The hard work is done. The results are out. And, for those planning to continue with their education, all eyes are on the next stage – college life.

It’s a big change from the heavily structured regime of school, and, as with all change, it requires its adjustment. The transition from head honcho sixth years at secondary, to the new kid on the block freshman can be both thrilling and terrifying.

So, as a new adventure awaits, how can would-be students get the best from their college experience?

Well, we asked the real experts – students themselves – for their best tips.

Sam Kennedy is a communications student in DCU and is the chairman of the media production society. “I didn’t know anyone at all. I was totally on my own. The first two weeks I genuinely didn’t even talk to a soul in a lecture,” he explains. He recommends “being a yes person. Saying yes to any opportunities that come your way. People will often stop you on campus and say, ‘there’s an event on tonight. Do you want to come to this?’ It could be a society event. It could be a university event.

“I’d say yes. Talk to people. Meet people. Socialise like crazy ... It’s good to have friends. The first two weeks, at least, it was a very dreary lifestyle I was living, and I was really starting to second-guess college.”

Finding accommodation was challenging initially, too, and he says connecting with friends helped hugely in this regard. “I slept a bit rough in first year. A lot of the time I would end up sleeping on friends’ couches … I slept in the car once. Eventually, I made a friend in my course who had a free room in his apartment.”

He also suggests keeping an eye on other students’ social media, in case they post about rooms being available to rent.

Kennedy says he’s a big advocate for societies. “I think societies are the greatest thing you can do for yourself, coming into university. Otherwise, you’re just making yourself go to school for another three years”.

Freshers’ week is a big opportunity to sign up, he explains. “People will be joining those societies that have the same interests as you, which is very different to how school was.”

But what about the costs of all this? “Society life itself is relatively quite cheap. Sometimes, you might feel pressure, like people are going out after an event to go to the pub and have a few pints. That’s all extra. You don’t need to do that. There’s often free pizzas at events. I know in first year I was taking advantage of that.”

Eimear O’Neill is a third-year student of Medicinal Chemistry, and Chemistry Biology at UCD. She advises that students try to get involved as much as they can, “whether that’s in your course specifically, or in societies on campus”, reminding incoming students that there is something for everybody on offer. One of the advantages of joining societies specifically related to your course, however, she explains, is a great way to “meet other people that are in your course, that are even in higher years than you”.

“This might be a bit controversial,” O’Neill admits, but she says, “don’t focus all your time on your college work”.

She recommends instead trying to “make new friends” and enjoy some “socialising”. The college day is not as “intense as the secondary school day”, O’Neill continues, explaining that there are also ample opportunities to connect with other people during the day. “There are usually a lot of things on, on campus that you can go to…Don’t go into college with the mindset that you’re just there to learn. You’re also there to make new connections and learn new things about yourself as well.”

O’Neill also recommends trying to branch out beyond your existing friend group if it turns out that several of your friends are going to the same college.

Moving away from home can be hard, says O’Neill. “I remember when I first moved away, as soon as my parents left, I just started crying. It was very overwhelming.” Routine can help with this, she says. “It’s also nice to bring up things from home ... pictures of the family. Decorate your room if you can with things you’re familiar with, and things you like.”

Dan Fagan is education officer and International Business student at Setu Waterford. He recommends that incoming students “get involved as much as you can. If you treat college like a nine-to-five job, you’re not going to enjoy it.”

He accepts that for students who have jobs, things can be a little more challenging, but he adds it’s important to “get involved in the sports and societies. That’s where I made a lot of my friends in first year.”

He got involved in more of these in second year. “You can meet like-minded people”, Fagan says. Those who are naturally shy should take comfort in knowing that people are “very, very friendly on campus ... There’ll be open days for clubs and societies. All the clubs and societies will be in the main building … you can talk to them. They’ll talk to you. There’s something for everyone."

Fagan joined volleyball in college, in spite of never having played volleyball before and made many good friends through it. He believes attending orientation days is very important. “They do events there like speed friending … so you can get to know people on your course. If you miss orientation, you’re not behind per se, but your course would have already met as a group, with the course leads ... And in terms of knowing where the classrooms are, you’ll miss out on the campus tour”.

It is a lot of information that’s going to get thrown at you, says Fagan of orientation. “But that’s why the first week of college is a bit more lax.”

For students who may need some learning support at college, Fagan explains that Setu has an access office which “works closely with Student Life and Learning, and ourselves in the union to ensure that every student has the same experience…your education should be fun as well.” “It’s a two way system”, though, he cautions. “The college will promote it as much as they can, but it would also fall upon the students to even look into it themselves.”

Laura Campbell is a 33-year-old single mother of three and a mature student at Maynooth. She undertook an access course in Irish, in advance of studying to become a primary schoolteacher. “Because it was an access course, you were already greatly supported by the university”, she says.

“There were only two around my age, one in their 40s and the rest were late teens, early 20s. So, it was very different for me going in. I have three kids. I’m divorced. And my life was completely different to what theirs was. They would have stayed around after college and gone for a few drinks”.

Campbell says she and other students from her access course made a point of attending Freshers Week and getting involved. “We clung to that core group, which made it a little bit easier now we know faces, but it meant that we did go to the Bingo Loco, and if there was something on”.

She’s keen to point out, too, however, that mature students shouldn’t separate themselves from the younger ones. “It’s amazing to learn about different people and different backgrounds, and what you learn from them. Regardless of age gaps, you can still make good friends to help you through.”

Because Campbell wasn’t in a position to go out at night due to her family commitments, she sought out things that were available to her during the day. “On a Thursday, there would have been a mature students’, say 10-11, coffee morning. It’s just trying to put yourself out there to do that, which is the harder thing sometimes.”

Seeking out other people who have been mature students for advice is very helpful, Campbell believes. “There are supports, but you have to be willing to put yourself out there to ask for help. If you ask for help the first time, you’ll do it the second time.”