How do you settle back into university after having the time of your life on your year abroad? Or should I say after spending most of the year stuck in the UK in various lockdowns with ridiculous amounts of FOMO. I will be honest, I am still quite bitter about my disappointing failure of a year abroad. But that is not the point of this article.
Many students may feel apprehensive after returning from a year abroad or a leave of absence. Friends will have likely graduated, university life will commence again, and you will be left wondering how to reintegrate yourself.
Personally, when I returned to university this year as a fourth and final year (yes, I know I am old), it felt odd joining the year below me as final years. All bar one of my housemates in second year had graduated, alongside many course friends. For context, I study English Literature and French. So while many of my language friends have not left just quite yet, my English Literature friends have upped sticks to enter the big, scary world of getting a full-time job. I’m not going to lie, I feel a bit out of place taking English classes with those who would have been freshers when I was in my second year. But I have to admit it is a great way of making new friends.
Through this semester alone, I have made many friends with third and second years, and it is important to remember that you are not limited to only associating with those in your own year. My biggest tip to re-joining university after an extended period away is just to embrace the change. It might feel disconcerting at first, but you simply have to see it as another opportunity to enjoy your university experience.
However, if you are concerned that you will be left lonely, missing your ‘old’ university friends, here are some tips to make new (potentially better) ones:
Join societies
I cannot stress this enough, whether you choose to re-join a society you were a part of in previous years or push the boat out and try a completely new one, societies are a sure-fire way of finding new friends. So many people that I would consider close friends are ones that I have only made this year through getting involved in a society
Speak to people more
Let’s be honest, none of us want to speak to the person next to us in seminars (it is a big no from my anxiety), but it is a great way to find new friends on your course
Say yes!
While final year is tough and you will find yourself spending a lot of time in the library, you still need to balance this with the social side of things, through which you will inevitably meet new people
Another thing you may struggle with upon returning from your year abroad is the thing you went to university for, your degree. Many students from Modern Languages, in particular, do not study abroad, they often opt to teach with the British Council or source their own work placement. This can lead to students feeling very rusty with their essay writing (I have not written an English Literature essay in over a year!). However, we all (myself included), just need to remember that everyone returning from a ‘non-academic’ year abroad will be in the same boat. I would also hope that writing essays is like riding a bike, you are never going to forget how to do something that has made you cry at least once.
Moral of the story: enjoy and maximise the year abroad (trust me, I would love to switch places with you) because everything else will fall back into place when you return.
See also: How to ensure you get your university housing deposit back