During your first year of college you will be juggling many new experiences: new friends, new living situations and conditions, new activities, classes and teachers. So, we’ve got a few tips for you to get ready for life on campus and make the most of it.

When you go away to college, you will definitely want to make sure you’re prepared. As you may be living on your own for the first time, try to get in touch with your roommate prior to college to check whether you’re both not bringing such large items like TVs, couches, or refrigerators: the duplicates will take up space and make for a less comfortable environment. Having a roommate is most people’s first experience living with someone 1)________. It comes with both benefits and challenges. You get an instant friend, someone to confide in and keep you company during your first time away from home. However, you chance to be matched with somebody you find challenging or don’t relate to right away. Either way:

– Make your preferences known from the start so you and your roommate are clear on what to do to handle misunderstanding. Establish some rules; what space is whose, when you need quiet time to study, which items you can share, what time you go to bed, if you like to sleep in on weekends and 2)________.

 – Practise open communication to help you in good times and bad. You can’t expect your roommate to be a mind reader, so if you get upset or frustrated, tell him about it right away to avoid conflicts.

 – Compromise whenever you’re dealing with the wants and needs of other people. When it comes to doing chores around the room, listening to certain kinds of music, watching different TV shows, and requesting privacy, reaching a compromise is the key. Even if you find yourself in a situation 3)________, moving out should be the last resort.

 Besides living away from home and making new acquaintances, a dominant part of college life is studying. The classes you choose and the attitude you face them with usually define your semester. The professors always strive to make their lectures relevant and interesting, that’s why even if you think the area of some study is not your future specialty, there are plenty of opportunities to learn something 4)________.

When a sophomore year comes to the end, many colleges require students to declare their major, which is a set of courses in a specific academic subject or professional field. To help decide what major to choose, do some self-evaluation and think about what you really love and what you’re good at. For some students, family, cultural or financial obligations play a big role in choosing 5)________, but you should also consider what will make you happy in life, not just what career you think would pay the most.

There is a lot of freedom in college: freedom to choose the person you want to be, the level of dedication to what you’re studying; freedom to choose what to eat and when, how to pass your time. It may appear a little overwhelming at first and there are such a lot of questions you have to ask yourself, but once you understand the answer to the question 6) “________?”, settling into your new home becomes so much easier.

to trust / to adapt / to try hard / to enjoy / to leave / to put together / to like or understand / to favour / to occupy / to accompany / to stay in bed until late

7. Imagine you meet a foreigner who studies at college. Think of some things you’d like to ask him about student life abroad, say in Britain and write down at least 5 questions. Listen to the recording and tick the questions you’ve heard the answers for.

8. Read the sentences below and try to complete them using the appropriate vocabulary.Listen to the recording and check your answers.

1) Education system in the UK is very interactive; the idea is ________ while you ________.

2) Students can choose to study ________, called “joint honours”, but most choose only one.

3) Most first year students live in university accommodation often known as ________.

4) ________ and ________, the students are entitled to, cover the cost of further accommodation.

5) Students who study and ________, need to balance it with the other commitments. But it is a good way to ________ income and ________ horizons at the same time!

6) UK universities have support facilities to help students improve their ________.

7) College and university traditions and rituals bind the student ________ and give ________.

8) During annual campus-wide entertaining events students work and ________, ________ with peers, ________ sport games ________ and ________ team chants.

9) Fresher’s Week is the time when students go to ________, social ________ and get ________.

9. Work in pairs. Make up some more questions about the text. Ask and answer them in turns. Which facts do you find most surprising? What are the similarities between British and Ukrainian college student life? What are the differences?

 WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE FUTURE

We use the Present Simple to talk about timetables, programmes or routines.

 E.g.: I start school at 8 o’clock every day. My school bus arrives at 7.45.

We use the Present Continuous to talk about arrangements.

E.g.: We are having a meeting of our student council members next week.

We use be going to to talk:

– about intentions, plans or ambitions for the future;

 – about predictions based on present evidence.

E.g.: I’m going to enter the university next year. I feel terrible. I think I’m going to fail.

We use will for:

 – decisions made at the moment of speaking;

 – predictions about the future, based on our beliefs, ideas, expectations, with the verbs I think, I believe, I hope, etc., the expressions be sure/certain, be afraid, etc., adverbs probably, perhaps;

– actions or events which will definitely happen in the future and which we cannot control.

E.g.: We will take end of the year exams in June. I feel terrible, I think I will fail. I won’t cheat anymore, please don’t give me a Fail. – Ok, I have to go! I’ll call you tomorrow!

12. Work in pairs. Imagine you have to make up your mind about which university to enter. Look through the list of university characteristics and discuss them with your partner. Which qualities will you consider prior? Explain your choices.

13. What are the top prestigious universities you know? Would you like to study at any of them? Do you know the entry requirements? Do some research and fill in the chart below. It will help you weigh all the pros and cons to choose your perfect university.