What % of nottingham uni freshers struggle in first weeks/months?

[hursty900]

impossible question I know, but seeking some anecdotal feedback - good & bad- on how the first few weeks of freshers really is. Ideally at Nottingham uni - but all experiences welcome! Is it more normal than not for kids to just get stuck in & adapt easily? It was for me/ my cohort decades ago but seem to hear a lot about them struggling & being lonely nowadays??

Can anyone help please?

If she refuses to go back today, what do I do? Do I contact the university and ask if she can have some support?

I'm aware she's an adult - she's 19 - but I cannot continue to be the only person who she talks to about her anxiety. I have no family to support me, my 20+ year marriage broke down earlier this year (he had an affair and also domestic abuse) and I cannot carry all this by myself anymore.

TIA

This sounds very hard. She must contact a tutor and explain her situation. Universities want to make it possible for students tips manage. Is it Nottingham? I don’t know if the strike is affecting things, if it is. But can she arrange a call with a personal tutor or the head of year or the convenor of the programme. Usually there is a lot of information on the department website if she does not know who is who. Ultimately this is about the course and learning and the other stuff has to slot into place around that - hard as it is, I have been there too. 1st year is very alienating for some.

My experience as a fresher in both 2013 and 2025 was that about 80% just got stuck in and 20% didn’t. Of that 20% I’d say about half wept and wailed and left after about 4 weeks. The other half struggled along and locked themselves in their room the whole year.

Of course in 2025, I was a mature student (30) so I didn’t get the same view as in 2013. I wasn’t in dorms so it may be different. Many many students didn’t come to class in the first weeks for some reason despite it being a legal requirement (healthcare course) so clearly something is wrong now.

Also the hangover anxiety isn’t going to be helping any of them. I’d encourage sober day time socials through the students union etc. mental health can plummet when you’ve drunk alcohol every day for two weeks because your nervous system is fucked.

It is Nottingham, yes. She emailed her tutor to let him know that she was going home for a few days as unwell, and was looking at some lecture slides and things over the weekend.

Thing is that she threw herself into Fresher's Week - possibly a bit too much, then got ill. I thought it was likely a 24 hour bug and that she'd be back on her feet quickly. One of the reasons I encouraged her to come home was that she was frustrated that she wanted to do social things, but felt too ill. I could hear that being stuck in a small room with flatmates going out having a good time was awful.

I do honestly think that if she had felt well last week, she would have started building the routines and connections that she needs. It was crappy timing, but I don't want her to throw away all the effort she has made.

Yes, she's had a break from alcohol for a week, which was needed.

Freshers Flu is really common. I got strep throat in 2013. She won’t be the only one. Tell her it’s an expected part of the experience - thousands of young people from all across the globe all bring their germs and viruses together that one another don’t have defences against and then they lower their immune systems through drink, exhaustion and sometimes snogging.

Hence freshers flu happening every year.

Completely agree, and she knew all about Fresher's Flu before she went.

I guess neither of us factored in having a temperature for nearly a week - I was thinking more 24 hour bug type thing.