Getting the grades to get into university seems like the hard part but there's actually still quite a lot to do once you've been accepted. Here's my little guide to make getting to freshers' week that bit easier.
1. You should receive a confirmation letter from your university/UCAS. Make sure you follow any instructions if you're asked to on your letter.
2. Setup a student bank account. You should already have all your student finances in place if you're getting a maintenance loan/any grants etc. However, it's worth researching some student bank accounts for your money to be paid into. Typically, student accounts should offer you an overdraft that doesn't charge you for going into. Also, some banks offer perks as I got a free rail card when I joined Santander last year. I'd recommend setting it up in branch though as I did it online and it wasn't ready to use until several weeks into term.
3. Get your uni card and email sorted. This may differ from uni to uni but at Exeter, we sent in the photo and details for our uni card before arriving so that it was ready from day one. Also, you should get a university email and usually some kind of online account.
4. Check your accommodation. Hopefully you'll get an offer of accommodation in halls if you applied for it. Make sure you pay your deposit, check out when you can move in and book a moving in slot if necessary. Also, check when you have to pay your first term's accommodation. Mine was due before my student loan came in so you may have to speak nicely to your parents...
5. Look up your reading lists. You should be able to see what books you need to buy for your course online. Your uni might get in contact with you about this any work/reading you need to do in advance of your first week. It's worth checking out amazon/ebay/facebook to see if you can get any books second hand as they get quite pricy!
6. Join Facebook groups. See if you can find the society for your subject on Facebook. There is likely to be people selling their old books on here at a much cheaper price and you can meet people on your course. There may also be a group for your halls and you can get introducing yourself prior to moving in.
7. Pack! There's an awful lot of things to take to uni, especially if you're self-catered so get packing well in advance. Make sure you check to see if there's anything you're not allowed to bring into halls such as candles or electrical appliances. I'm going to try and get a packing list up for you all in the next few days so watch this space!
8. Meet up with friends. It might be a while before you see your friends from school again as you're all about to go off in different directions. It's really nice to try and meet up with as many people as possible to chat about going off to uni/starting work/travelling.
I hope this makes everything seem a little more manageable although I know there's a lot to do before that first night out in freshers' week! I'm going to be writing some more posts and filming some more uni related videos over the next few days so let me know if you have any requests. Here's a few videos I've already made that you may find helpful:
No comments:
Post a Comment