Are you heading off to university/college soon?? Aside from
the usual things (packing, saying goodbye to family), there are a few things that
I forgot to do before starting my first year at Leeds. So, to try and help some
of you, I thought I’d make a list of the things you need to do before uni that
you may have forgotten about! Here are my top 7 things to do before you head to
university that you may have forgotten about…
1. Sort out your finances (including a student account and budget)
I know it’s boring, and can be intimidating, but
sorting out your finances before you get to uni saves SO much hassle and
stress. I didn’t really get on top of budgeting and my loans in my first year,
I was never really sure when I was getting my student loan or how much I was
getting. My advice (which thankfully, I followed this time around), is
to set aside a few hours to really get your head around your student finances a
week or two before you leave. Everyone’s situation is different but if you’re
getting a student loan, find out exactly how much you’re getting, when each instalment
is and how much each specific instalment is. All this information is really
easily accessible on the Student Finance website!
The next thing (if possible), is to work out exactly how
much your accommodation is and when you’re expected to pay. Normally,
especially when you are in halls, your payment is due around the same time that
your loan comes through. You should know how much each payment is and whether
your student loan is going to cover it. If it doesn’t it’s soooo much better if
you know how much you will need to make up. I was going around thinking I had
LOADS of savings, only to realise that I needed a lot of it to just make up my
accommodation cost in my first year.
The other thing which you should sort before heading off to
university is your student bank account. Many banks in the UK offer student
bank accounts which often come with large overdrafts without any fees, and
other little bonuses to entice you. You can only choose one, as your student
loan need to be paid into it, so do a bit of research about which is best. I
didn’t plan on going into my overdraft very much, and many of the banks had
very similar conditions on their student bank accounts. One bank was offering a
£50 Amazon voucher, while Santander was offering a 3 year 16-25 railcard.
Although £50 would’ve been nice at the time, it was an easy decision to go with
Santander as that railcard (for someone who uses trains A LOT), has saved me an
unbelievable amount of money. Do your research, decide which is best for you
and apply for your student bank account.
The final financial step before you head to uni is your day
to day budget. Everyone is different with how much they have to spend, where it
comes from and how it is split. But you will need to know how much you get for
your day to day living, and how long it needs to last. While blowing it all on
freshers’ week would be fun, not having money to live off for the next few months,
would not be. Set a budget (which factors in alcohol and going out), but also
your weekly food shop and transport.
2. Have a look at freshers’ events, but don’t get too sucked in
It is so tempting to buy every wrist band under the sun,
ticket to every event at your union and plan nights out for weeks in advance
before you get to uni, but don’t! Yes, things sell out, but buying tickets
without a real idea who you’re going to meet or how you’re going to feel is a
waste of money. And I promise you, those wristbands that are advertised
relentlessly are ALWAYS a con. In Leeds they get you into maybe one good event,
and then a load of garbage that you would never pay that much money to go to.
It’s a bit like going somewhere like Magaluf, you can spend 100s on wristbands
before you get there, but the best nights out are the impromptu, unplanned
ones.
3. Book a ticket home/ weekend with your family or friends
In my first semester, I made no plans to go home or see my
family until Christmas. I’d done a ski season and thought university would be a
walk in the park. But it doesn’t matter how social and confident you are, a
trip home to see family or friends is always welcome. I went through a real dip
in about November, which is common for first years, and needed a trip
home. If I were to do it again, it would’ve been nice to have a weekend to look
forward to. Plus, it saves LOADS of money to book trains in advance so better
for your wallet to plan ahead.
4.
Have a mini splurge
Okay, I know this goes against all my budgeting advice as
any money you can save now, you will obviously have at university. However, I
was talking to my boyfriend and his sister, and I really liked the idea. She
said that before she went to university, she had a mini ‘splurge’, a little
‘treat yo self’ day. The idea is that before university, most people are
financially stable if they’ve had a part time job, so it’s a nice time to spend
a little bit more on something you have wanted for a while. A nice pair of
shoes, some new speakers, maybe even a new phone? That £100 that you splurge
now would probably have otherwise been spent on alcohol and nights out over the
next few weeks. Before you embark on the stingy life of a student, treat yo
self!
5. Print off some pictures
A simple way of saying collect some personal items for your
room. Yes, you’ll need to pack clothes, shoes, pots and pans, but it makes
living away from home a whole lot easier if your space feels like your space,
rather than a strange empty room. It felt basic, but once I put up my pictures,
fairy lights and bought some cute cushions, my room felt so much nicer and it helped my general mood.
6.
Double check any University Admin
This one is hard to be specific about, everyone’s university
and course is different. But before you go, take some time to have a detailed
look through every single email they’ve sent you, making sure there’s nothing
you’ve missed out. Look for things like enrolling on modules, any pre-term work
you may have to start, make sure you’ve booked your slot for parking on the day
you move in. The month before I started, there was an onslaught of emails that
were so hard t keep track of, it’s useful to have a sit down and a proper
dedicated look through all the information. I discovered a week before I started
that I was supposed to have done some online learning for my course. I didn’t
realise this, so spent my first week trudging through online learning videos,
fun.
7. Think about what you’re going to take
This one is also based on a mistake I made. When I packed
for university, I was lucky enough that my parents drove me up so I could pack
a lot. The car was absolutely crammed. What I didn’t think about was getting
back again at Christmas. The mistake I made was packing absolutely everything I
could think of, all my clothes, completely gutting my room. But that meant when
I came to packing my stuff for Christmas, I could hardly bring 1/5 of my
clothes home. Yes, a bit of a silly point but when you’re packing, try to avoid
packing every single one of your hoodies, every pair of jeans and every single
pair of shoes. You really won’t need them all and it makes moving to and from
uni throughout the year, super difficult.
Okay, so that's just about everything I could think of! There's so much to do and think about before going to university/moving away from home, it's really easy to forgot smaller jobs or get overwhelmed by the general admin and mass of information. Did I forget something (again!), let me know what jobs you forgot to do before moving out and heading to university! And if you're off in a few weeks, good luck!!!
Thanks for reading,
Laura x
Okay, so that's just about everything I could think of! There's so much to do and think about before going to university/moving away from home, it's really easy to forgot smaller jobs or get overwhelmed by the general admin and mass of information. Did I forget something (again!), let me know what jobs you forgot to do before moving out and heading to university! And if you're off in a few weeks, good luck!!!
Thanks for reading,
Laura x
Keep reading...
Comments
Post a Comment