First Day at University: When you Arrive

What Time to Arrive

The very first question you should be asking yourself is: when are you are going to turn up at university? Some universities may have a staggered arrival procedure, where students with surnames between certain ranges arrive at different times or on different days. If this applies to you (and you should find out if it does) then this question isn't really relevant; you should turn up when you are meant to. If, on the other hand, you have a choice then the following information may prove useful in making your decision.

• It can get very busy on the first day, with hundreds of students being dropped off. As a result, it might be difficult to find a place to park your car while you unload all of your belongings (see my guide on What to Take to University to find out more). Peak times tend to be from an hour or two after the gates open until late afternoon. So, if you want to avoid the chaos then you should choose to go either at the very start of the day or late in the day. If you don't have too much to take with you then this is less of an issue.

• You will have a lot of things to do in your first day. From sorting out your room, to registering with the university, to meeting your flatmates; the first day will just fly by. So, in my opinion it is a better idea to turn up early to give yourself the opportunity to arrange everything that needs to be done. This way you can also avoid some of the queues that build up later in the day.

• On the other hand, if you arrive too early then you may find that you are the only person there. So, turning up a few hours after arrivals begin would allow the party to get in full swing before you arrive. This might not necessarily be a bad thing, however, because it would allow you to get your room set up before people turn up (and so they won't think you are avoiding them while you are simply unpacking!).
  

First Thing to Do

When you have decided at what time to arrive you will need to know what to do first. Your university hopefully will have sent you some information about your first day, but it won't hurt to repeat it.

Seeing as you will have all of your belongings in your car or on your person, you clearly will want to start moving all of your gear into your room as soon as you arrive. This means that you are going to need to sort out your accommodation and pick up your keys first thing. Hopefully, before you arrive you will have found out where about you are staying (if not you should email the university for advise). Unless otherwise stated you will most probably have to turn up at your specific accommodation and pick up your keys there. If not you might have to pick them up from some central office. Print off a map on the internet beforehand to help you find it, though there should be signs spotted around on the day you are moving in to help you. You should take the following things with you when picking up your keys:

• A copy of your contract

• Proof of your acceptance to the university

• A few passport photos

• Details of your payment method

Obviously you might not be asked for all of this, but it's better to be prepared!


Now that you know what to do when you first arrive, it's time to find out about moving in.

Back to Your First Day at University