Preparing For University

So you are off to university, you brainy thing. We bet you can’t wait to go and spread your wings and learn new things. Not only will you learn new facts about your chosen subject, but you will also learn some priceless life lessons such as don’t leave a fork on your plate when you put it in the microwave. And fireworks (even sparklers) should not be lit inside a house. Perhaps you think you have thought about everything before you set off, but believe me, you haven’t. Here are some things you may not have considered as you prepare for university.

NB: If you are still a little undecided about going to university our article on Post A Level choices may help you.

Packing for University

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If you have to live away from home you will have to pack a few things for university. You will need to pack wisely because your student room in the halls won’t be very big.

Visit the university you want to study at and make a point of looking around a typical student’s room in the halls. This will give you an idea of how much space you actually have to live in. You will see how big or little your wardrobe will be. You may only have the space for 2-3 shoes. Which ones will you take?

Top Tip: If you can take a mini fridge and kettle you can keep your own milk in the fridge and have a cup of tea any time you want, in the comfort of your own room. No need to trudge all the way to the shared kitchen in your fluffy slippers just for a cuppa.

Find out what kitchen utensils are available in the shared kitchen. You may not need to bring your own pots and pans unless you really want to.

Make sure you have the right stationery, lots of pads of paper and a laptop. Remember to insure your laptop against theft and damage and personalise it.

Cost of Living

Up until now, your folks have probably paid for the rent/ mortgage on the family home. They have been paying for all the energy you use and probably for food as well. Plus the water bill and council tax etc. As a student, you may not have to pay for all these things, but you will have to pay for some of them. Second, to your fees, your largest expense will be your student accommodation. You may have a student loan to pay for the rent, but it may not leave much afterward for all other costs. You will need to think very carefully about how you will afford to live at university.

Budgeting

Use Excel to create a monthly budget planner. This will give you an idea of how much money you have available each month. You can tweak it on a monthly basis.

NB: Your maintenance loan is paid termly. You need to spread the cost of this sum throughout the whole term. It may be worth putting the money into a savings account and transferring what you need into your current account each month.

There are also budgeting apps available for students. This may make it easier to budget when you are on the go.

Become a Savvy Saver

There will be some costs that are fixed and you won’t be able to negotiate them, such as your student accommodation in the halls. However, there may be a lot of costs you can negotiate, such as your energy bill or mobile phone. When contracts are up for renewal, this is a time to negotiate. If your mobile phone contract has ended you can just pay for a sim only and that may be as little as £10 a month. When it comes to travel it may be worth getting a Student Railcard to save 1/3 off the price. Don’t be afraid to negotiate a good deal for yourself.

When buying food go to the supermarket near the close of the day and get the meat and bread for a discounted price. You can always freeze these foods if you are not going to use them on that day.

Banks love to offer exciting juicy student deals and a plethora of freebies. But think carefully about what you really need from a bank. You may not need the bright shiny freebie they are offering such as free travel insurance. A large interest-free overdraft may be more helpful to you.

Check out the Save the Student post on the best bank account for 2023.

For more helpful advice check out our useful websites at the end of this post.

Don’t forget to join The Student Union if this interests you, and get a Totum Card for student discounts.

Cooking for Yourself

Hopefully, you have been wise enough to learn how to cook at home, before starting university. But if not, fear not. We have some great resources to help you learn how to cook. Believe me, you will appreciate this after your third bowl of tuna pasta that you have eaten for three consecutive nights.

Some families love cooking. They adore good food and like to feed others as a mark of love. I do not come from such a family. My mum hates cooking. I hate cooking. Sops hates cooking. But we also hate eating the same kind of food over and over again so Sops and I have found ways to cook good, yummy, nutritious, food that is quick and easy to cook and prepare.

Here are our tips on learning how to cook for yourself:

1. Watch Delia Smith videos. Delia Smith is the ultimate Queen of the Kitchen. She makes no assumptions that you know anything about cooking. She literally has a video for everything. Even the simplest task, such as boiling an egg. Her free online cooking course will prove very useful to you.
2. Use Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh is a food delivery service. They deliver weekly boxes of delicious meals that you cook from scratch. They come with simple recipe cards that you can keep. Sops and I have tried Hello Fresh before and when we have cooked a decent meal our confidence grows. We recommend you use Hello Fresh at home to practice cooking meals with your family. You can always take the recipe cards to university with you.

1. Cook regular meals with your folks. Offer to help them in the kitchen. The best way to learn a life skill is through imitation. Watch how the cook in your family makes meals and copy them. That is if they are a good cook. If not, do the opposite.
2. Use a good-quality recipe book. We all want to cook like Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver, but sometimes the celebrity cookbooks are difficult to follow. They make all sorts of assumptions that you know what they mean when they use technical culinary terms. Get yourself some simple cookbooks that you can actually follow. Even better, try using a student cookbook.

Time Management

At university, you will be expected to go to lectures and seminars and do heaps of independent study. Some courses have more interaction time than others. Also, at university, you may belong to lots of different clubs and societies that may pickle your fancy. (More about that later). Then you will have to keep on top of your domestic duties, (you can’t wear the same pair of dirty underpants for the entire term). Lastly, to supplement your income you may be able to secure a part-time job to help you get by. How will you balance it all?

There are a plethora of useful videos on YouTube by experts on how to manage your time effectively. Here at The Only Child Club, we particularly like Ali Abdaal:

Managing Relationships

When you were young and were struggling with a difficult person, you probably had some trusted adults to help you manage the situation, right? Now you are grown up, you are on your own. It is your time to be assertive when you need to be. It is your time to choose your battles wisely. It is your time to de-escalate a situation.

There are many strong-willed people in the world. People who always seem to get their own way. People who can make your life a misery. There are also inconsiderate people, especially students who steal your labelled food from the shared kitchen. It seems like God puts these people on the earth to test us.

Here are some ways to handle challenging people in a mature fashion:

Fresher Week

One of the best parts of university is joining clubs and societies that interest you. I was a member of an Arthurian Society at university. That was for students who loved King Arthur Legends. Fresher Week occurs at the beginning of each academic year. All the groups and societies at the university hold stalls where you can sign up. Perhaps you can join a music band or a sports club? Or maybe the theatre group? Maybe there is a religious group that you want to belong to. Of all the places to ‘find your tribe’, university has to be the best place. And if there is not a group that caters to your unique interests, you could always start it yourself. Hopefully, you will make some lifelong friends at university.

Studying at University

You are about to fork out thousands for a degree. You need to make it worthwhile. Your studies come first. Attend every lecture. Write smart notes as you read. I used to colour-code my notes and write a bibliography as I prepared for an essay. It made it a lot easier to write them when my notes were in order.

Top Tip: Record your lectures. Just do it on your phone or a recording device. Then save them on an MP3 file. You can refer back to them when you are writing essays or revising for exams.

Use other university libraries near you, not just your own university library.

Form a study group among your fellow students to discuss the topics and be open to debate. Universities should be a beacon of free speech so people can learn from each other.

Above all: DO NOT WAIT TO THE LAST MINUTE TO WRITE YOUR ESSAYS!

Connect

We hope you have found this post helpful. If you want to connect with other ‘only children’ students online, then join our Discord community for young adults.