Transitioning to University from college/sixth-form can be an exciting but daunting prospect. All Universities are slightly different and it can be hard to know what university is like until you get there. This article aims to give you a realistic view, based on things students told us they wish they had known. Moreover, we will draw upon some key differences from school/sixth-form to consider.

“I am terrified of going to university, particularly in a city far away from home because I strongly dislike change to my routine.”
(Student considering applying for university).

“I had a really good experience at university. I had more control over my environment so I was much happier there than at school. There was a strict timetable at school but during breaks there was no schedule at all – I didn’t know how to deal with that. But at university I could control my own time much more.”
(Michael, former student).

Studying at University is a new experience for everybody. Whilst all students look forward to the prospect of becoming more independent; the reality of making new friends and getting used to a new environment and way of studying, can be challenging and takes time to get used to.

One of the best (and in some ways scariest!) things at University is that nobody checks up on you or tells you what to do. At University you will find that a lot of your study is self-directed and relies upon being independent and self-motivated. You will be responsible for planning when you are going to work, managing your own workload and conflicting deadlines.

Typical challenges students who took part in the Autism&Uni survey, conducted by Leeds Beckett University, included:

• Time management which is one of the biggest problems, especially during the first year when everything is still new.
• Coping with large amounts of learning material, with lots of variation, that needs dealing with quickly and efficiently.
• The new social environment – new tutors, other students, the people you live with, etc…
• Life skills – laundry, cooking simple meals, budgeting, keeping up with uni info (social media channels and your university email once set up – don’t ignore it as it’s the only way the uni will get in touch when you start), sorting out a student bank account, getting a doctor close to uni, managing technology (back everything up!).
• Finding your way around campus – campus maps exist, but sometimes it’s a good idea to use spare time allowing yourself to familiarise yourself with the buildings you need to visit, and getting lost is OK.

Some other differences between School and University

• You will be responsible for completing the processes to reach out for support. At the University of Southampton, the Student Disability and Inclusion Team will proactively reach out to students who have shared a diagnosis before starting University, however, if you require ongoing support or help or a general review of support, you are required to contact the team. You can request a review appointment if you’ve met with the team already or a registration appointment if you’ve never met with the team. You can request these by following this link. You can also visit the Student Hub in person (Building 37, Highfield Campus), call 02380 599 599 or email studenthub@soton.ac.uk to speak to someone.
• If you require support with your Wellbeing, you can access the team via the routes listed above or contact them via the online chat.
• The Student Wellbeing team are available 24/7 365 days a year.
• At school and college, you might have been supported by the SENco (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and assisted with things like additional exam adjustments. At University, we can still review implementation of exam adjustments, but it is important to note, they won’t automatically get put in place, even if you have had them before. You would need to contact the Student Disability and Inclusion Team to discuss this.
• You might have had something called an EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan) in place at school. These are not produced at University. However, Specialist Practitioners can produce a ‘Student Support Recommendations’ document (known as an ‘SSR’) following a meeting with a student and review of supporting information. These documents will be shared with your faculty and any relevant stakeholders and will detail recommended reasonable adjustments to be implemented.
• If you would like your parents to be able to liaise with us on your behalf, you would need to complete a third party consent form. Because of data protection regulations, we could not discuss aspects of support with family members/carers unless this has been completed.
• None of the information about support or adjustments received at school will automatically transfer to University, this would have to be sent to Student Disability and Inclusion Team/shared with us in your appointment.

“I have problems managing my life and I struggle to plan. Anyway, the great responsibility of independent work seems difficult. I make time for school, but I’m at home.” (student considering applying for university)

“The standard reply is that figuring things out for yourself is a crucial part of the university experience. For people with autism it’s simply a giant waste of time and extremely inefficient. There is no safety net in place to check in on students and their progress. Even something as simple as a check to see whether or not they have shown their faces at lectures or the campus in general for some time would be a big help.” (student from Leeds Beckett)

You are given coursework, obviously, but often with long deadlines, and while lectures and tutorials have sign-in sheets, nobody calls home if you don’t turn up.  Your calendar is your friend, and if you use an online one (and often universities use Google Calendar so you can put everything in that) then you can get reminders on your phone/computer.

• Book Specialist Study Skills Sessions with the Student Disability and Inclusion Team help with time management, organisation and other practical study advice.
• Organise a Student Support Appointment with the Student Disability and Inclusion Team to discuss potential support available to you.
• Organise your workspace – use a fixed workplace to study, or go to the library. Find a place where you are distracted as little as possible. Make sure that there is only stuff on the desk or table that you need for studying – no distractions!
• Manage your time – try to figure out on what activities use your time ineffectively and minimise these. Plan your day so that e.g. chatting on social media and web browsing does not take up more than 1 hour, get up and start studying earlier in the morning if you are planning to go out in the evening, etc.
• Cope with bad days – there are days when nothing works, e.g. you cannot find the solution to a problem in the assignment, you cannot focus on the task, etc….STOP! Go out and get some fresh air, go to the gym or the cinema or something else you enjoy. Sometimes you simply need a distraction.
• Routine – devote regular time periods to your work. It stops things getting too last minute and panicky.
• Look after yourself – eat and drink healthily and regularly, shower regularly, wash your clothes, get some exercise and make sure you have enough sleep.
• Get going – sometimes it’s difficult to get started with your work when you know it’s not due in for a while. “Free writing” can help – it doesn’t matter if what you’re writing is rubbish, just make yourself write for 10 minutes and you might find it easier to get on with it. There are other tricks you can employ like filling a Word document with headings, subheadings and bullet points and turning those into sentences and paragraphs.
• Be part of uni life – Everything is social at uni, which can be tough for some. Your life will feel connected to others outside the family much more than at school or work, and you will see fellow students everywhere, so if you live at home or like to stay in your room then try to spend time around campus outside of lectures.

1. If you have moved out of home, can you cook simple meals, do your laundry and manage your finances? – We would recommend you practice shopping for and cooking simple meals prior to coming to University, make sure you have a plan for managing your laundry and housework. If you are able to, plan your budget and develop a plan for managing your money before coming to University but if not don’t worry, support is available through the Student Hub.
2. Do you know how to use the calendar function on your phone or computer and can you synchronise it with the university system? – The IT Help Desk at the University’s Hartley Library could help with these kind of queries if you are stuck.
3. Do you need support with time management, note-taking or reading academic material? – You can access workshops and online resources to help with gaining study strategies through Specialist Study Skills provided by the University of Southampton and/or the Academic Skills Hub.

Which? guide to universities – find out about contact hours and more

What to expect in your first week at uni

Things you need to know about uni

Article originally published by Autism&Uni on 15th December 2015.

Updates made by Beth Lawson, University of Southampton (June 2025).