You've seen the usual tips for freshers - take a doorstop for when you're wanting to chat with your flatmates, get out of your comfort zone and try an unusual society, actually attend (at least some) lectures - but here are some things you might not have considered when starting your uni life!
Choose an ethical bank
We are called to do good with our finances (1 Timothy 6:17- 19), to love our neighbours, and care for creation. So we think it's important to choose a bank whose ethics and views align with your own! Money is a powerful thing, and you want to make sure yours is used to invest and support businesses and dealings you agree with. Money makes the world go around, after all!
- Look out for ‘perks’ from high street banks. Many of the big banks will have perks to draw you in, whether this is cash, discounts or railcards. But look out! Often these perks come with ethical and environmental issues.
- Check the Ethical Consumer Guide which outlines which banks are ethical.
- Use the SCM bank switching resource on our website if you already have a student account and want to switch to a better one!
- Check out Just Money’s resources on banking with your faith in mind.
Find an Honest Church
A lot of churches don’t let on whether they are affirming and welcoming of LGBTQ+ people. And, although all churches welcome women, some don't let on about the ways in which they limit the roles of women in church. Everyone needs to be able to find the right place to worship and grow as a Christian in safety. Honesty is the beginning of being able to do that! When you're looking for a church at uni, use our Honest Church resources to ask the church leadership where they stand on issues of LGBTQ+ welcome and women's roles, so that you know from the get go what you're getting in to. Find the Honest Church toolkit and all the resources you'll need over on the Honest Church website.
Join (or start!) an SCM Community
If you're a Christian who wants grow as a thoughtful disciple, belong to an inclusive, queer-affirming community, challenge injustice locally and globally, and explore a progressive faith, then an SCM community is the place for you! All of our communities look different - some meet on campus, some are connected with a church or chaplaincy, some are more of a network of like-minded students and recent graduates - but you'll find a warm welcome at all of them! We currently have active SCM communities in Glasgow, Sheffield, Durham, Keele, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry & Warwick, Cambridge, Essex, Exeter, Southampton and Brighton. No community at your uni? No problem! We currently have people on the ground interested in starting groups in Bristol, Oxford, Plymouth, Leeds, and Nottingham. If you're at uni somewhere else, you can either get in touch about starting a group, or join SCM as a National member. Either way you'll be connected in to a movement of like-minded, progressive students.
Check in with your Chaplaincy
Your uni chaplaincy is a brilliant place to check out whenever you get a chance! They'll often run specific freshers events or drop-ins where you can get to know your chaplains and meet other students, and you're always sure of a really warm welcome. If they have a dedicated chaplaincy building, there will often also be space for prayer, meditation, and a moment away from it all. Chaplains are there for pastoral care and faith-support, and are just all-round brilliant folk who would love to meet you!
Breathe!
And time for an obvious one.... don't forget to breathe! Starting uni can be exhausting, exciting, terrifying, overwhelming, and brilliant, and that's all in the first week. Give yourself time to adjust, and take time to rest when you need it (FOMO is real, but so is sleep-deprivation!). You've got this!