It’s now August, which means that a load of you may be about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of your life: University! Starting university can cause you to feel a mixed bag of emotions, from nervous to excitement to, how on Earth will I make friends?! But all these feelings are super normal as leaving for university means, for many people, the first time properly living away from home so it is guaranteed to stir up a cocktail of emotions.
Admittedly, there are some things that you can’t prepare for before you go to uni, but on the other hand there are a whole range of things that you can do to take away some of the worry that comes with starting a new life away from home and make the process a whole lot easier. Here are 8 things to consider if you are starting university this Autumn which will better prepare you for starting university life and help you feel more at ease before you go away.
One of the most important things to take into account before you rock up to uni in September for fresher’s week is the reading list. Most university courses, not just literature based courses, will publish a reading list in summer and universities encourage you to read a few things off the reading list before your first term begins.
Doing this will mean that you won’t feel overwhelmed when you start your course and will help you get ahead. After all, as exciting as it may seem now, university isn’t just fun and games and, believe it or not, you will actually have a lot of work. Believe me, getting to grips with your course reading list will make you feel more in control of your next adventure and a lot less stressed.
If you haven’t yet chosen your student accommodation, it is definitely worth having a look at reviews for student halls before you make your final decision. I made the mistake of choosing my university halls off pure look and it definitely wasn’t the best choice I could have made. As much as there shouldn’t be, there are often labels associated to different uni halls such as the ‘posh one’ or ‘social one’, which are worth taking into account because while they don’t matter, they usually aren’t far from the truth! Of course, at the end of the day you should pick a student hall which is within your budget and that you like the look of, but it is definitely worth looking at past student reviews before you make your final choice.
One thing that you really need to sort out before you head off to uni is your finances. First off, if you are planning on receiving government funded student finance, you should have already completed your application for student finance so make sure that this is already done. Once your application is being processed or accepted, you should open up a student bank account. The main benefit of opening a student bank account is that you can get a free overdraft for the length of your university studies as well as a year after you have graduated which, trust me, is extremely useful (especially as student finance can come in at strange times throughout the year and you may need the extra money!).
A great benefit of being a student is that you are entitled to an NHS Extra card. You can buy these for only £12 on the NUS Extra website, which will entitle you to a huge variety of student discounts, such as up to 40% off food at selected restaurants and 20% off National Express travel, as well as so many more, during your time at university. If you are looking into setting up a student bank account, it is worth looking at the incentives that each bank offers because some banks offer a free NUS Extra card if you set up a student account with them.
Along with the NUS Extra card, it is well worth looking at whether you want to get a 16-25 railcard, which will give you 1/3 off rail fares. You can buy these on the 16-25 railcard official website for £30 for 1 year, or £70 for 3 years (saving you £20 on the price of 3 1-year railcards). They are definitely well worth your money, especially if you are going to a university far away from home or if you think you will be taking the train home a lot.
Before you head off to uni, you need to make the decision as to whether you want to stay registered with your GP at home or if you should register with a GP at uni. Before they head off to uni, many young people do not know that you can only be registered with one GP surgery at a time, apart from very few GP surgeries which allow you to register temporarily (but I have found that many surgeries don’t like this).
Another option is to register with your local surgery as and when you need to visit, such as registering with the uni doctor if you need to visit during term time and re-registering back at home if you need to see the doctor during uni holidays, however again, I have found that most GP surgeries don’t like to keep re-registering patients with their surgery. I think that if you live close enough to home to pop that you are able to pop back if necessary, it is best to stay registered with your GP at home, but if you live further away, it is worth registering with the GP in your university town or city. Either way, it is crucial to consider which option works best for you.
One of the scariest things about starting university is the fear of whether you will make friends. I promise you, everyone starting uni will experience this fear. One of the best ways to meet new people is to join societies, and with most unis having a huge range of different and unique societies, from cocktail society to yoga society, you are guaranteed to find something that you are interested in.
While all universities will have a societies fair during fresher’s week so that you can speak to society representatives and find out more about what they do, it is also worth having a look at the university website during the summer before you go to see which one you are interested in joining so that you have a rough idea when you arrive.
The final things that you should consider doing before starting university is joining your university’s social media account, such as the main uni Facebook page, the uni fresher’s pages, any sports clubs you are interested in and the Facebook page for the student halls that you have been allocated to (or applied for). This is a great way to get speaking to other new students and possibly other students who will be in your accommodation or on your course. This will make you feel a lot more comfortable knowing that you have already have contacts at uni and the adventure will feel a lot less daunting!
There you have it, 8 things worth considering if you are starting university this autumn to ensure that you are prepared and ready for your exciting university adventure ahead!
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