Freshers’ Fair: the most exciting event in your first week at university. You show up, armed with your new tote bag and the flatmates you met the day before You are ready to see what your university has to offer and you’re met with a jam-packed hall filled with students and promise. It really is brilliant.
However, despite its name, Freshers’ Fair isn’t just for first years. Students of all year groups are welcome and it’s never too late to join a society. Plenty of people join well into their second, third, or final years! Due to the pandemic, this year’s Freshers’ Fair at my university was the busiest it has ever been. People of all year groups came to see what societies they could join, having not been able to get involved during lockdown.
Here is a brief guide to Freshers’ Fair and what you can expect.
Two words: FREE STUFF
You heard me, Freshers’ Fair is FULL of free stuff and, if you aren’t leaving with two canvas bags packed with post-it notes, bottle openers, key chains, and stress balls, you have completely failed. Every stall will have free things to take, ranging from knick-knacks to snacks, and sometimes you can actually nab yourself some pretty sweet deals.
Various companies will have stalls at Freshers’ Fairs, and in my first week of uni I got myself six months of Amazon Prime for free (in exchange for signing up I got a free Krispy Kreme donut), a free pair of pants from Victoria’s Secret, and a crazy amount of Domino’s pizzas at a massively reduced rate.
Societies
The main purpose of the Freshers’ Fair is to introduce you to the exciting range of societies that your university offers. At my Freshers’ Fair I saw everything from Occult Society, to Battle Re-enactment Society, Tea Society, and Sky Diving Society. There really is something for everyone! You can join societies at pretty much any time throughout the year. But this is the best chance to see what’s out there and ask questions.
My advice would be to not pay for any memberships at the fair. Instead, add your name to the mailing list, take a look when the welcome meeting or introductory session is, grab a flyer, and have a look at all your options when you get home. As amazing as everything might look, doing hundreds of societies isn’t feasible. They can be expensive and you do have to make at least some time for your studies.
Don’t be afraid to ask the people running the stalls questions! As someone who has been the person sitting behind the desk, we are over the moon when fair-goers want to chat about our society.
Take in the information
Freshers’ Fair is fun. But it is also a great chance to get important information that could serve you well over your next few months at university.
Often, the fair is where you can get information about your campus safety programme, your nearest GP surgery, and online services and apps used by the university. Some Freshers’ Fairs even have free bike checks. That is something you should take advantage of if you have brought one to university.
Your guild officers (students elected by other students at the university to run the Students’ Union) are also likely to be at events during Freshers’ week. So this could be a great time to meet the people who are representing you.
See also: Who to meet during freshers’ week