Chat with our students

1. What’s the best way to make friends? 

“Try not to be scared to approach people in your first year, keep in mind that everyone is in the same boat as you and we’re all looking for friends - nobody will judge you for having the courage to say hi first!” – Danish 

“I think the best way to make friends is by joining a society. You can find likeminded people from different courses across the university with similar interests to you. There are usually different types of societies you can join from reading groups and course specific societies, to dance and sports societies.” – Emily 

“Don’t be afraid to create a little study group amongst your classmates. Library dates are the start of beautiful friendships!” - Ana 

Is university life expensive? 

“University life doesn’t have to be expensive, but it isn’t always cheap either. I try my best to budget - my main outgoings are my food shopping, course materials, transport and subscriptions. I often shop second hand to save some cash and make use of store loyalty schemes and student discounts to help my expenses.” – Emily 

“Student discount apps such as Student Beans and UniDays are such a great and easy way to save money off everyday items.” - Danish 

What should I bring or not bring to university?

“As an international student, I would definitely recommend you bring some mementoes to your new place, bits that remind you of home. This really helped me settle into university.” - Danish 

“The best thing I bought is a clothes horse/ airer, as this will save you a lot of money when drying your clothes. It is also better for your clothes, as tumble-drying them can cause them to wear out faster.” - Ana 

“Don’t forget plenty of comfy clothes. In first year, I packed lots of nice outfits but found myself living in pyjamas and joggers. I found some great loungewear that I can wear into uni too and I still feel put together with my outfits.” – Emily 

What’s the biggest difference between college or sixth form and University? 

“It is a lot more relaxed, and you have so much time! You have to learn to balance your time and motivate yourself to get out of bed!” - Ana

“The biggest difference has been the level of independence I’ve had at university compared to college. I studied fashion design at both, but I’ve had a lot more ownership over my work at university, and I feel like I’ve been able to start building up my designer identity more freely while at uni.” - Emily 

What does your average day or week look like at university?

“In the second year, I only had to attend uni two days in a week. I had a full day on Monday and Thursday and had the remaining days to myself or to work on upcoming deadlines.” – Danish

“I usually have two full days scheduled at university where I have contact hours with my tutors. This adds up to around 14 contact hours a week. I also like to go to uni in my own time during the week to catch up on work and stay ahead of my deadlines. I like to break my week down into 4 days for uni work, 1 day working my part-time job, and two days off – but I work on these days too nearer to my deadlines.” – Emily 

“The summer breaks are long! My timetable finished in April and started again towards the end of September. This gives you plenty of time to work/save up, volunteer, and have fun!” - Ana 

What’s one thing you wish you had done during your first year?

“Find out what opportunities there were to go abroad! There were so many opportunities at BCU, so I wish I had started early to take advantage of as many as possible before graduation.” – Ana 

“I had the most “free time” in the first year, I wish I had visited more places around Birmingham and made more memories that way. There’s still so much to see and do that I still have yet to do now that I’m about to approach my third and final year.” - Danish 

“I wish I had tried more societies in my first year. I really enjoyed the group I joined, but it could have been nice to meet more students and to try new activities. Get stuck in as much as you can.” – Emily 

If you still have lots of questions to ask then join Emily, Ana and Danish on The Student Room, where they’ll be able to answer all of your questions.