July 31, 2017
If you are eligible for financial assistance, either by the Student Loans Company or the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, it is really important that you complete an application as soon as possible. If you are delayed in submitting an application, there is a chance that your loan will also be delayed.
Think about a part-time job. We know that a job is probably the last thing on your mind if you are planning your move, but for a lot of students securing a job is crucial in ensuring that there is enough money in the bank. Also, being able to balance academic work with part-time employment is a bonus on any CV!
Learn to budget, and practice your budget. Budgeting is key; nobody likes to check their bank balance two weeks before they are next due a loan payment to see that perhaps they were being a bit too generous at the Student Union buying rounds and will now have to live on plain pasta and black coffee for a week. Budgeting is important, not just at University but for the rest of your life. Work out what you will be living off of per week and do a “test-run” before you leave; you might discover that there are things you hadn’t taken into consideration. Budgeting does require compromise, but it is well worth it!
Use your student discount! Make sure you take your student card with you everywhere and get the most out of your 10% off. If you aren’t sure if somewhere offers a student discount, just ask. 10% may not sound like a lot, but it adds up. For example, if you spend £3.20 in a coffee shop, every Monday-Friday, you would be spending £768 per year. With your discount, you would be spending £691.20 per year; a saving of £76.80. Now imagine this discount but with clothes, food, travel, and so on. Use your student card!
Don’t be afraid to ask your University for help or advice regarding finances should you need it. There will be people to guide you, and lots of Universities offer discretionary funds if you are struggling.
In most cases, new students will move into their University’s Halls of Residence (and should have been offered a place automatically, though this may not be the case if you have applied through Clearing or Adjustment). Ensure that you have paid your deposit on time, have all the necessary paperwork and emails to take with you when you move in, and have a look on Facebook or TSR to see if you can find any of your future flatmates.
Not moving into Halls of Residence? Finding private accommodation in an unfamiliar place, when you are potentially not able to look around the property prior to making a commitment on it, is difficult. Trying to find housemates on top of this is even more difficult. But, again, there are places you can go for help! Your University website should offer you guidance in finding a house or a flat. There are pros and cons to both Halls and Private accommodation; you will meet more people in Halls but have more freedom in a private house, for example. The important thing is to try and choose the option that you will feel most comfortable with.
If you are moving into Halls of Residence, make sure you familiarise yourself with the rules of what you are and are not allowed to have in your bedroom (fairy lights, for example, are banned in lots of University residences). Pack home comforts: photographs; a cosy blanket; things that remind you of home. In catered Halls? Still pack things you can snack on in your room, or your favourite brand of tea.
Familiarise yourself with your reading list. The first reading list is as exciting as it is daunting. “I’m expected to read all of this?!” may repeatedly cross your mind in a blind panic, and the chances are that you actually aren’t expected to read everything on your reading list from beginning to end. Some textbooks will be used for a few chapters, or be a “reference guide” to major themes on your course. Don’t let the reading list overwhelm you, and consider reading ahead before your classes start to put your mind at ease over the content. It may also be wise to purchase some of your books from a second-hand bookshop; lots of students sell their books once they no longer need them, and you can therefore save yourself a lot of money!
Familiarise yourself with your campus. Particularly for those of you who will be moving to city-based universities rather than campus universities. Do a test-run of your journey and see how long it takes you so you can avoid any unnecessary panic on your first morning.
Now is the time to introduce yourself to anybody and everybody. Meeting new people can be daunting at the best of times, so meeting the people you will be living with for at least a year, can put a strain on your nerves. But, it is important to remember that everybody is new, and everybody will be just as nervous. Some people advise propping your bedroom door open so that anybody who passes knows they are welcome to say hi; this is a great idea! Offer new arrivals to the building a cup of tea – or an alcoholic drink if they would prefer – and make others feel welcome.
Go to the Fresher’s Fair! Not only will you be leave with bags full of freebies (so many pens!), but you will also get to see what clubs and societies are offered at your new University. Get involved and sign up; clubs and societies are a great way to meet new people and to find new interests, or make sure you don’t lose your old interests! Fairs will also have stalls for local services; doctors, dentists, churches, and so on, so you can really make your new University town your new home.
If you don’t want to do something, you are allowed to say no! With so much emphasis placed on University drinking culture and expectations for students to go out every night, survive on a diet of beige foods and “experiment” with drugs or sex, it can be easy to falter under peer pressure. But it is important to remember that you can say no. People pressuring you into doing things you aren’t comfortable with are, realistically, probably not the sort of people who you want to make your lifelong friends.
Try and stay healthy! Freshers’ flu is – unfortunately – not a myth. Nobody wants to spend their first weeks at University attached to a Lemsip drip, so do your best to stay as healthy as possible.
We also really enjoyed reading this (slightly more blunt and brutal) article from the Independent on how to survive your first term!
Do you have any tips to share for new students? Do get in touch and let us know at Kings Tutors! And, for those of you making the move, Kings Tutors wishes you the best of luck!
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