By Amber Hodson

If it’s your first time away from your parents, your home town and your childhood friends, university can be a pretty daunting experience. Don’t fret! Here are a few ways to make the most out of your first year, get to know a whole host of people and most importantly have fun!

Join a Society

Just like there are many different people at university, there are plenty of different societies to join and be a part of. Joining a society is a chance to get involved in something you feel passionate about and connect with others who share that same passion.

Each society has their own entry requirements (fees which are generally cheap as chips) and offer their members everything from quiz nights, meet and greets, pub crawls and much more!

To find the society/societies for you, just head over to the Society page.

Join a Sports Club

Sports bring people together and one of the best places to meet friends is sweating in twos on the treadmill – no, really! Manchester Met offers a whole range of clubs, free weekly activities and paid for activities. The university offers sports clubs and activities for both male and female students, so if you wish to stick with your ‘crew’ or your ‘girlfriends’ you can! The Active Campus activities are funded by Sport England and each activity is led by a dedicated activator.

Many of the sports clubs take part in regular competitions locally and nationally, competing against other universities for fame and glory. You could, or rather should, be part of that team!

Visit The Union Regularly

Both The Union and The Union Bar host regular events for students of MMU and even if you don’t have anyone to attend these events with, you will surely meet a whole host of people whilst there. Play pool, table tennis or have a go on the handful of PlayStation 4’s and Xbox One’s during the day and take part in quiz nights and other special events such as Comedy Central with Live during the evenings. Who would say no to bonding over a pint or two?

The Union Bar also serves food, so if you’re not the type of person who finds themselves drinking often you can always feast on a burger and chips!

Take Advantage of the Local Nightlife

Oxford Road is often full of club and bar representatives handing out leaflets to those coming and going from campus. These often contain deals on drinks and food and even free entry to events before a particular time. Grabbing these can sometimes be worth your while, we understand it can be extra clutter but who can say no to free shots!

If none of these venues take your fancy there’s lots of other places to visit besides, ask your fellow course goers or your neighbours if you’re in digs for some of the best places to spend your evenings and nights. There’s always one guy and gal who has been almost everywhere alcohol is served.

Take Advantage of What Your Course Has to Offer

There’s plenty to do outside of university but I bet you didn’t know that there’s plenty of things to do inside, including events to do with your course. From career and job events to special guest lectures, make the most of the often free things that come as part of being part of MMU.

Most of them will give you extra knowledge on the career path you’re taking and some are worthy of adding to your now expanding CV.

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Those are just a few ways to make the most out of your first year at MMU, do any second or third year students have advice for our new first years? Leave a comment below!