Congratulations on getting an offer to York. Getting an offer is an amazing achievement and you should feel very proud of yourself! My name is Maisie, I am a first-year student studying Psychology in Education and a member of Vanbrugh College. In this blog post, I will be discussing the importance of post-offer visit days, life before starting York and the collegiate system as well as having a disability while attending university.
Disability at University
As someone with severe dyslexia, I was nervous that I’d be academically out of my depth when starting uni. Especially at a top Russell Group university such as York. I felt much more relaxed when I was contacted in June about forming a student support plan (SSP). This is a set plan which is written and distributed to all my lecturers and tutors. This provided me with additional support such as extra time and a grammar sticker, allowing me to achieve my full potential at university. When I started university, my supervisor contacted me within the first two weeks; something I thought was really impressive. This allowed me to feel less stressed about the workload and my academic ability. My supervisor spoke to me about learning with dyslexia and how he could assist me in my studies.
Getting involved before you arrive
There are many ways to get involved with life at York before coming to university. Make sure you follow the York social media pages, including the individual college web pages. Before too long, relevant content will be posted for your years’ intake. Social media is a great way to meet people and get involved! Also take a look at the YUSU website (York University Student Union), here you will be able to get up to date information about freshers week, the freshers fair and look at the wide range of clubs and societies that York has to offer. As well as the individual colleges, YUSU put on their own clubbing and non-clubbing events throughout the year. My favourite so far have been the Viking Raid and Freshers Festival, both were really enjoyable and great ways to bond with your flat.
Post-offer visit days
Post-offer visit days are a crucial way of finding out whether York is the right place for you. Due to the COVID pandemic, the post-offer visit day I attended was online. Despite this, I found it remarkably helpful, with interactive sessions about my course and information about picking colleges, student support and general FAQs about University. It was at this post-visit day that I realised I’d love to come to York, so I’d strongly advise that you attend in person or online. Due to COVID and not being able to visit the campus as a set offer-holder day, me and my friend came to visit York in the holidays. This was also a great experience allowing me to explore the beautiful campus and get a feel for what university is like.
When attending a York post-offer visit day, I would recommend asking as many questions as possible. If you are wondering about something, somebody else is too – no question is a silly one! You want to know whether York is the right place for you and the best way to do this is through asking questions. I would also recommend talking to fellow students, they are going to give you the most honest response. I learnt a lot from speaking to student ambassadors, they also gave me information about freshers week, and general life at York.
Choosing a College
People often ask what the best college is at York, essentially the answer is the college that you are a part of. The collegiate system is one of my favourite parts about York. It was one of the things that really drew me to the University. There are many questions to ask when you are picking a college. For example, do you want to live on Campus West or East? Some people like rolling out of bed before their lectures whilst others like that separation between work and home. Answering this question helps to narrow down your options. The next questions are: do you want to be catered or self-catered? Have an en-suite or shared bathroom?
There are many options to choose from which also take budget into account. Your college is a great support system and is an amazing way to meet people. There are many college stereotypes, the majority of which are untrue, so don’t allow this to affect your choice. Take a look at the accommodation web page, this will help assist you when choosing your college!
Coming to university is a nerve-wracking yet exciting time! I always say that nothing will ever fully prepare you for life at university, however the opportunities that York provides such as the help from STYCs/STYMs (Second and Third Year Contacts/Mentors) on freshers week to the post-offer visit days makes the transition between school and University that little bit easier and I would strongly encourage you to take up all the opportunities offered to you. I wish you the best of luck in your exams and look forward to meeting some of you on the post-offer visit days and maybe even next year!!
