9 Things I Wish I Had Known as a Fresher at St Andrews

9 things I wish I had known:

1. Buy Local Not Loco: Our Tesco is the most expensive Tesco in Scotland. It took me a whole year to realize that as a student, the prices are outrageous, and as just a normal consumer, the prices are still outrageous! However, we have the glorious South Street grocers which are the cheaper and fresher alternative. I am eating some blackberries from John Birrell & Son right now and I swear there is nothing more yummy in the world…except maybe a freshly baked loaf bread from the bakery next door at G.H MacArthur and Son. And don’t get me started on the butcher! It’s entirely reasonable in price and you can get exactly what you want for dinner every evening on the way home from Buchanan or the library. The South Street grocers offer a quality that cannot be found in Tesco and I promise you will taste and feel the goodness of their products far more then you will from a basket of berries grown in Spain or a loaf of bread off the shelf that was baked last week.

2. Wakie Wakie: Forcing yourself to get up a reasonable hour each day will open up so much time to fully grasp and participate in all the opportunities that are offered here in St Andrews. As a fresher, I basked in the luxury of empty time and no commitments, but I found that I lost touch with all the things that make me happy. Societies, sports, and busy schedules will keep you from feeling homesick, will help you eat less (I am a procrastination eater), and will keep your mind and body active and engaged. It’s important to be in the mindset of viewing empty time as wasteful time. You only go to uni once and you don’t want to leave feeling like you missed out on anything.

3. Don’t stock your nightstand like a foodmart: Going to bed early is physically impossible. However, not binge eating out of your junk drawer whilst staying up at your computer all night is an attainable pursuit. Lesson here: don’t have a junk food drawer next to your desk. In fact, have only a maximum of two junk foods in your kitchen at one time. This way, you not only have to make the deliberate decision to use energy to walk and go get the junk food, but your options are severely limited. Therefore, you can focus less on the Oreo, Minstrels, crisps, and teacakes on the top shelf in the pantry and more on the busy schedule you just created for yourself in the No. 2.

4. Talk til ya drop: Talk with your tutors and fellow classmates! There is absolutely nothing in the entire world more painful then sitting through a fresher tutorial where the tutor asks a question and then everyone stares at each other like deer in the headlights for what feels like 10 minutes before someone mumbles a 3 word answer. You all got into St Andrews because you are passionate and opinioned about something. Express it! There is no harm in lightening the mood and just saying exactly what you think. Everyone else in the room will begin to feel more comfortable with expressing their opinions too and then you all can actually learn something from each other. I promised you will not be publicly shunned, ceremoniously burned, or socially killed because you spoke up; in fact, everyone will be thankful you did.

5. Don’t live at DRA or Fife: That most sound advice I can give you. That is why it is number 5, because it is the meat to this fluffy sandwich of semi-practical advice.

6. Marauders Map: Sallies Quad is weird and confusing and if you are an arts student, you will definitely have class in one of the Schools or the Old Union Diner at some point. I wish someone had showed me around the Schools because on my first day of IR tutorials, I went in the wrong door, up the wrong staircase, and couldn’t find my way back down for a good 20 minutes. So it goes like this: from the cloisters, the building you are facing is Upper and Lower College Hall. Here your real parents will have attended a “your child has just joined the most fabulous university in the universe” reception and you will probably attend a lecture or two here if you join any big political or social society. Moving to the door in the corner, School II, here you will go in for tutorials and to see your tutors (their offices are upstairs – beware, it is confusing by the time you get to the third floor). The next door on the right with a grand entrance is School III. In here on the right and left will be some shabby looking doors which lead into a small lecture theater on the left and a larger lecture theater on the right (which has pink seats, which is awesome). The farthest door in the quad in School 6. Honestly, I don’t know what is in there yet, but if you climb the stairs you can eventually find the “Old Union Diner” (which isn’t the diner, it’s above the diner), so don’t go into the Union Diner Coffee Shop off North Street and ask the girl that works there where you lecturer is, because she will kindly tell you that he is right above your head….cue feeling like an idiot. So take it from me and save yourself the embarrassment.

7. The Sun goes down, the students go home: Don’t take late afternoon classes. When the clocks turn back and winter comes along you will find yourself walking to class at 4pm at dusk. There is nothing worse then realizing you still have one or two more lectures and/or tutorials to get through and it is practically dark outside already. It makes the school year seem much longer and more tiring then it needs to be. If you work great at the end of the day before dinner in the dark, then sign yourself up and enjoy the dreariness; but if you are normal, don’t do it, you will most certainly regret it!

8. Mingle like you mean it: Ok, you are a fresher. You are almost a month or two into the term and you are settling in to your routine, but I want you to stop right there an sign up for every society that seems mildly interesting to you. The best way to make the most of your first year is to get involved. I know you will hear it 50 bagaillion times in the next week, but it is true. Make the effort, put yourself out there, and go to events where you know no one. I promise you will make a least one friend and you will enjoy yourself. It might feel like everyone has friends at the event already, which may be true, but really we all just want to meet you and get to know you. You are the future and the people who will fill our shoes; you have to get out there and mingle like you mean it!

9. Two red gowns and a black gown cross the road: Traditions are our favorite. May Dip and Raisin weekend are our academic version of Super Bowl Sunday, New Years, and Christmas all in one. But we also have ton of other traditions throughout the year that will make your experience here in St Andrews so much more memorable. Even if it is something as simple as participating in a pier walk, making an exaggerated and glorious effort to avoid the PH, having an academic family dinner, or stopping traffic with your divinity friend and another arts or science friend, you will enjoy life in Fife so much more if you embrace the things we hold so dear. They are your legal right to use and abuse, so I say go out and halt traffic on Market St at 10am on a Tuesday morning with your two red gowns and one black gown. Why? BECASE YOU CAN.

• St Andrews Events
• St Andrews Food
• St Andrews Societies
• St Andrews Sports