How to prepare for university life as an international student

Undergraduate ambassador Anushree shares her advice on what she did to prepare for university life as an international student.

Having made the firm choice to join Warwick Business School for your undergraduate studies, the next task is familiarising yourself with the student life, support services, and campus location. It is important to know about life at university as it makes you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed when you arrive on campus. Below are a few tips on what you could research before arriving on campus when commencing your education as an international student.

Living on campus

During your first year, you'll have the opportunity to live at one of the on-campus accommodations spread across the vast Warwick campus. Where you can choose out of multiple accommodations of your preference, such as Central Campus, Lakeside Village, Cryfield Village, or Westwood halls of residence.  The Warwick Accommodation website can help you decide which accommodation is the one for you as it provides lots of useful information such as the available amenities, and the size of the rooms and also shows a short video tour of each room. Additionally, when deciding on your accommodation it is important to keep in mind whether you want to live near to central campus or far from central campus as you will have classes in different department buildings. The interactive campus map enables you to see how far each of the accommodations are from your main department building.

Support and point of contact

Warwick provides a lot of support to its students, both academically and non-academically. As well as the dedicated Warwick Wellbeing Support Services that cater to the wellbeing of an individual, you have support from residential tutors at on-campus accommodations, lecturers, and seminar tutors to support you academically. You also have the Student Union to make your opinions heard and make student life more enjoyable at Warwick. Furthermore, you have additional support from personal tutors who are available to solve any concerns and doubts you have and are your first point of contact. It’s therefore necessary that you are aware of the different student support services available to students both on and off-campus.

Arriving on campus

Before arriving on campus for Welcome Week, I would recommend that you interact with the Student Opportunity Team to find out the best way to travel to campus from the airport and what documents you'll require when collecting your room keys from the University’s Senate House. It is beneficial to look at the Student Union website to know the events happening during Welcome Week and whether you need to book your place at any of the events. Take the time to settle into your accommodation and think of how you could make the most of your first week on campus and make new friends. It is also important to research how to set up your student bank account and where you can collect your biometric residence permit card after you arrive on campus.

Life outside of campus

The university campus is 20 minutes away from the nearest town, Coventry City Centre, and about 30 minutes from Leamington Spa. Whether you want to go shopping, enjoy different cuisines, or go out for social gatherings, both places have a lot of options to explore and make the most of life outside of campus. Moreover, Birmingham’s International Airport and city centre are also a 30-minute train journey from Coventry rail station. Short visits to these places gives you a chance to experience life in a city and provides you with the perfect opportunity to explore different parts of the UK.

Discover more about the Warwick Business School student experience on our Life at Warwick web pages.