5 things you should do at Welcome Week

1. Meet your faculty or school

First things first, don’t miss your faculty or school welcome. It’s where you'll learn all you need to know about your faculty and meet fellow students and academic staff.

Take notes on important locations such as your faculty or school office, key dates and the names of the staff who are here to help you, like your undergraduate coordinator. 

Read more Campus crash course: where to relax and lunch at uni.

2. Receive a royal welcome

You’re also invited to the official welcome to new students in the Great Hall, which is a great opportunity to meet your first-year colleagues and hear from our leaders. 

There are also several student welcomes that provide specific information, tips and advice relevant to particular cohorts, including:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
• students new to Sydney
• international students
• postgraduate students
• students with a disability
• mature-age students
• students enrolled through one of our alternative pathways programs.

Check out the Welcome Week schedule to find the welcomes that apply to you, and add them to your schedule. Don't forget to log in to your new university email and check for invites to other student welcome events. 

3. Educate yourself

Want to know how to get the most out of a lecture? Or get some tips on reading and research (there are more than 5 million books in the Fisher Library, after all)? How about brushing up on your essay writing and presentation skills, or learning how to find a casual job?

Throughout Welcome Week, we’ll be hosting more than 40 information sessions and workshops to help you with the skills to transition from school to University. You'll also find out about the support services available to keep you on track throughout your time here. Take the time to sort these things out now and save yourself the stress during a busier time of semester.

4. Get your bearings on campus

Did you know our main campus is so big it has its own postcode?

Welcome Week is a good chance to get your bearings so you don't go wandering into the wrong lecture theatre. Make use of our maps and directions before you arrive, and when you get here take some time to discover why our campus has been named among the top 10 most beautiful in the world.

You should also take the chance to visit our Student Centre, where our team can assist you with administrative matters like student cards, class timetables, examinations, and HECS and other fees. You’ll find it on Level 3, Jane Foss Russell Building on the Darlington side of our main campus.

Don’t forget to log into our Wi-Fi network for free unlimited access on campus using your Unikey and password.

5. Make new friends at Welcome Week

Once you’ve done all that, make sure you reward yourself with some fun, which is what the USU's Welcome Day Festival is here for. 

Australia’s biggest orientation festival is where you can join clubs and societies (there are more than 200 to choose from) enjoy free entertainment and pick up some goodies while you soak up the atmosphere of university life.

Got a question?

Don’t be afraid to ask. Feel free to approach your fellow students or our friendly staff wearing ‘Ask me’ badges and ask about anything you can’t find or figure out during Welcome Week.

Last updated: 15 January 2020