Dear 1As

Past the chaotic “doomsday” registrations and rush of integration events, the academic school year 2025-2026 has begun! As the peniche paintings’ glaring gaze stares down on bright-eyed incoming first-year and exchange students, us returning students would like to welcome you! If you haven’t tripped on the cobblestones on your way to LS01 yet, congratulations, you’ve overcome the biggest hurdle: the rest is light work.

But amongst Prof. Bottini’s fast-paced lectures and Prof. Godechots’ meticulously-timed coffee breaks, semester one’s academic load can feel a bit dizzying. If the clamoring notifications from the 700-people WhatsApp groups don’t fuel you with a sense of community, don’t worry, we’re still making ourselves at home.

To help you accommodate to the bittersweet city of Reims, we asked second-years how they started to feel at home here. Here’s what we found:

Campus Life

First rule: do not eat the grapes. Unless you want to spend your afternoon writing an apology letter for “vandalising” the Jesuit College and the spirit of the campus itself, don’t tempt yourself. Don’t sweat it, though, the remaining yet fleeting remnants of summer and the arrival of Reims’s chilly autumn will blow them away with it anyways.

You might also see students sitting in front of the library or using their class break to lay against the glass hallway’s wall. You should too! Make the most of the space our beautiful campus has to offer and try to make it your own!

Need to focus? Booking a room in the G/H-buildings’ first floor is always a good idea. One 2A shared it’s, “great for midterm prep, and you’re not alone so it’s better!” Beyond the library and small tables scattered around the courtyard, another student shared their preference for the Old Library, stating, “most people either forget about it or think it’s too cold, so it’s a good spot to go away from others.” Manatee, Birds and Twigs, and Café Columbus are also great for when you’re tired of the library!

Tired of studying and feeling homesick? Why not put on your favourite TV show you watched back home? One student shared that, “watching new seasons of these shows creates a connection between the two ‘worlds’ of uni and home.”

Classes

If you can’t count on a show to soothe your first-year jitters, we recommend getting a coffee in between lectures (a sacrilegious and cultural institution at Sciences Po, though perhaps not the best remedy against nerves).

As you finally find a way to fight (or cope) with this likely coffee-induced anxiety, midterm season rears into view. But not to fear, 2A advice is here:

Pre-midterm Prep: Plan your study schedule carefully. Instead of pulling an all-nighter the day before the exam (which we vehemently discourage), focus on key definitions, dates, and main ideas. Trust us, your December self will thank you.

As one respondent put it, “the midterms are open questions so it’s really about knowing references and ideas more than specific details of the course.”

Stay organized: Don’t neglect your regular classes. This will quickly catch up with you after the October break (yes, that means Humanities too).

Prioritize yourself: Make sure to go to bed early before exams and bring water and snacks to stay focused.

Most importantly: if you fail, you’ll survive. You have the continued evaluation to thank for that.

In short: organize your time well, don’t leave everything till the end, and everything will be okay.

However, if you really want to ensure academic success, keep in mind:

No one knows where building F is, don’t worry about it.
The clocks don’t really work, also don’t worry about it.
Learning on an empty stomach is not a good plan: izly is your friend.

Final Thoughts

If you take anything from this article, remember to pace yourself. You don’t need to join five assos at once. Say yes to plans, but don’t feel guilty about saying no when you’re tired. Go outside, play sports, listen to music. And don’t sleep on the little things: raspberry jam muffins, the infamous CROUS cookies, or the conferences that pop up on campus: make sure to enjoy these while you’re here! It might feel like the beginning, but two years fly by.

Above all, remember that everyone’s figuring it out too, and bonding over the deplorable weather can start real friendships (we’re only half kidding).

Soon enough, you’ll be CROUS-ing all on your own.

Photo Credits: Elena Martín Ortega