Welcome to York! We're so thrilled you'll be joining us this semester. 

As we build up to your arrival on campus, we will share information over the next few weeks to guide you through key activities and preparation for joining our community, including:

• Things you should do first

• Arrivals and welcome activities

• What to expect with studying and living in York 

So, first things first - what is a college?

The University of York is one of only a handful of universities in the UK that has colleges  - where undergraduates and postgraduates are assigned to a smaller community within the wider university network.

Colleges are a place to socialise, learn new skills, explore your interests and access support and guidance. 

There are eleven colleges across campus, each with their own distinct history and character. They all provide the same services and opportunities, and have a dedicated team of staff and student volunteers who are here for you throughout your time at York (your membership doesn’t end when you graduate either - you are a member for life!).

If you live on campus, your college is determined by where you live. If you are an undergraduate living off campus, you will be assigned to a college based on your department. Postgraduates living off campus are members of Wentworth Graduate College.

Which college is the best? The one you're in!

So what should I be doing now?

To help you prepare and transition into university life, we’ve compiled a list of the most important things for you to do between now and arrival.

Click the relevant link below to see a printable checklist you can work from, and have a look over the three items we recommended you start with first.

1. Check your York email address regularly 

From now all, all University services will use your official York email address to communicate with you, rather than your personal email address you might have used to apply here. Make sure to check in with it regularly to stay up to date!

 2. Check our Welcome to York checklist (above) and complete your online induction (below)

3. Join the official Facebook group

Your department, college, student union and student support services all run activities to help you meet people and settle in, however, we know it can feel reassuring to get connected to other incoming students as soon as you can.

If you haven't already, join our official Facebook groups for all the ways to connect - you will need to answer all the questions provided and agree to the group rules to be approved.

Beware of ticket scams

Unfortunately, a number of fake pages and social media accounts attempt to target incoming students each year.

The only University-endorsed welcome events are those offered by our Students’ Unions (YUSU and the GSA), and we will share any official social media accounts for college teams with you directly over email, or in our official 2023 undergraduate and postgraduate Facebook groups.

Arrivals overview

Our official undergraduate welcome weekend will take place across Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September 2023, though international students can arrive from Friday 15 September 2023 onwards.

For our postgraduates, welcome activities will begin on Monday 11 September 2023 and are spread across the first few weeks of the semester to allow for different accommodation start dates.

Please note, you won’t be able to access University owned or managed accommodation (such as Student Roost or Student Castle) until your confirmed contract start date, except by specific arrangement with either our student support team and accommodation team. Please ensure you plan to arrive on or after this date.

The details for your start date will be found within your official accommodation offer message, though we will be in touch to share more information about arrivals in our next email on Friday 1 September 2023. If you have any questions about your accommodation offer, please email accommodation@york.ac.uk. 

Next steps!