Thanh Lan - 19 years old, a freshman at a university in Dong Da district (Hanoi) - shared that everything from living expenses, life to studying is different from what she had imagined before.
"I tried to find cheap accommodation, only 3.5 million VND/month (not including electricity and water), but I was still surprised by the amount of money I spent in the first month. I spent more than 7 million VND. Everything is more expensive than at home" - she said.
Going to a big city to study, Thanh Lan started a new life, had to practice being independent and taking care of herself. At the same time, the difference in learning methods between university and high school also put more pressure on her.
"Teachers in college teach very quickly and the way they teach is very different from high school. I can only sit and listen and don't have time to take notes. I think I need to change my study method soon and study more on my own," Thanh Lan said, adding that the "huge" amount of homework sometimes makes her overwhelmed - even though she has only started going to school for nearly a month.
Thanh Lan also mentioned peer pressure. "Studying at a top school, surrounded by very good friends sometimes makes me a bit self-conscious, but this will also be the motivation for me to try harder every day" - she confided.
Besides the "shock" in living and studying... the thing that made Thanh Lan most dizzy was the capital's traffic.
Instead of choosing to stay near the school, Thanh Lan rented a cheap room 2km away from the school. "This distance is too normal" - she told herself when signing the contract. However, Thanh Lan was "shocked" when one day it took her nearly 30 minutes to get to school.
"I have to avoid rush hour to travel, which means I go to school very early and come home late. It's even worse on rainy days," she said.
Urban traffic is also a fear of Thanh Binh and Ngoc Tram - new students of the Diplomatic Academy.
Ngoc Tram said she was overwhelmed when she saw so many vehicles and no empty space on the road. "I'm really afraid of traffic jams" - she said and said she was also surprised when she first saw a red light for more than 100 seconds.
Meanwhile, Thanh Binh said he goes to school by bus every day and still can't avoid traffic jams.
Dr. Trinh Thanh Huyen - Director of Institute of International Training, Academy of Finance advises first-year students to find boarding houses that ensure adequate security and fire safety.
According to Ms. Huyen, senior students are a strong support force for first-year students in finding suitable accommodation close to the study area.
"For example, at the Academy of Finance, students from previous courses have links, addresses, who to contact, how to rent, what are the conditions,... The addresses in the links are almost guaranteed, these are often the areas where students from previous courses are living" - Ms. Huyen noted.
