Student societies I’ve joined

The greatest advice I can give anyone starting university is to immerse yourself in student societies. Especially at the beginning of the year, it’s a great way to meet people with similar interests to you. The sports and society fairs in freshers week will show you the huge range of societies at uni, and I ended up following loads of them on Instagram to find out when their taster sessions were. The taster sessions for each sport/society are free and a great opportunity to try things that you never have before, like I wanted to give kickboxing a go (turns out it wasn’t for me but I’m still glad that I went and tried it).

The main societies I am a part of are MathSoc, Tennis, Benchball, IndianSoc, SwiftSoc and TeaSoc. They’re all completely different to each other so I have the opportunity to talk to so many different people.

Out of all of them, MathSoc is the society I’ve been involved with the most. The main aim of the society is to make friends on your course and show the different people and services that students can go to if they need any help with their work or university life in general. The family scheme is a huge part of this- as a fresher, you can get put into a maths family with a group of other freshers and two older students as “parents”. My maths parents were amazing, and this was the main way I got closer to my coursemates. We met up weekly as a family at our parent's house, sometimes for MathSoc events like bar crawls, or even for smaller things like movie nights and mini golf. It was also so useful to have friends that you can go to if you’re stuck on a question, some in the same year and others in the year above.

Other events that MathSoc put on include bowling, pizza quizzes, karaoke, a trip to Coniston, and the Maths Ball (which just happened last week and is a great way to relax just before exams!). Also, I am part of MathSoc Netball, and recently we had a match against our lecturers!

I’ve always enjoyed playing tennis, so when coming to uni, I couldn’t wait to play against people at my level. Even though I’m not on the BUCS team, I still have the opportunity to play matches against other universities and play in tournaments against BUCS players. Everyone is super friendly and welcoming- I’ve met some of my closest friends from it!

Even if you aren’t particularly sporty, I’d still recommend joining a sports society for the social aspect of it. Benchball (yes the sport from year 9) has been an amazing way to meet people that I never would have otherwise. I always had it just after a lecture, so it was a great excuse to chat, run around a bit, and unwind before heading home for the day.

Whatever your interests, there will be a society for it and you will find other people who share that interest with you, and I definitely found this with SwiftSoc. I didn’t realise there would be enough Taylor Swift fans to make a whole society! There was bracelet making, movie nights, and karaoke (we filled up the entire Indie lounge!). Another society I’ve loved being a part of is IndianSoc, which has so many events throughout the year- I went to the meet-and-greet, some club nights (collaborating with other universities in the West Midlands) and the Diwali Ball. TeaSoc is completely different- it’s simply a society where you get to try lots of different types of tea!

There are other societies where I’ve only been once or twice with a friend throughout the year. This varies from mug painting with CraftSoc, to watching the Wizard of Oz by PantoSoc, ultimate frisbee, and painting with ArtSoc. So even if you aren’t a regular member to these societies, they still welcome you throughout the year!

Overall, there is a massive variety of societies that you can join, so no matter what you like, you’ll be able to find people who share those interests and make friends for life!