This article examines the language-related challenges that first-year students face when adjusting to the demands of English-medium higher education in Hong Kong. The article is based on the findings of a longitudinal study which tracked the university careers of 28 students from a range of backgrounds via in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted at regular intervals over their three years of study. These findings are complemented by the results of a questionnaire survey completed by around 3 000 students at the same university. The interview and survey findings indicate that students experience four particular problems during the crucial first year at university: understanding technical vocabulary, comprehending lectures, achieving an appropriate academic style and meeting institutional and disciplinary requirements. The evidence suggests that students are able to overcome these and other problems through a combination of strong motivation, hard work, effective learning strategies and supportive peer networks. To illustrate and personalise the first-year experience, the article paints "portraits" of three students from different societal, educational and disciplinary backgrounds. These portraits follow a series of "landscapes" which depict recurring patterns in the qualitative and quantitative data. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the study for EAP provision in ESL and EFL contexts. (Contains 1 figure.)