With classes kicking off for this year’s new college and uni students, it’s worth bearing in mind something that Stephen Fry (aka The World’s Wisest Man) once said: “Student life is not always the party people think it is.” Whether you’re feeling homesick, lonely or stressed out, Amy Johnston takes a look at where you can find help if everything gets a bit too much…
Counsellors
Counsellors are there when you need someone to talk to and typically encourage students to find their own solutions to problems. You can talk to counsellors about a range of issues, from relationship difficulties and exam stress to lack of confidence and loneliness.
They’re trained to recognise symptoms and can even refer you to an outside service for more specialised or intensive support. Basic counselling aims to help you make the most of your studies and is offered free of charge at the vast majority of universities and colleges.
If you would rather not speak face-to-face, many universities can offer an online counselling service. You can keep in contact via email or even instant messaging. Check out your designated uni or college counselling website to see if you can talk it out over the keyboard.
Where to look: Find your local counselling service at: www.student.counselling.co.uk/find
Advisor or studies
Make the most of drop-in sessions offered by your advisor of studies or course tutor. By keeping regular contact with your advisor, you can flag up any difficulties which might affect your performance in coursework and exams further down the line.
If you need to take time off due to illness or personal reasons, the best thing to do is to let your advisor know. They can keep a track of your absence if it needs to be taken into account when course convenors start to mark tutorials and written examinations.
Where to look: You will typically be assigned an advisor on your first week on campus. Make an appointment early to establish a connection so that you won’t hesitate to go back if anything crops up throughout the year.
Nightlines
However clichéd it may sound, a problem shared is always a problem halved. Over 90 universities and colleges across the UK have individual Nightlines run by trained student volunteers who are simply there to listen.
Whether you need to vent about arguments with flatmates, unload some academic stress or talk about money problems, the completely confidential and anonymous phone line is there for you throughout the night during term-time.
Where to look: Find your local Nightline at www.nightline.ac.uk/find-my-nightline
The Student Room
This forum is the font of all knowledge for any kind of student concern, question or random thought which might pop into your head. From talks about university courses to never-ending threads about the perils of working part-time in retail or how to deal with a break up, TSR offers endless discussions for you to pore over.
Where to look: Head to www.thestudentroom.co.uk if you feel like posting a question or just to read through other people’s experiences.
REMEMBER!
If things don’t feel right, don’t ignore it – reach out and make the adjustment to student life that little bit smoother.
