By Jojo (Student blogger: BSc Hons Economics)
What does university mean to you?
Take a minute to think about this question…
Well, when people try to ask me about the university, the first thing jumps to my mind is ‘diversity’. Yeah, universities (especially British universities) are such diverse place that you will likely to have met your friends of life, the love of your life, the colleagues of your life and more! 
What does diversity comprise? Races, cultures, ages, personalities, activities, knowledge…
Races and cultures
If you’re expecting to meet people from all sorts of places, then coming to universities is probably the best option, so well done! You will see that the universities in the UK are welcoming rising numbers of international students, in another word, you will meet somebody that is not from the UK!!
Getting to know them will not make you regret, learning about their cultures will widening your horizon BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY you can ‘use’ them when you are travelling abroad.
Ages
Is there a limit on learning? No! Please always remember that everyone has the right to pursue their goals to know more about knowledge! Therefore, don’t get shocked when you know your course-mate is your uncle’s age!
Let me share one of my own stories. So my sixth form math teacher, whose literally the best maths teacher you could find on this planet, is now going back to university and studying a new subject at undergraduate level, given that he’s already had one degree and two masters… yeah, your ‘older’ mates could be substantially smarter than you, so don’t you dare judge them!
Personalities
What makes a good friend? Their personalities, right? Lancaster is packed with people who have wonderful minds, wonderful personalities, as well as the weird ones (yeah, you might want to leave those that are weird), go find people that you are most comfortable to be with!
Activities
There are a lot of activities for which you could do, not limited to societies and sports. How about reading a book in the library, if you’re not too busy? Volunteering? Fancy a walk around the campus? Spoiler: the running trail that goes around the campus is a place to begin if you are adventurous and want to try something new!
Knowledge
The university has students and staff that specialise in various areas of study. Knowing your course mates is great, but do also try to find people from different departments – you know that most of knowledge is transferable right?! For instance, I’m doing economics, although I’m pretty good with maths, I’m still trying to get to know as many physics and maths students as possible…
NB: if you’re a LUMS or FST student, then go to MASH if you need help with your maths!
BON COURAGE!