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Our top five tips for a great start to your life at York College

The transition from school to college can feel daunting - that's is completely normal. We want you to get off to the best possible start in your new environment, so we’ve put together some handy tips to help you settle in and get the most out of your experience.

Travelling to College

Keep in mind that your journey to College may take longer than that of your journey to school.

It’s a good idea to consider how you will get to College and how long this might take you. Perhaps even do a trial run ahead of your first day.

Exercise contributes to your physical and mental wellbeing and so we would encourage students to walk or cycle to College where you can. Don’t worry if this isn’t possible, we operate a 15-route bus timetable. Use our bus route mapper by clicking here to find your nearest College bus stop.

Travel & Transport | York College

Be prepared

Now is a good time to start thinking about what you need to prepare before your first day with us.

For some courses, your tutor may have assigned some preparatory work for you to complete over the summer. To check if you need to complete any studies click here. Preparatory Work for September 2022 | York College

It’s a good time to collate any equipment or uniform that will be required for your course. We’d recommend checking with your course leader before making any purchases, but information on this can be found here.
Uniform & Kit Lists | York College

Explore

Get to know your new surroundings and where to find resources that will help you with your studies.

Our Learning & Research Centre is located at the heart of College and you will find there a variety of books, journals and other useful materials to support your studies. Adjacent to these resources you will also find areas for group and individual study along with PCs where you can access Office365 and the full Adobe Suite.

Can’t find that particular book or journal you’re looking for? You can find our Learning & Research help desk on level 2. Alternatively, you can reach them at lchelpdesk@yorkcollege.ac.uk

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Eva, Electrical Installation student in the workshop

Allow yourself time

Sometimes change can be unsettling - we understand that. That’s why we assign all our students a Progress Coach who will arrange to see you once a week for both group and one-to-one tutorials to discuss a wide range of subjects including your mental health and wellbeing. This is a great opportunity for us to check in on your progress and offer you any support you may need.

Need to speak to us sooner? Don’t feel like you need to wait. The team is always on hand in the Your Experience Hub which is located on the ground floor behind our Welcome Desk.

Get involved!

You don’t come to College just to study, right?

We understand there are so many things that make up your whole college experience and we want it to be a fantastic one for you. Coming to College is a chance to develop existing friendships as well as make new ones. You’ll be studying subjects you love with other like-minded students so this is a great chance to make new friends for life. Get involved and take that first step to join in on conversations.

Why not join our Student Union? This is your chance to have an input in the decisions that are made around College as well as help organise social and sporting events.

Another great way to make new friendships is to get to know people who enjoy the same things as you. At College we have a range of extra-curricular activities. Details of these will be shared with you very soon.

Head to the York College website, where there’s lots of useful information about getting the most from your learning experience