FIRST EXPERIENCES AS A FRESHMAN

Math prep course

Two weeks before lectures began, we were at the university for the first time to refresh what we had suppressed since May: mathematics. After five hours of lectures and exercises, we were ready for the Oktoberfest, which luckily gave us sweeter start! After these two weeks, we were definitely prepared for the actual start of our studies – in two ways: the pre-course had prepared us in terms of mathematics and the opportunity to meet our future fellow students, which was perhaps far more important. Especially for the people not from Munich it was really easy to make first contacts and to find our way in the new environment. It was during this time that the first get-together at the Chinese Tower took place, which (as you can see) was a complete success. The math prep course was incredibly helpful in terms of getting used to it and certainly not just for our math knowledge.

Introductory days

The first two days of our official first week as a student at the Technical University of Munich were the “introductory days” – not lectures, but lots of info events to get to know the university and the students. This concerned the organization of our studies (e.g. moodle, lecturio and the registration for courses and examinations), the introduction of the chairs and professors as well as what we can expect in the course of the study – the choice of focus in the natural sciences and business administration. After the preparatory course that many of us had attended, we no longer felt so strange here, but we were now able to get to know our course more closely and learn more about what will be coming in the next few weeks and months. We were introduced to the university from a technical point of view and the mentor groups gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better.

Mentor groups and first-time regulars

The mentor groups were particularly helpful in the first few weeks, as we did a lot together and were therefore able to ask anything that was of concern to us. It was good to talk to someone who was once in the same situation as us and to hear their advice. Even now we are all always there when we meet as a mentor group! In the first few weeks there were also many first-semester parties (starting with Ruby’s, then the first university party and many more) and the get-together weekend at Lake Chiemsee – no question that we feel more and more comfortable here!

Lectures

After the first two days, the lectures, exercises, etc. began. It is strange that there are only five subjects left that all have to do with each other somehow, but that is exactly why we are here. We are pretty happy that most of our events take place in the Audimax and hopefully you will learn how to orientate yourself… You got used to the routine very quickly and we can hardly believe that our first module Entrepreneurship is over again. After Christmas comes the first major decision we have to make: the choice of the scientific focus. This is followed by the first exams that seemed so far away (but are now somehow within reach!) All in all, we can look back on an eventful time that has passed incredibly quickly. The change from school to university, often the move to a new city, away from home, was made easier for us wherever possible (and mostly with success), especially getting to know each other.