21 Feb 2017

If you’re heading to uni in the next couple of weeks, you’ve probably noticed the O-Week events that are popping up all over the place. Orientation week/s gives your uni the chance to welcome their new and returning students back from holidays and prep for the upcoming semester.

For you, O-Week gives you the chance to nosy around campus before classes start, stuff your pockets with as much free stuff as you can, meet new people and feel a little less anxious about your first day. Oh, and lurk all the cuties. So take advantage of O-Week and the buzz around it to reach out to new people and kick start your uni life with good vibes.

1. Fill your pockets with freebies

…Or grab a free bag (there’s bound to be a tote floating around that you can claim) and fill it up with all the stuff that sponsors, clubs, societies and faculties will be throwing at you for coming along to O-Week. Once you’ve finished stashing all your stuff, and your energy is taking a dip, look for the people and stalls that are giving out food and drinks that will keep you going for the rest of the day. What better way to celebrate the beginning of a mountain of debt by gathering as much free sugar, caffeine and stationary as you can?

2. Sign up for a campus tour

A lot of uni campus’ are scattered all over the place with buildings hidden down side streets and behind carparks. O-Week gives you the chance to poke around the grounds with someone who knows where they’re going and who will safely guide you through the ins and outs of your campus. This way, you’ll know where important buildings like the library and bathrooms are and you won't have to spend 20 minutes frantically running around on your first day trying to find your class.

3. Find your people

O-Week’s events, games and seminars mean you’re constantly surrounded by new people. From volunteers who are there purely to help get your uni experience off to a good start, to societies and clubs that are keen to find likeminded people to join, to the other newbies who are coming in fresh-faced, there’s the opportunity to meet someone who’s into the same stuff you are.

4. Get someone to check your enrolment

With a lot of uni’s embracing online enrolment, you can usually sort out your units and timetable without ever leaving the sanctuary of your bedroom. But for first years who might need help understanding unit guides and what credit points and classes are required for different degrees, O-Week gives you the chance to check your enrolment with someone who knows what you need to be doing to keep on track with your degree. This way, you won't have to stress about chopping and changing up your classes later down the track (or risk having to do an extra semester at the end of your degree)…

5. Win some more free stuff

While O-Week involves structured events and seminars, it’s also interspersed with a tonne of drop in competitions and games that give you the opportunity to hang out with people and win more free stuff (which, let’s admit it, is the single most important reason to attend O-Week in the first place and why it gets two mentions in this article). Keep an eye on your uni’s Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat ’cause you never know what’s hiding.