This episode of "Successful Student Transitions: A Time to Thrive" features Gabriela Santacruz a child and adolescent psychotherapist who has many years of experience in Mill Hill International School, a day and boarding school in London.

The conversation offers valuable insights for students on the move and for parents supporting them through changes.

Drawing parallels between boarding life and the university transition, it explores how both experiences shape independence, resilience, and identity, while remembering that growth often begins outside the comfort of home.

Listen as Gabriela and Elizabeth discuss:

• The emotional landscape of leaving home: missing family, friends, and familiar routines, yet learning to feel at ease in new environments.
• The vital life skills boarders develop and how these mirror the skills needed at university.
• How asking for help from peers and adults adds to emotional intelligence and interdependence.
• Learning to “own” the experience
• The major challenges boarders face and how this links with challenges at university.
• Practical advice for students and parents on building habits, self-knowledge and creating space for reflection.

Additional episodes related to this episode are:

Episode Six: Why it Helps to Ask HERE

Episode 64: Student Voices & Cultural Agility: A Framework for Thriving Cultural Transitions HERE

Episode 102: When You’re Missing Home, You’re Not Alone and Here’s How to Cope HERE

Episode 10: Supporting Parent Transitions – Empty Nests HERE

Episode 79: Caring for Yourself When You Are the One That Remains, a message for stayers in times of change and transition HERE

Starting university brings incredible freedom—but without the structure of school, it's easy to drift into unhelpful patterns.

In this episode, we explore why establishing positive routines early is crucial for your wellbeing and academic success.

Drawing on insights from students who've been through it, Louise and Elizabeth share five practical tips to help you unleash your organizational superpowers. You'll discover how to create flexible routines that support your mental health, avoid the downward spiral of sleeping in and missing deadlines, and build intentional habits that set you up for success.

Whether you're struggling with decision fatigue, finding it hard to balance work and social life, or simply want to make the most of your university experience, this episode offers actionable strategies to help you thrive through your first term.

Remember: you don't need to be perfect, but a little planning now will make a huge difference to how you feel and perform in the weeks ahead.

Why not register to access the show notes and resources from the Lean into Student Life Series for Free. Go HERE to register.

You've made past the midway point and reading week. This is the perfect moment to pause, take stock, and celebrate how far you've come since unpacking those boxes in freshers' week.

In this episode of this great Lean into Student Life Series, Louise and Elizabeth guide you through the critical mid-term period with five practical tips for finishing strong. Whether time is flying by or dragging along, this episode will help you reflect on your successes, refine your approach, and re-energize for the weeks ahead.

• Learn about a powerful framework for understanding the different tasks that all compete for your attention helping you to identify what is genuinely productive versus what is simply keeping you busy.
• Discover strategies for managing the constant distractions of uni life.
• Learn to savour the successes and approach academic challenges positively.
• Consider how you can ensure you are making the most of the opportunities that uni life offers.
• Reflect on the upcoming return home at the end of term and how you can manage 'your return' in a way that works for you and everyone at home.

This episode is your invitation to reflect, recalibrate, and recommit to making the most of your university experience.

To register free for the show notes and additional resources for all episodes in this series go HERE.

You're about six weeks into your university journey, and if you're feeling a bit low, questioning your decisions, or missing home more than you expected—you're not alone. This is the dip, and it's a completely normal part of the transition process.

In this honest and reassuring episode, Louise & Elizabeth tackle one of the most challenging aspects of university life: the inevitable dip in emotional wellbeing that many students experience. Drawing on cross-cultural research about adjustment and insights from Seth Godin's book The Dip, they normalise the feelings of homesickness, isolation, and doubt that can arise during this period.

Elizabeth and Louise don't shy away from the difficult conversations either. They explore when a dip is simply part of adjustment—and when it might signal that a genuine change is needed. With compassion and practical wisdom, they discuss the courage it takes to admit when something isn't working and the importance of making strategic rather than reactive decisions about your future.

This episode is filled with concrete strategies for managing homesickness, maintaining perspective during tough times, and ultimately learning from the experience.

If you're in the dip right now, this episode is your companion through it. If you're not, it will prepare you for when challenges arise. Either way, you'll finish listening with the reassurance that what you're experiencing is normal, temporary, and ultimately growth-inducing.

if you want to go deeper, we’ve created a special online space where you can go and review the content of this episode using the show notes – they are packed with reflection questions and some additional resources designed to support you on your university journey.

Gain access now by going to Successful Student Transitions.com/lean-in

Six/Seven weeks in, it's time to celebrate your wins and set yourself up for success!

You've survived your first few weeks/months at university, and that's worth celebrating. But between the social whirl of Freshers Week and settling into your new life, have you checked in with how you're really doing?

In this episode, Elizabeth and Louise share five powerful strategies to help you review your progress, tackle procrastination, and build sustainable habits that will carry you through the rest of term and beyond.

From the science of savouring to filling your well-being bucket, this is your essential guide to thriving—not just surviving—university life.

This is part of the Lean into Student Life Series. You can register to access the episodes together with handy show notes to help you reflect personally on the content by going to: www.SuccessfulStudentTransitions.com/lean-in

Starting university can feel like stepping into a whirlwind of excitement, anxiety, and endless possibilities—especially when it comes to making friends. You might be wondering if you'll find "your people," worried about eating alone, or comparing yourself to others who seem to be clicking instantly with their new flatmates.

In this episode of Successful Student Transitions, Louise and Elizabeth cut through the friendship frenzy with five practical, reassuring tips to help you navigate those crucial early weeks. They'll help you understand why making friends feels so challenging right now, remind you of the skills you already have (yes, you really do!), and give you concrete actions to take.

Whether you're in your first weeks or nearing reading week, this episode offers a realistic, compassionate guide to building the friendships that will carry you through university—and maybe even become lifelong connections. Because here's the truth: everyone's finding this challenging, and that's exactly why being the one to say "hi" makes all the difference.

Welcome to the first episode in our new series: Lean Into Student Life for first year university students.

In today's episode, we're breaking down exactly how to navigate these crucial first weeks when everything feels uncertain and you're basically living on adrenaline and instant noodles.

Here's what you'll discover:

• Why feeling unsettled and uncertain is part of this process of transition
• What mindset, stretch and elastic bands all have in common.
• How to tap into strengths you already have but forgot about
• How curiosity can be your secret weapon
• How to start writing your new story from day one

Register for Lean into Student Life Show Notes and Full Programme HERE

Results Day over you may find you are feeling overwhelmed by the gap between your university dreams and reality? You're not alone.

In this episode, we dive deep into the emotional rollercoaster that follows results day and explore why that 'meh' feeling or sudden doubt about your choices isn't a red flag—it's valuable data.

Whether you're questioning your course, worried about finances, or simply feeling stuck in the 'messy middle' of major life change, we'll give you some practical suggestions to help you navigate this transition with confidence and clarity.

Listen as we discuss:

• Where this feeling of mixed emotions may be coming from and why it's not unusual..
• We introduce the messy middle in periods of transition and why this is relevant to now.
• We give some suggestions for what to do if you're having doubts
• We explain why doubts are not necessarily red flags and more represent important data.
• Why personal choices are so important in making your next step decisions.
• Why talking it out helps.

Additional resources:

Podcast HERE

• Episode 1 Beat the Transition Blues
• Episode 80 Top Tips for Freshers as They Start University with Toby

Check out our course: THRIVE in the Transition to University HERE

"Navigate your transition with confidence and excel throughout your university journey"