Moving to university is a big deal! We know that for a lot of you, it's the first time you’ve been away from home and the comforts there, so we’ve put together some advice to help you with this big transition.
Moving to university is a big deal! We know that for a lot of you, it's the first time you’ve been away from home and the comforts there, so we’ve put together some advice to help you with this big transition.
We understand that now that the excitement of Freshers' Festival has started to die down, you may be feeling a little down. The fact of the matter is that almost everyone will feel homesick at some point during their time at university, even people who were counting down the days until they moved out of home!
Our advisors have put together a list of five useful tips to tackle feelings of loneliness and homesickness.
Talk about it
It’s very likely that your new friends will be feeling homesick too, even if they seem like they’re doing perfectly fine. Sometimes all you need is to get your feelings out into the open and you’ll start to feel better as you support each other.
Have some fun!
If you can, try to keep your day busy with some fun activities. The busier you are, the less time you have to think about feeling homesick, and the more you’ll start to settle in and enjoy being away from home.
Our Give It A Go programme offers a huge range of events for all, like Pets As Therapy, where you can come and pet some furry friends, day trips around the UK, tons of movie nights or even different sports that you can try out. Make sure you check out their events programme below.
Give It A Go events
Join a Student Group
Missed out on the Freshers’ Fair? Not to worry! It’s not too late to join one of our fantastic societies or sports clubs If there is anything you feel very passionate about, like politics, a sport, writing, acting or so much more, why not see what they have to offer?
Student Groups
Make time for you
It’s important to make time for the things that make you feel good and relieve some stress. Go for a run, turn on music that you know makes you feel good, bake biscuits or watch your favourite film. Whatever it is, get it into your day. Even better if you can share your favourite things with a housemate or someone from your course.
Remember that it’s okay!
Feeling homesick or lonely is completely normal. You’re experiencing a massive change in your life and it’s totally okay to feel overwhelmed or miss things about your old routines. It’s likely that sometimes you will feel a bit down and nostalgic, so just try to remember that the people and places you love can still be in your life as you start to fill it with new friends, favourite places and activities.
Moving out isn’t the end, it’s just the next chapter.
While feeling a bit homesick from time to time is normal, if you’re finding that it’s stopping you from doing things you want or need to do, then look for some extra help.
There are services available at the University that you can reach out to for help, such as Wellbeing and Counselling.
In the evenings during term time, you can always chat to someone by calling London Nightline. London Nightline is a confidential advice centre run by trained students who are available to listen to whatever problems you have, big or small. They are open out of hours from 18:00 - 08:00 term time only. If you would like to speak to them you can contact London Nightline in these ways:
Alternatively, every student is entitled to use our Advice Centre at the SU. We are a free, independent and confidential service for all students here at Royal Holloway. Our friendly, experienced and professional staff will provide a listening ear and offer general and specialist advice. We’re here to support you with a whole range of issues, big and small, and if we’re not the best people to help you with a particular issue, we’ll point you in the right direction.
Email us at advice@su.rhul.ac.uk with any questions or to ask for a different meeting time.