Summer is coming to an end, which means heading back to university is right around the corner. There’s so much to look forward to, but also lots of things to prepare. From your living situation, to your classes, friends and activities, it’s difficult to know where to start! That’s why we decided to help you by laying out all the essential things you should consider.
1) Set up your living situation
Finding your accommodation is step number one. The best place to start is with student housing. It’s a good place to start, especially for your first year, because the locations will be convenient, the prices usually reasonable, and you’ll be living with other students in your situation. This means that you’ll be able to bond with them, make new friends, and know people who will have insiders’ tips on fun activity groups, parties, classes, professors and other university related info.
2) Learn all the little things
While you’re living at home you may not notice all the little things you will need to know how to do once you’re living on your own. For example, cooking for yourself, doing your laundry, scheduling your day so you fit everything in (i.e. homework, time to relax, cook and clean, food shop, exercise and get to bed on time), and all the little things we have to do to stay on top of life. The more you can prepare before heading to university, the easier your learning curve will be. So why not take some time this month to go over a few things with your parents? A worthwhile checklist to read would be the UCAS Preparing for your studies list.
3) Organise your finances
Consider setting up a student budget. Although this may seem annoying, it’s worth it and can be done with relatively little effort. The point isn’t to stress out about it, but rather to set up healthy spending habits so you intuitively learn how to spend and save your money wisely. We’ve written a blog, Financial tips every student should know before graduating, which specifically focuses on how to manage your finances while you are at university. Getting familiar with it now will save you lots of hassle in the future.
4) Organise your belongings
Starting to organise your personal belongings may feel daunting at first. But the sooner you start, the easier it will be. The main things you will need to organise are your school and personal belongings. So why not set up one week to focus on buying and packing your back to school stationary, books and planner? And focus your second week on organising your clothes, toiletry, bedding and kitchen items. The sooner you start the better because there’s more to pack than you realise! Your first task? Write a list of everything you will need. Top Universities has written What to Take to University, which is a good place to start.
5) Meet up with classmates
Taking some time to reach out to future classmates via a Facebook group, or once the freshers activities start is a great way to make new, and very valuable, new friendships. The friends you will make during your freshers’ week are likely ones that will be with you throughout your university experience. Everyone is going to feel a bit shy and overwhelmed while meeting so many new people. So just know that there will be some awkward moments, but they will all be worth it in the end. Try to meet as many new people as you can, and try to get to know students who may be different from you. University is a time to explore, try new things, meet new people and discover yourself in new ways. So have fun with it!
6) Prepare yourself academically
Getting ready to handle higher education is a challenge, but definitely manageable. As the Guardian mentioned in their article How to prepare for university: dos and don’ts: “do use the rest of the summer holidays to research the content of the first term. The more you know now about your course, the more confident you will feel”.
In addition to this tip, we’ve highlighted our top 2 ways to prepare yourself academically. First, if you can get ahead of your reading, do it! Trust us, it will be worth it. There will be so much going on during your first few weeks at uni, that you will be grateful to have given yourself a head start. This will not only allow you to stay on top of your workload, but will also allow you more free time to socialise and meet new people.
Our second important suggestion for you to get a crucial head start is to take an essay crash course. In just 4 lessons, you can learn and master outstanding essay writing skills. Doing this once you’ve already started your class, or gotten an assignment, is already a bit late. The best time to master this is when you don’t have anything stressful going on. I.e. your summer holiday is the perfect time. Especially during your last few weeks, when you need to start gearing yourself up anyway.
Our expert essay writing tutors will teach you in just 4 lessons how to write, structure and complete a stellar essay. Once you’ve secured your essay skills, we guarantee that your essays this year will be 2:1 or 1sts all year long! With such a small commitment, what do you have to lose? Contact us at by calling 02030867311 or emailing info@ubertutors.co.uk.
