5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE STARTING UNIVERSITY

Exactly a year ago, I started university. 

It doesn't matter whether you're studying in your home town or you moved to a different city for your studies - starting university always marks the beginning of a new life chapter. Maybe, you've heard some wild things about uni like going out on a thursday (completely normal in Germany) or having the time of your life during your uni years - and those things are true, because let's be honest, it's last time in life you don't have to go to work the next day at 8 a.m. But apart from all the partying, there are some things I wish I would have known when starting uni one year ago.

REMEMBER DEADLINES
I think this is the biggest difference between school and university: you have to enrol for everything - even your exams and if you don't it's likely that you are not allowed to write the exam without paying a fee for belated enrolment. Also, teachers don't remind you of everything 100 hundred times, so keep your ears open and note down deadlines in your calendar!

PARTICIPATE IN WELCOME WEEK ACTIVITIES
The biggest tip I can give anyone starting university is to participate in welcome week activities. In my university, we have 3 weeks of welcome week where a lot of activities are planned for freshmen. Of course, everything is voluntary, but participating in these activities is the best way to find new friends and get to know the people you're going to study with. 



BE ON TIME TO LECTURES (at least in the first 3 weeks)
This might be a surprising one for you, because maybe you've been told that the professors don't give a sh**t about whether you're on time for the lecture or not. However, especially in the first couple of weeks, everybody is super motivated to turn up to lectures which results in crowded rooms and not enough seats. So taking the earlier bus in order to get a seat in the lecture is defenitely worth it because sitting on the stairs or standing for 90 minutes straight is not fun.

YOU DON'T NEED TO WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING THE PROFESSOR SAYS
This is another big difference to school! While you were taking notes during classes the entire time, in university, it is most likely that you'll get lecture notes that you can print out and bring to the lecture - and these notes usually contain everything you need to know (I usually just add a few explanations and side notes myself).

YOU DON'T NEED TO BUY EVERY SINGLE BOOK
Last, but not least, this one can save you some serious pennies! Usually, the professors will recommend you a book at the beginning of the semester to buy in case you want to read over something again at home. Now, a lot of feshmen make the mistake of ordering them on amazon right away. Save some pennies by checking your university's library! Usually, the books the professors recommend (or have written themselves) can be found there!



Is there anything that you would have wished to have known before starting university?