How did you prepare for student life?

Johanna: After I received the university’s welcome packet with my semester ticket, enrollment certificate, and login information for my university IT account, I started looking for an apartment and luckily found something quite quickly using a referral agency. I entered my new address into the MOIN portal and then took care of financing my studies by applying for a BAföG loan (German Federal Training Assistance).

Vicent: I was mostly preoccupied with moving since I wasn’t able to move into my apartment until shortly before the semester began. But I did buy the most important things I knew I would need – notebooks and pens, a tablet, and a new backpack. I bought everything else in the first weeks of the semester, once I knew what was missing. I found important information about orientation week and the introductory events on the Uni-Start portal.

How was your start at the University?

Vincent: A combination of stress and fun, I’d say. Of course, it was a huge change, and there was a lot to process at once. I had to get books, sign up for tutorials, and take care of so many other things. But I also met many great new people during that time. I had to experiment with methods of studying and doing assignments until I found ones that worked well for me. It can be overwhelming until you’ve figured it out, but this is quite normal at the beginning and most people are likely to experience this.

Johanna: Attending orientation week helped me a lot. Upper-level students helped us first-year students create our schedule based on the degree curriculum. This was where I got to know the Stud.IP learning platform, which is used to register for classes and receive relevant information about them. Another helpful suggestion was to set up email forwarding from the university account to your private email address, so you only need to check one inbox.

What are things you wish you had known before your first semester?

Vincent: Don’t stress yourself out. No one at the university is trying to make life difficult for you. There is help available at every turn if you ask, and there are several places at the university that provide support. Establish a network as soon as possible – studying together is much easier than studying alone. But resist the urge to compare yourself to others. Your degree is for you, and if something doesn’t work out right away, it will in time. Usually everyone else is just as lost as you are. You can get it all done, even if it sometimes doesn’t seem possible at first.

Johanna: I also think it’s crucial to not compare yourself too much with others. Every subject is different and especially in law, the many preconceptions can be unnerving if you don’t feel at home at the beginning of your degree. But it’s not bad at all if you don’t immediately understand everything or don’t pass an exam the first time.

Ersti-Magazin

This text first appeared in the 2024/25 edition of the Ersti-Magazin. As a first-year student, the magazine can provide you with helpful tips for starting your degree and for the current semester. Find out first-hand from University of Bremen students where they like to study on campus, what their everyday student life is like, and what activities they are involved in. The latest edition of the magazine can be found in print on campus and can be downloaded online as a PDF (Download PDF, 3,94 MB, available in German only).