Freshers’ Week: Top fears students are set to experience as the university year begins

As Freshers’ Week comes to a close, many parents will be concerned about their offspring partying too hard. But new research has shown freshers are worried about more than just a hangover. Being “un-looked after” has been cited as the biggest fear for new students: two-thirds of first-years have never cooked for themselves before, and only 14 per cent have ever done their own laundry.

The study, from sports and entertainment agency Pretty Green, which followed 100 university students around the country for their first university year, has painted a true picture of how young people will be handling their first year away from their parents. While the lack of home-training is the top stress for these newly independent young adults, pressure around doing well academically and homesickness are also among the top worries.

There might have been boozing and partying aplenty during freshers’ activities this week but, as the week draws to a close, these are the top five fears freshers are being left to deal with:

Students arrive on campus largely as dependent children, and are in for a rude awakening. From the moment they say goodbye to their parents, the independent living has to begin. The vast majority of students are taking care of themselves for the first time. Taking care of themselves is something around half of students found challenging, with cleaning being the biggest bugbear, 29 per cent, followed by the previously-mentioned laundry and cooking.

The shared experience of Freshers’ Week means students settle in fast. By week two, 84 per cent of students claim to feel completely at home. But by late October, early November - when the dark nights draw in, home supplies are running low, money is dwindling, and the prospect of having to work sets in - 30 per cent of students experience a delayed onset of homesickness. As a result, student dropouts peak in the first week of November.

Around the same time, the focus on studying goes up a gear, with a quarter of first years expressing a need for extra tuition. This discussion topic peaked among respondents around mid-November across main social media sites.

Many are unsettled by the unexpected struggle to reconcile old relationships with new. Within the intense new world of university, old school friendships can get temporarily displaced. Visits from hometown friends can feel awkward, and many students only feel truly comfortable with their established friends once back for the holidays. The study showed only 12 per cent of relationships that had begun before university survived the first year.

Leaving for the holidays is bittersweet. The majority of students look forward to home comforts, but are melancholic about leaving firm friends and fledgling relationships. The greatest irritation for a quarter of returning students is being made to conform to old rules. Having experienced so much, home life can seem to have stood frustratingly still.

On the whole, though, parents will be pleased to know that, for most students, relationships with their parents flourished rather than faltered during students’ first year away. The value of the family opinion is clearly something that stands the test of time.

Jo Hudson is planning director at Pretty Green