routine and gain confidence in your ability to handle new academic and social environments

Returning home during the winter break, you may anticipate that everything will be as you left it. However, upon arrival, you might discover changes. Maybe a sibling has taken over your room, or friends from home have relocated. Or, you may find yourself disheartened by the lack of change in your 'old life,' feeling out of place because you have evolved while everything else has stayed the same.

Upon your return to university for the start of semester two, you may experience a period of adjustment once again. 

Typical characteristics:

• Shock at finding that changes have happened at home 
• A feeling of homesickness for a home environment that no longer seems to exist 
• Doubts regarding choice in university, degree, career and other decisions begin to surface 
• Beliefs and values begin to be challenged and you may not be able to adapt to the ideas and values expressed by others at university 
• You spend more time by yourself in your room, or find outlets to escape potential housing situations  
• Cliques may form and you may feel that getting to know others is harder than before 

This is the final stage, ending on a high! 

This phase happens when you start to feel a real sense of belonging and connection to the university. This could be when you are out and about in the city, during lectures, at your accommodation or as part of a student society.

Typical characteristics:

• Students refer to university as their “home” 
• You feel as though you are part of your new environment and community 
• New friends are made both on and off-campus 
• Home values are reconciled with university values 
• Dependence on parents, supporters, or former peers begins to lessen