How to nail Freshers’ according to a UCL BNOC

Moving to university is a daunting prospect at the best of times: sifting through infinite societies, new-found independence and getting used to a new city is a challenge at the best of times, but London is next level.

With a tube networked aligned with the internal structure of a human brain, a splattering of night clubs across 9 ‘zones’ and a plethora of other issues that come with living in such an expansive city, the fresher experience is even more complicated.

We’ve recruited resident BNOC and fourth year physicist, Amber Doig-Thorne: a club-loving social weapon turned ‘Facebook celeb’, to give us her top tips for making the most out of your first year and beyond.

The first thing you’ll have noticed as a fresher is that the lovely halls group you found your flatmates on and laughed at the over-sharing ‘icebreakers’, is actually a shameless marketing tool devised by 20-somethings in an office. You’ll realise when you notice it’s constant spamming by Facebook accounts belonging to people you’ve never seen telling you ‘everyone’s going to XOYO tonight!’

Combine this with the thousands of clubs and bars across London and there’s no wonder it takes you a while to work out where UCL students actually go. Amber gave us her full weekly breakdown:

• Monday- Selfie Monday’s at Sway Bar
• Tuesday- Milkshake at Ministry of Sound
• Wednesday- UCL Sportsnight at Loop
• Thursday- Bad Decisions at Piccadilly Institute
• Friday- ULU (now called Student Central, right by campus) or Saucy

Loop is your bread and butter

Ever experienced, Amber explains: “I’ve been to Loop and ULU almost every week for the last three years, they’re the best nights” proudly adding, “there aren’t any official student nights on weekends, but lots of clubs are still open.

“I use the weekend to recover from my hangover then go hard every day during the week!”

If you’re heading to the freshers’ fayre, you’ll have realised just how many societies there really are at UCL. From your staples like rugby and netball, to curveballs like Yoncé Appreciation Society, Amber recommends you jump straight in: “Definitely join a sports team, you’ll make some great friends and the nights out are amazing!

“There’s lots of fun other societies, sosdf make sure you attend the freshers fayre, there’s always free stuff (and free pizza). You’ll probably sign up to 40 societies, but out of that 40 there will be 5-10 that you’ll probably want to stick with throughout your uni years.”

Naturally, with all this time spent clubbing or committing to 10 societies, Amber has had to make sacrifices – “I didn’t go to all of my lectures as I was always busy, but as long as you cram before your exams and put enough hard work in then, you’ll be fine.

“I study theoretical physics, and I’ve got away with not working much throughout the year for the last 3 years, which works unless you have weekly problem sheets.

Who needs lectures

“There’s lots of the work on Moodle so if you miss lectures for a week, don’t worry – you can always catch up and watch them on Moodle instead.”

Wrapping up and reflecting, Amber posited that the worst bit about UCL is the tuition fees and accommodation costs, but highlighted that UCL is “smack bang in the middle of London” with a “beautiful campus and good student nights” – what more could you want?

Got any questions? Check Amber out on Facebook here, or add her on Snapchat at ambzdt.