Welcome to Wentworth! No images? Click here Happy Friday! We're looking forward to meeting you soon.In today’s email, we’ll be covering what you can expect for your arrival day and your first week(s) here at York - including how to buy tickets to your official Welcome events. Plans will vary between the colleges, so make sure to refer to the information we share with you directly when planning your journey to arrive here, and purchasing any event tickets. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our Things to Do First lists we shared with you last week. A warm welcome from your college teamWelcome to Wentworth Graduate College! As a team, we work together to make sure that every student in Wentworth is welcomed to their new community and is able to make the most of their time at University - whether you are living in our halls on campus, or renting privately elsewhere and commuting in. We’ll also be the hosts of your official Welcome events - read on below for more. We will be your first point of call for support with whatever issue you may be facing. If you ever need to contact the team, send us an email at wentworth@york.ac.uk. So that we can get to know our new students and respond to any worries you may have, please complete our college pre-arrival survey. Feeling excited? Follow us on social media, and check out our official homepage for more information about your new community! Meet your flatmatesIf you will be living on campus, you will shortly receive an invitation to join a google classroom for your accommodation block. By accepting this invitation link, please note, you are agreeing to your name and email address being shared with the rest of your accommodation block. This will help you to find flatmates and you can then set up your own group chats using whatever medium you prefer. However, we do ask that you check back on your google classroom for official announcements from your College Team as we approach your check-in date, during welcome week and beyond. If, for some reason, your accommodation plans change, we ask you to let us know and remove yourself from the google classroom. Official Welcome events - residents and non-residentsWentworth Graduate College will be the host of your official Welcome events, in partnership with the University of York’s Students’ Union. Together, we’ve planned a range of events throughout September to help you settle in, meet new people, and explore what York has to offer, so there’s sure to be something happening whenever you arrive in York! Every member of Wentworth is welcome to join us, whether you live on campus or rent privately elsewhere. Discover the range of tickets and bundles available for Wentworth Graduate College members below, or keep an eye out for emails from York SU for more information. As mentioned in our first message, these are the only University-endorsed events, and we recommend that you only use links we share with you to avoid scammers. When to arrive - residential and non-residential studentsMany postgraduates will be asked to start arriving on campus from Monday 9 September 2024 onwards. However, depending on where your accommodation is based, this may vary - please check your individual contract for your specific arrival date and time. If you have confirmed accommodation through a University managed provider (such as Student Castle) your arrival date and time will be determined by the start date on your official accommodation offer. If you have any questions about your accommodation offer, please email accommodation@york.ac.uk and wentworth@york.ac.uk to keep everyone informed. Frequently asked questionsWhat if I can't get there for that date? What if my accommodation start date is later? While we encourage all students to take part in welcome activities to help settle into University life, these are not mandatory for your degree, and you will not be penalised for missing them. However, all students are expected to arrive in time for Week 1 of the academic semester, which begins on Monday 23 September 2024. Some courses may run introductory sessions in the week prior to this. If you have any questions, or if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to arrive in time, it is crucial you contact your academic department as soon as possible for their advice. What if I need to arrive sooner? If you have an additional support need, or exceptional circumstances that will require you to arrive earlier, please contact us, our student support team and accommodation team as soon as possible to discuss earlier access. On the dayResidential and non-residential studentsWhether you are an on-campus or off-campus member of Wentworth College, useful information about your arrival - including how to collect your ID, arrive into York and settle into the city - can be found below. Residential studentsIf you are moving into Wentworth Graduate College accommodation on campus, additional information about your arrivals’ process, can be found on our residential arrival pages: Getting to campus via public transportYour first week(s) at York - residential and non-residential studentsWelcome events and activitiesOnce you’ve arrived, the Wentworth College Team and University of York Students’ Union have organised plenty of exciting activities for you to get involved in. Unfortunately, a number of fake pages and social media accounts attempt to target incoming students each year, so please note that the only University-endorsed events are those mentioned below. To ensure you have access to all the fantastic events organised for you, take a look at the official Welcome events and ticket bundles below. Make sure to also bookmark our student events page to stay on top of all upcoming events throughout the semester. Right to Study ChecksUK studentsDuring your online enrolment, you will have been asked to submit a piece of evidence that confirms you have the right to study here at the University, in the UK. If you have not yet submitted your evidence via e:Vision (eg a UK passport) please make sure you do this before your course starts. More information on accepted forms of evidence can be found in your enrolment email. International studentsIf you are an international student, in addition to submitting evidence online, you will also need to attend an in-person registration event during your first few weeks, where your immigration status will be verified. Please make sure to check all dates and deadlines carefully in the emails sent to you separately about these events, and to pack your documentation with you as the original document will need to be checked at these events. Still packing and not sure what else to bring? Check out our guidance. Download and check your timetableAll students at York are provided with a personalised timetable for your studies and activities, which can be viewed on your laptop, phone or printed out. This year, your teaching timetables will be released on Wednesday 11 September 2024. For even easier reference, you can download the MyUoY app to sync up with any social activities or workshops taking place across campus with ease. FAQ online sessionOn Tuesday 3 September 2024 at 11.30am BST and Thursday 5 September 2024 at 4pm BST we will be hosting online FAQ sessions for all Wentworth students and their family and supporters. Please share this information with your parent, guardian, carer or supporter, and encourage them to join the talk via one of the zoom links below. For GDPR and protection issues, if a parent, guardian or carer contacts us on your behalf, please let them know that we won’t be able to speak to them about you until we’ve received written permission from you first. Official Postgraduate Welcome from the VCJoin us for a wine reception and official Welcome from the Vice Chancellor, Charlie Jeffrey in Central Hall. Representatives from the Students’ Union and Colleges will be there to tell you about the opportunities, facilities, and support available. Additional information and events: off-campus studentsIf you aren’t living on campus this year, you are still a welcomed and valued member of Wentworth, and your college team is here to support you every step of the way. In addition to our all-student freshers week activities, all local and commuting students are also invited to a mixer in the Vanbrugh Arms on Saturday 14 September at 7pm as a way to get to know one another, and feel inducted and welcomed into college. Any residential students already moved into college are also welcome to join! In case you missed itLast week, we sent you an essential to-do list for you to complete before you arrive, including essential documentation. If you haven’t had a chance to do this yet, please complete it urgently. Next StepsWe will be in touch again next week for our final message about what to expect from student life and support at York throughout your one, two, three (or more!) years with us. Claire Anderson |