First few weeks at RSU: What it actually felt like

The period between getting accepted and actually starting university felt strangely long.

I got accepted at the beginning of December, but the orientation week information only arrived on 14 January 2025. That meant over a month of waiting, not really knowing what would happen next. I knew I was moving countries. I knew I was starting medical school. But I didn’t know how any of it would begin.

When the orientation email finally came, it felt both reassuring and slightly surreal. I remember thinking: okay, this is real now. At the same time, it still felt vague. I was hoping orientation week would somehow magically make everything make sense.

It didn’t. But it helped.

Arriving in Riga

The first 48 hours were exciting in a very intense way.

I drove to Riga with my dad. He helped me move my things in, which I’m very grateful for, because finding my apartment was honestly stressful. I had moved into Old Town, and if you’ve never been there before, it’s not exactly beginner-friendly. Narrow streets, confusing addresses, Google Maps being only half helpful.

The city was beautiful. There were still Christmas lights everywhere, and I remember walking around thinking that this felt exciting in a way my life hadn’t felt before. I had never lived in a proper city. Now I did.

Transportation, however, was a disaster at first. I didn’t understand the system yet, so I used Bolt taxis for months. Looking back, it was such a waste of money. I could have gotten a public transport card for 12€ a month, but I didn’t know how yet.

Orientation Week: Useful, But Overwhelming

Orientation week started one week before classes.

We sat in a big auditorium for hours, listening to presentations about:

attendance rules
sick notes
absences
exams

AKA: systems we’d never used before

It was useful, objectively. But I wasn’t really internalising most of it. There was just too much information, too quickly, and I didn’t yet have any context for it.

Finding the entrance to the university was also confusing at first. The main building is right next to a road, and it doesn’t really scream “this is the entrance”. Once inside, though, things were clearer and staff guided us well.

But yeah here's the entrances to 16 Dzirciema Street, AKA RSU Main Building:

One thing I did like was that during orientation we were already sitting in our study groups. Each group has 14 students, and you spend most of the year with the same people. That made it easier to start recognising faces and talking to people early on.

By day three, I was honestly a bit bored of sitting and listening. I miiiight have skipped the last 3 days but... I'm still here!

The Social Side (Very Realistically)

Orientation week was basically: presentations during the day, social events or bars in the evening. I went out almost every night, mostly because that’s how you meet people when everyone is new and slightly overwhelmed.

RSU’s International Student Association (ISA) organised a lot of activities. Some were better than others, but they made it easy to show up alone and not feel weird about it.

One of those activities was laser tag. That’s where I met my boyfriend. We’re still together :)

So yes — orientation week mattered more socially than academically, at least for me.

First Impressions of Campus and Classes

From the outside, the RSU campus is… not pretty. I’ll be honest. It’s quite ugly.

Inside, it’s better. The big auditorium is actually very beautiful. The rest of the campus is fine. Nothing special, nothing terrible.

Classes are mostly with your own group of 14 people. For subjects like anatomy, histology, biochemistry, physiology, groups are combined, so you see more people.

Nationality-wise, the biggest groups are always:

Germans
Swedes
Finns

There are many others too, but those three dominate.

Attendance turned out to be strict, but at first I didn’t even know where to check it. Another frustrating thing is that teachers almost never attaching clear dates to things. You’ll see things like “colloquium on the 7th lesson”, and then you have to count lessons in the calendar yourself.

Attendance requirements are usually:

75% without sick notes
50% with sick notes

BUT PLEASE CHECK PER COURSE!!

Sick notes can be obtained from the university ambulance (if you’re lucky enough to get an appointment) for around 30€, or from a private clinic. How to submit a sick note:

myRSU > Applications and Inquiries > Applications and Inquiries (yes, twice...) > Change of Status > Application for excused absence > Topic > I wish to register incapacity to work > Date from & to > Short explanation for which classes youre missing > Attach sick note

We received our actual study calendar about a week before classes started, during orientation week. You can see it through myRSU or more reliably, through Outlook with your student email (form 000000@rsu.edu.lv)

More about attendance in this blog post.

Studying

Teaching quality varies a lot.

Some teachers are great. Some are very bad at teaching. Some have accents that are genuinely difficult to understand. You get used to it, but at first it’s tiring.

Anatomy, for example, has:

one online lecture per week (“DemoLab”), early in the morning
one practical class per week

You don’t need to speak or turn your camera on during DemoLab, which is honestly nice. More about studying Anatomy in this blog post.

Histology works in a similar way later on.

You can recognise online classes or recorded lectures by there being no location in the calendar. So go on Outlook with your school email, open the calendar, click on the class. Is there a location? If yes, go there. If not, check if it says Video lecture. If yes, probably just a recorded lecture. If something else, it's probably a online lesson.

The pace feels fast at first, mostly because everything is new. Some courses feel useful, some feel pointless. You will absolutely have moments of “why am I studying this?”

I learned quickly that the mindset here is often: just get through it. Some courses are stepping stones, not destinations.

In physics, there’s something called a defence, where one or two students are randomly asked to come to the front and answer questions. These are graded and affect your final grade. Stressful at first... to put it lightly.

Some courses also offer an autopass, meaning if your average is high enough, you don’t need to take the final exam. The requirements vary by course.

If you want to read more about the first semester courses, read this blog post.

Daily life in Riga

Latvia runs on loyalty cards.

Seriously. Get them. For everything.

My closest shop is Rimi, so I downloaded the app and started collecting discounts immediately. It adds up.

Public transport is cheap but bureaucratic. You have to apply for a student transport card through RSU systems, forward emails, visit a service centre in person, and bring your passport (not ID, not driver’s license — passport).

Here's the detailed steps: myRSU > Applications and inquiries > Inquiry request > Status Inquiry > Change receiver to RP SIA "Riga Satiksme" and language to Latvian. You'll receive an answer to your RSU email on outlook. When you receive it, forward to sekretariats@rigassatiksme.lv Add your contact details and address of the Client Centre you intend to visit. I decided to visit Origo location. When you visit, bring your PASSPORT!! Not an ID, or drivers license. Only PASSPORT!!

It costs 12 € per month, and you need to renew it every semester.

Do not rely on apps like Mobilly long-term to buy electronic tickets (1,5€ /ticket). It gets expensive.

Emotionally, How Was It?

Honestly? I haven't regretted the decision at any point.

I hasn't been lonely. Everyone is new. Everyone is in the same situation. It’s easy to talk to people because there’s always something shared to talk about.