What is CityBuddy?
City, University of London understands that starting university can be nerve-wracking, scary but also very exciting. As a result, City has provided students with the opportunity to feel welcomed to their course by providing them with a CityBuddy who is either in their second or third year of university and is studying the same course as you. They will mentor you by helping you settle in, discussing the different facilities that the university has to offer, and providing an insight into your course by answering any questions you may have.
My Journey
When I started at City, I was anxious as I was the first in my family to attend university. I didn’t have any knowledge on how university works or even my course. I was thrilled to learn that the university provides first-year students with a mentor who can help settle you in. I knew this would be of great help – I signed up straight away and waited to hear back from my CityBuddy.
My mentor was in their second year of studying the LLB Law degree. We both started to email and text each other, and I got to know her and asked her questions such as the reading material for the course, formative assessment, and preparations for tutorials. It was great to hear from a student that had already completed their first year; I was able to get tips such as how to make effective use of lectures.
I really enjoyed having a CityBuddy, so towards the end of my first year, I signed up to be a mentor for a first-year student. I completed the training and eventually was given my first mentee. I was able to provide them with advice on things that I wish I learned much quicker when starting the course as well as answering any questions that my mentee had.
Why you should join
One of the biggest reasons that you should join CityBuddies is to have someone that you can discuss any issues with. There is a substantial change from college, sixth form or vocational courses to university and having a mentor who has experienced these makes settling into university much easier. It’s nice to know that there is someone that you can turn to when you are unsure where to go to or who to ask further advice for. Your mentee can signpost you to relevant departments.
Whether you join as a mentee or a mentor, it is an opportunity to meet more people from different backgrounds and make new friends. Meeting new people can be anxious but CityBuddy provides students with a dedicated mentor. The majority of people are worried about making friends, but this programme reassures students by matching mentor and mentees from the same course.
The programme also schedules meetups with all the mentees and mentors. For example, it hosted the CityBuddies Café where it invited mentors and mentees for a virtual coffee. This was a great chance to meet other students and chat about their experiences of university.
Written by Anisa, third-year LLB student at The City Law School