Inside Undergraduate Halls: The Life of a First Year

Life as an undergraduate student in halls can be so much fun, but it's not always easy breezy.

The whole journey, from moving out and living away from parents to submitting my final dissertation, involved a massive rollercoaster of emotions and experiences. Looking back now, as cheesy as it sounds, my time in LSE Halls really did help shape who I am today. 

So here's some tips for you! 

• You will always meet new people throughout the year! 

Fresher’s week is the time to socialise and get to know who your friends will be, who you will be living with (if you chose to stay in halls like me) and who you will be studying with. Don’t worry if you don’t form any friendships this week because trust me, you will meet so many more people throughout the year. Even if you do make friends, sometimes they will not be the ones for you and that is fine.

• So much choice of events, there will always be something for you!

As an undergraduate who decided to live in halls for first year, boy am I glad I decided to do so. Not only was it convenient for me to commute to uni but living in central London meant I was able to participate in many events and activities throughout London. It was especially convenient when my hall put on events within the hall. All I had to do was wander down to the common room and boom, there was my evening sorted.

I’d encourage you to make use of all the events your departments, SU, ResLife and your Hall Committee are putting on for you. These are prime opportunities to meet those with similar interests as you. If you don't like to party, there's so many fun alternatives you can join. Why not join societies and connect with people that share the same passion as you? 

• You learn to become more independent!
  

Not everyone will have the same experience but living in halls does help you become more independent- especially when it comes to cooking food. Hopefully you will get the basics down if you didn’t know how to cook before. I personally lived in a catered hall (once a Banksider, always a Banksider 😎) so I didn’t have to do much cooking but when it came to dinner time, it was prime time to get to know those who lived in your halls. I did make some of my closest friends from random conversations during dinner.

• Try new things!

One final thing I would say to everyone, regardless of whether you are a first year or final year undergraduate student, is to ENJOY your time and experiences at LSE (both in halls and on campus). Yes, student life will be hard, and yes there will be times where you think ‘is this really worth it?’ But do remember you have done exceptionally well to be accepted into a global and leading social sciences university in the world.

Once you graduate, oh that will be a different ballpark to work through, so make the most of your time here at LSE.