The first year of university: what to expect
Here you'll find an overview of key dates in the university year, and some of the things your child may be doing or experiencing at those times.
The academic year is split into trimesters, which are a bit like school terms:
- Trimester 1 runs from September-December
- Trimester 2 runs from January-April
- Trimester 3 runs from April/May to July.
Many of our undergraduate degrees are taught over two trimesters (Trimester 1, Trimester 2) but some are taught over three. When exams are taking place, they're usually scheduled at the end of a trimester.
We have Christmas and Easter holidays but not half-term holidays.
During the holidays students may travel home or they can stay at university if they wish; student accommodation remains open during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
Visit our academic calendar page to see exact dates for the current academic year.
Your child might be:
- Worried about making friends and fitting in
- Nervous about leaving home for the first time
- Worried about managing their money
What you can do:
- Encourage them to join our social networking sites and get chatting online to other students
- Take a look at our Accommodation webpages to help them prepare for independent living
- Point them towards our Money Advice Service which provides online money management resources
Your child might be:
- Worried about making friends and fitting in
- Homesickness
- Questioning if they've chosen the right course
- Worried about managing their money
What you can do:
- Encourage them to contact their Welcome Buddy and share how they are feeling
- Whether they're living at home or in student accommodation, encourage them to take part in the events and activities planned during Welcome Week to help them make friends, socialise and feel part of ARU
- If your son or daughter is feeling homesick encourage them to get involved in clubs and societies, sport and wellbeing events. Our Counselling and Wellbeing Service runs settling-in sessions and can offer 1-2-1 support
- If they feel they've chosen the wrong course, encourage them to speak with their Personal Development Tutor or get in touch with Student Services to discuss possible options. It's important they don’t stop attending as this will cause issues with their funding
- Encourage them to stick to a budget. Our Money Advice Service runs money management sessions as part of Welcome Week and will run various activities throughout the year to encourage students to manage their money. ARU Temps can also help students find temporary or part-time work
Your child might:
- Have doubts about their academic ability as they start to take their first assessments
- Experience difficulties managing independent living and workload
- Find that issues with sharing accommodation may be starting to show
- Get 'freshers' flu' or other colds and bugs as winter starts
What you can do:
- Encourage your son or daughter to look at our Study Skills Plus webpages and attend workshops to help with time management and academic skills. Support is also there to help students exceed their academic expectations
- If there are issues with fellow housemates, encourage your son or daughter to contact Residential Services
- Make sure they have registered with a local doctor. If they are studying in Cambridge they should register with our medical centre on campus
- If your son or daughter is still not feeling settled, encourage them to contact their Personal Development Tutor or Student Services
Your child might feel:
- Overwhelmed with writing assignments or taking exams
- Used to independent living and finding returning home for the holidays a little difficult
- Unsettled about returning to university after a long break
What you can do:
- Encourage your son and daughter to attend a time management session with Study Skills Plus. This will help them plan their assignments so that they're manageable
- Try to be understanding that they may not have the time to be in contact with you as much during this busy time
- Talk to your son or daughter when they return home about any expectations you and they have
- Encourage them to talk to the Personal Development Tutor or Student Services. If they are feeling really down and unsettled suggest they contact our Counselling and Wellbeing Service
Your child might:
- Not want to return to university after the long break
- Be disappointed with their first assessment results
What you can do:
- Tell them it’s not unusual to feel like they want to stay at home but encourage them to return and ask for help from Student Services if they're really thinking of not coming back
- Encourage them to talk to their Personal Development Tutor about their academic progress. Staff will be able to support students to make improvements
Your child might have:
- Money worries while waiting for their loan payment
What you can do:
- If you think your son or daughter may be having money problems, remind them about our Money Advice Service which offers help and advice on money management. Also remind them to register with ARU Temps which can help them secure part-time work
Your child might feel:
- Overwhelmed with writing assignments or taking exams
- Excited about returning home but sad about leaving friends
- Worried about finding accommodation for next year
- Worried about finances over the summer break
- Unsettled about returning to university after a long break
What you can do:
- Remind your son or daughter about our Study Skills Plus service which can help them plan their assignments and manage their revision
- Encourage them to contact our Residential Services which can offer advice with house hunting, and holds events to help students find housemates
- Suggest that they register with ARU Temps for summer work
- Tell them it's not unusual to feel unsettled, and encourage them to contact Student Services if they're really struggling with coming back
Have a look at our Student Services webpages for an overview of all the support we offer.
As your child is over the age of 18, we won’t be able to provide you with specific details about their progress, or other personal matters. We understand this might be difficult as you’ll be used to receiving information about their progress, but under the Data Protection Act, unless we have received express permission, we can’t share any information with you or other third parties.
But please be assured, if your son or daughter is struggling, we are here to support them. If you think they might need specialist support or advice, please direct them to Student Services and/or their Personal Development Tutor.
If you have serious concerns about your child’s wellbeing, please contact Student Services during office hours on 01245 686700, or call Security outside working hours on 01245 493131 or 01223 363271.
We’ll investigate your concern. Please be aware we won’t be able to inform you of the outcome but will encourage your son or daughter to contact you directly.