10th March 2010 | The Urbanest Team | Comments [0]
Why International Students Need a Support Network
It can be a daunting experience moving from a small town to the ‘big smoke’ to attend university. There are not only all of the usual challenges that come with the transition from high school to uni, but there’s also the big adjustment of moving to a place where you may have few, if any, friends or family close by.
To help you settle in and feel at home, it’s important to establish a great support network to not only see you through the rough times, but also to help you celebrate your achievements.
Becoming friends with other students within your shared student accommodation can have great financial benefits too. Being from ‘out-of-town’, you probably don’t know about that great little coffee stand that’s open until all hours, or that you can get excellent second-hand textbooks from that little boutique store just down the road.
Through your university experience, you will meet other students from all over Australia and the world, so now is good time to make lifelong friends. Make sure you take the opportunity to mingle with others before and after lectures, and in the common areas of your student accommodation.
If you are shy, as an ‘out-of-towner’, you have the perfect opportunity to reinvent yourself. No one knows those embarrassing moments that happened to you at primary and high school unless you tell them, so be brave and try to talk to a range of people from all areas. A good support network should offer someone who can help you out in all areas of your life. One friend might perhaps be a great shoulder to cry on, whilst another may be a fun, happy, creative soul for those times you need to relax from all the stress of studying at university.
Many first-year university lectures dedicate a small portion of time to get to know the people sitting near you. This is an opportunity to find people who are residing within the same student accommodation or close by and studying the same subjects as you. It is a great way to meet friends who could become study partners or form a study group.
Best of all, a great support network means that even if one friend is busy with an exam or studying, there will be someone else available to offer a friendly ear and some kind advice if you need it.
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