The biggest fears I had before university – and why I didn't need to worry

23 June 2026

Daisy Thompson dancing with a friend, Falmouth University

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This article was written by Fashion Styling & Art Direction student, Daisy

Starting university can be a very daunting time – I know it definitely felt like that to me. There are so many new experiences and opportunities for you to embrace, people to meet and circumstances to get used to.

However, after just completing my first year at Falmouth University, I can confidently say that every anxiety I could think of before university has been eased in some way. I want to go through some of the biggest and most common worries about university to hopefully give you some peace of mind, reassure you that you’re not alone and show you that these don’t need to be scary things!

Making friends

So many people coming to university are worried about not making friends, and I was definitely one of those. Moving halfway across the country was daunting enough, and facing it alone was terrifying to me. However, this worry was dismissed within my first week at Falmouth. Whether it was introduction sessions with my course mates, Freshers' Week activities or even just people walking by, you have the opportunity to meet so many people in a range of ways.

You have to remember that everyone is in the same boat as you – we’re all just as nervous as each other! Freshers' Week was a really good icebreaker and an opportunity to get to know people. There's such a variety of events on that there will always be something for everyone. The live music evening was my favourite – it was hosted in the Stannary – the main restaurant on Penryn Campus – so it was within walking distance of accommodation which made it such a fun and easy night out.

The nightlife was a worry of mine before coming to university, as I wasn’t sure if there was much going on, but I had no reason to be concerned about this. Falmouth isn’t your typical city university, so it’s not full of big nightclubs and bars, but instead it has such a variety of venues, pubs and gigs – every night out is different which is what I love. Of course, you can’t forget the summer evening barbecues on the beach either!

Living away from home

My biggest concern with accommodation at university was learning to live with people who I hadn’t met before. I felt quite daunted at the prospect of sharing with others and not knowing if I would even get on with them. However, I soon learnt that this wasn’t something to fear. If anything, living in halls ended up giving me some of my closest friends.

It works both ways – you can become really close with the people you live with and align your routines with theirs, but equally it’s very easy to still maintain that privacy and alone time that you have at home. Halls allowed me to balance these two things, which also helped me to look after my own wellbeing.

My favourite thing about shared halls was cooking together with my flatmates – even if we were cooking our own meals, we made the effort to do this at the same time so we could sit and eat together like family. It’s such a small thing, but it can make all the difference, especially when you’re feeling homesick. The key for me was to make university feel like home as much as possible, and these small acts were exactly what I needed.

Money management

Financial worry is sadly a massive stress that so many university students face. It definitely scared me and felt like a huge, constant weight on my shoulders. To combat this, I made sure to budget carefully.

Food shopping was the main priority for me – making sure I had enough in the flat to keep me fuelled for the week ahead. Every Saturday, my flatmates and I would do a group online food shop to be delivered on Sunday. I planned out each of my meals for the week using online recipes that I knew I could cook easily and which would be cost-effective, with leftovers that I could eat over several days. This allowed me to control how much money I was spending on groceries and get the most out of the food I was buying. It also gave me some routine and structure to my outgoings, allowing me to track my budget more easily.

I was able to get a job as a Student Ambassador, which gave me work opportunities alongside my studies and some extra money to put towards living expenses. Managing your own finances as a student can feel very overwhelming at first, but as long as you set aside a little time each week to plan ahead and keep an eye on spending, it becomes a much smaller worry.

University is a huge change and a brand new experience, but it should be exciting – not scary. Remember that the university is there to support you every step of the way, and that everyone is nervous to begin with. Don’t let worries like these consume your thoughts, because by the end of first year, you’ll wonder why you were ever worried at all.