Hi! My name is Yasmin Sapoglu and I am a second year Information Technology Management for Business student at the University of Manchester. I am from Turkey and I came to Manchester as an international student in September 2021 to start my course. I will be talking about my arrival during Covid and my experience in this university for the past 2 years.

I chose to come to Manchester specifically for my course and the city. It’s just an amazing city for a student to live in as the student population is very high and there are a lot of opportunities throughout the year for students to socialise. The first time I came in I hadn’t seen the campus or my accommodation so I was really scared but I fell in love with the campus instantly. The university has various buildings across Oxford Road, there’s café’s restaurants, clubs all on one road. During school hours you only see students walking or taking the bus.

ITMB Social Bowling

I had to do a mandatory quarantine on my first year as my country was a red-listed country and had to come to the country all alone. The university helped by paying the whole quarantine fee and there was a lot of support available both on campus and online related to mental health issues or academic issues. You can stay in university accommodations or private accommodations and both have their advantages. I would suggest a first-year student to stay in a student accommodation as it’s a very good opportunity to meet lots of people. It’s completely normal to be stressed but you don’t have to worry because when you arrive you will realise everyone feels the same way as you do and you won’t feel alone. I would suggest joining societies relating to your interests/hobbies as it’s a great way to meet like-minded people. I joined the Turkish & Northern Cypriot society on my first year and it helped with feeling home sick as I met people from Turkey. I would organise dinners with my friends where everyone cooked their cultural food and I had the chance to meet so many interesting people and have amazing food.

I never could’ve imagined university could give a person such an intense sense of belonging. There are societies for everything you could ever be interested in, there’s work opportunities within the university or the university can help you find them, there are volunteering opportunities you can access through the Volunteer Hub. For incoming students, the best advice that I could give is to be involved in anything, of course without overwhelming yourself. I found myself a volunteering opportunity through the university and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made because I also had a chance to give back to the community and met people that felt the same way that I do. I realised I felt more fulfilled with myself. Learn about the opportunities the university presents you, the facilities they have, the awards you can achieve through your studies and do your best to be involved. All of these will make your experience so much more valuable because you will realise it’s not just a degree.

As you can see, I believe I’ve had an amazing first year. It’s not always easy to leave home but the experiences I’ve had, how much I’ve grown in the past year have made it all worth the decision I’ve made. The best thing you can do for yourself is to get the most out of it as the whole experience will make you grow so much as a person.

Written By Yasmin Sapoglu

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