Mentoring for New Students

Pre-arrival E-mentoring

Are you joining us at Aston this September? Then get ahead and take advantage of Pre-arrival E-mentoring!

The transition from school, college or work to university is life changing but can also be daunting. At this important time, we are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity of benefitting from the Aston Pre-arrival E-Mentoring programme.

You can benefit from the experience of someone who remembers how it feels starting at University, perhaps even moving to a new city or country, and knows the questions they had when they were in your position. Our mentors are current Aston students who will communicate with you via e-mail, to give you the chance to find out more about life at Aston and provide reassurance and friendly advice. They will be available via e-mail until the start of term. Hearing about the experiences of a current student who remembers what it was like for them when they started at Aston can help you to settle in quickly and make the most of your time here.

How can I register for a mentor?

If you have accepted a place at Aston and would like to be matched to an e-mentor, simply register your details on our online form.

If you can’t access the online form then just e-mail us on mentoring@aston.ac.uk

Please also read the Pre-arrival E-mentoring guidelines.

Once we have your details we will match you to a suitable e-mentor as soon as possible, then contact you with details of your e-mentor who should be in touch with you shortly afterwards.

What about when I arrive at Aston?

The Pre-arrival E-mentoring lasts until Freshers’ Week. After arrival on campus, new students can choose to be matched to a Peer Mentor who can meet with you in person on our Transition Mentoring programme.

Transition Mentoring

Transition mentoring is for new undergraduate first year students, students on foundation degrees and exchange students. As a new student, you might be new to Birmingham and/or the UK, living away from home for the first time or returning to education as a mature student.

Having the support of a current student, who remembers what it was like for them when they started at Aston can help new students to settle in quickly and make the most of their time here.

Transition Mentors provide their Mentees with support on:

Finding services on campus
Making friends and getting involved with student societies
Getting to grips with University processes
Dealing with the 'culture shock' of a new environment
Shopping and budgeting
Finding out about transport and getting about
Finding things to do and places of interest in the city
Achieving a good life/study balance
Coursework, module choices or exams and revision

Find out how to get involved in Transition Mentoring

What do our students think?

Mentees

"Excellent - gives students the support they need to fully maximise their university experience.”
"Brilliant to be supported by people who have been where you are and have got through it."
"It made me feel better about being at university."
“I felt that because I lived off campus I was missing out to some extent and at times felt isolated. I thought that to have a mentor to help and reduce those anxieties would make any other worries I might have easier to manage.”

Mentors

"It's a great experience to be able to help others based on your own experiences."
"I feel that I was able to help my mentee and I think my mentee found the information very valuable and helped her to prepare for university life. I gave her information about the University, parts of the course, the workload and other general advice.”
“I enjoyed helping first year students settle in, being available to answer any ‘silly’ questions that arise while entering university life and environment, and it gave me the chance to think about positive aspects of university life and refresh my knowledge about the subject”